Forward Deployed Product Owner – Bond Management

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Alabama.

📋 Description

• Design, configure, and enhance business process workflows utilizing Appian Designer.

• Lead the discovery of business processes across Bond Management operations, including debt servicing, transfer agent functions, paying agent tasks, waterfall accounting, and exception management.

• Identify opportunities for automation, document existing pain points, and establish baseline measures.

• Define value hypotheses, business outcomes, and success metrics for workflow prioritization and benefit realization.

• Modernize Bond Management workflows and operational control processes through Appian.

• Collaborate with business product owners, operations leaders, technology teams, and risk partners to gather requirements and prioritize enhancements.

• Take ownership of and manage product backlog items, user stories, acceptance criteria, specifications, process flows, UI concepts, test scenarios, and release-ready requirements.

• Facilitate stakeholder working sessions to define workflows, identify friction points, iterate on MVP designs, resolve issues, and promote alignment.

• Build, configure, and maintain Appian Designer workflows using reusable out-of-the-box components.

• Utilize AI-assisted and agentic AI tools for discovery, process analysis, documentation, prototyping, testing, defect analysis, and communications.

• Oversee workflow outcomes from discovery through configuration, validation, pilot adoption, and post-release optimization.

• Support QA, UAT, regression testing, production validation, defect documentation, and release readiness.

• Collaborate with technology teams on integrations, data dependencies, security, platform constraints, and production support.

• Stay updated with Appian AI, Case Management Studio, RPA, data fabric, reporting, and governance capabilities.

• Advocate for Appian governance, reusability, modular design, versioning, packaging, maintainability, and controlled delivery.

• Engage in agile ceremonies including standups, planning, backlog refinement, demos, and retrospectives.

• Develop and maintain Appian reports and dashboards that track workflow performance, user activity, operational quality, and business metrics.

• Comply with risk and regulatory standards, policies, controls, and risk appetite; escalate risk issues as necessary.

• Foster a sense of belonging and embody the M&T Bank brand.

• Uphold internal control standards and execute audit and regulatory issue remediation.

• Perform other related tasks as assigned.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 10 years’ experience in business, analytical, technical, digital product, transformation, or product ownership; or, in lieu of a degree, a combined minimum of 14 years’ higher education and/or relevant work experience, including at least 10 years’ pertinent experience.

• Practical experience with Appian, including the building, configuring, testing, or supporting of workflows, forms, interfaces, records, process models, reports, dashboards, or related Appian objects.

• Background in financial services and/or fintech, with exposure to regulated business processes, operational risk, client service, banking, wealth management, trust services, payments, capital markets, lending, compliance, or similar fields.

• Experience as a product owner, product analyst, business analyst, transformation lead, or workflow designer within an agile or iterative delivery environment.

• Proficiency in writing user stories, acceptance criteria, specifications, process flows, business rules, UI concepts, testing scenarios, or release documentation.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.

• Familiarity with QA, UAT, regression testing, defect triage, test case development, production validation, or similar quality assurance practices.

• Working knowledge of AI-assisted tools or agentic AI concepts.

• Capability to connect business and technical teams and articulate technical constraints, risks, dependencies, and trade-offs.

• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills.

• Ability to manage competing priorities, work independently, and deliver results in a fast-paced, regulated transformation environment.

• Preferred: Appian Level 1 certification or higher, or equivalent hands-on experience with Appian Designer.

• Preferred: Familiarity with SAIL expressions.

• Preferred: Experience with Appian AI, Case Management Studio, RPA, data fabric, connected systems, integrations, or document management.

• Preferred: Experience using AI-assisted tools such as Claude Code, Codex, Open Claw, Hermes, or similar technologies.

• Preferred: Experience with low-code/no-code platforms like Power Platform, ServiceNow, Salesforce, Pega, Airtable, Retool, or Mendix.

• Preferred: Background in Corporate Trust, securities servicing, bond administration, transfer agent activities, paying agent roles, or financial operations.

• Preferred: Experience in business process mapping, process engineering, service design, user journey design, and operational improvement.

• Preferred: Development of digital capabilities in financial services, fintech, trust services, institutional services, compliance, legal operations, or document-intensive environments.

• Preferred: Collaboration with UX, design, data, architecture, cybersecurity, risk, legal, compliance, or operations teams.

• Preferred: Knowledge of Agile methodologies, Lean principles, design thinking, systems thinking, and continuous improvement practices.

🏝️ Benefits

• Comprehensive health and wellness programs.

• Opportunities for professional development and growth.

• Flexible work arrangements and a supportive work environment.

• Competitive compensation and performance-based incentives.

• Retirement savings plans with company matching.