Product Owner - VDC Manager (f/m/d)

Thinkproject is the construction intelligence platform used by Europe's largest infrastructure programmes.

We connect information, people, and processes across the full construction and infrastructure project lifecycle — from design and tendering through execution and handover.

Our platform is used by major contractors, owners, and BIM consultancies across the EU and beyond.

VDC Manager (formerly Desite BIM) is our Windows desktop application for expert BIM workflows.

It is a production tool for BIM Managers and VDC specialists running multi‑discipline model coordination, clash detection, IDS validation, 4D construction simulation, and 5D quantity take‑off on large‑scale infrastructure programmes.

Our product team operates with a high degree of ownership and direct access to users.

About the Role

You’ll own the VDC Manager product backlog end‑to‑end.

This is an execution role, not a strategy role.

You work from a validated roadmap set by the VDC Product Manager and translate it into sprint‑ready backlog items that Engineering can build and QA can verify without ambiguity.

The users you serve are BIM Managers, BIM Coordinators, and VDC specialists on infrastructure programmes.

Your credibility depends on your ability to engage at a technical level.

You report to the VDC Product Manager and work daily with Engineering Leads, QA, and UX within the VDC Product Squad.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the VDC Manager product backlog: structure, prioritisation, and sprint readiness
• Break features and epics into independently deliverable increments with clear scope boundaries
• Maintain visibility of cross‑backlog dependencies, blockers, and risks
• User story and acceptance criteria
• Write user stories with unambiguous, testable acceptance criteria defined in Given/When/Then format, validated with QA before sprint start
• Ensure every story traces to a validated user need, not an assumed requirement
• Write acceptance criteria for technically complex features including scripting APIs, automation workflows, and IFC schema interactions
• Sprint execution
• Run sprint planning, daily stand‑ups, reviews, and retrospectives as an active, not passive, participant
• Negotiate scope with Engineering when capacity is constrained — protect quality, not feature count
• Validate delivered work against acceptance criteria before stories are marked done
• User engagement
• Run regular interviews and feedback sessions with BIM expert users — monthly minimum
• Translate raw user feedback into structured backlog items with traceability
• Lead or co‑lead UAT sessions with BIM specialist participants ahead of major releases
• Product Manager collaboration
• Translate strategic roadmap direction from the VDC Product Manager into executable backlog
• Surface delivery risks, scope conflicts, and user signal that challenges roadmap assumptions early
• Maintain a shared understanding of priority rationale across the squad
• What Success Looks Like
• In 30 days
• Backlog fully reviewed — items categorized, gaps identified, duplicates cleared
• First sprint cycle completed with AC quality rated acceptable by Engineering Lead and QA
• Introductory calls completed with at least 5 active VDC Manager power users
• In 90 days
• Backlog consistently sprint‑ready two sprints ahead
• Independent user interview cadence established (minimum monthly)
• AC rejection rate below 10% (tracked via Azure Dev Ops story reopen rate)
• Cross‑squad dependencies tracked and escalated proactively
• In 12 months
• Recognised by Engineering and QA as the team's AC quality benchmark
• User interview programme running with a panel of at least 10 recurring BIM expert participants
• Delivery cadence predictable — sprint velocity stable, fewer last‑minute scope changes
• At least one major release delivered end‑to‑end from backlog structuring through UAT sign‑off
• The 3 Must‑Haves
• 3+ years of BIM domain experience — you can hold a technical conversation with a BIM Manager about IFC structure, IDS validation, Psets, or clash detection without needing it explained first
• Product Owner delivery experience — you have shipped product increments as a PO or equivalent in a B2B software environment; you know what a well‑written user story looks like because you've seen the consequences of a bad one
• English and German, both working‑level — users, partners, and stakeholders in the DACH market communicate in German; written and spoken fluency in both languages is required, not preferred
• Required Skills
• 2+ years as Product Owner or Business Analyst with backlog ownership in a B2B software delivery team
• 3+ years working with BIM workflows: model coordination and federation, clash detection, IDS/IFC validation, Psets and classification systems
• Familiarity with AEC industry roles and the construction project lifecycle (design, tendering, execution, handover)
• Ability to engage with technical documentation — API references, scripting guides, data schemas — without needing translation
• Nice‑to‑Have
• Hands‑on experience using VDC Manager (formerly Desite BIM), Navisworks, Solibri, or equivalent BIM coordination tools
• Experience with 4D construction simulation or 5D quantity take‑off workflows
• Familiarity with Java Script scripting or REST API concepts (sufficient to write testable acceptance criteria for automation features)
• Familiarity with Azure Dev Ops and/or Aha! as backlog tools
• Knowledge of Common Data Environments (CDEs) and ISO 19650 / BIM execution plans CSPO or equivalent agile product certification
• Who This Role Is For — And Who It Isn’t
• You’ll thrive here if
• You find BIM coordination genuinely interesting — you don't need to be converted to care about model federation or IDS compliance
• You are more comfortable in execution than in strategy — you want to ship working software, not own a roadmap
• You're direct: you write acceptance criteria that remove ambiguity, not add it
• You can navigate a technical conversation with an Engineering Lead and a field‑level BIM Manager in the same morning
• This is probably not the right role if
• You have fewer than 3 years of hands‑on BIM experience — the domain fluency requirement is not optional
• You want to own product strategy — the VDC Product Manager owns the roadmap; this role executes it
• You're not comfortable in German in a professional context — DACH customer interactions are in German
• You expect a fully stable backlog to manage — this is a product in active development with evolving user requirements

What We Offer

• Hybrid working
• Work from abroad
• Flexible working hours
• Thinkproject Academy
• Free English lessons
• Unlimited learning
• Headspace community access
• Women's Network
• Corporate volunteering
• Social events
• Your Contact
• Sonia Wright

Please submit your application, including salary expectations and potential date of entry, by submitting the form on the next page.

Working at thinkproject. com - think career. think ahead.

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