Product Analyst

CHARLOTTE

Outstanding long-term contract opportunity! A well-known Financial Services Company is looking for a Product Analyst in Charlotte, NC (Hybrid). Work with the brightest minds at one of the largest financial institutions in the world. This is a long-term contract opportunity that includes a competitive benefit package! Our client has been around for over 150 years and is continuously innovating in today's digital age. If you want to work for a company that is not only a household name, but also truly cares about satisfying customers' financial needs and helping people succeed financially, apply today. Contract Duration: 24 Months **Required Skills \& Experience** * 3 years as a Product Analyst/Business Analyst in Agile software delivery (Scrum or SAFe). * Proven user story writing and acceptance criteria definition; strong backlog refinement facilitation. * Ability to translate ambiguoabstract concepts into concrete, testable requirements-excellent written and verbal communication. * Experience with defect analysis, root cause thinking, and working with engineering/QA to drive resolution. * Hands on with Agile tooling (e.g., Jira or Azure Boards) and documentation (e.g., Confluence, process maps, data mapping). **Desired Skills \& Experience** * Financial Services background-ideally in Payments / Merchant Services (merchant onboarding, payment processing flows, gateways/terminals, authorization/clearing/settlement, chargebacks, reconciliation, BAU servicing). * Familiarity with controls, audit readiness, and data governance in a regulated environment (e.g., PCI-DSS awareness is a plus). * Comfort navigating multiple stakeholders and resolving gray areas (e.g., who owns acceptance criteria) through influence and clarity. * Exposure to basic data analysis (e.g., SQL or equivalent) to validate scenarios and support defect triage. * Relevant certifications (nice to have): CSPO/PSPO, SAFe POPM, ICP-BA or similar. * Agile * Articulate Oral and Written Communication * Atlassian JIRA * Business Analyst experience * Critical Thinking * Leadership **What You Will Be Doing** * Consult on complex initiatives with broad impact and large-scale planning for Business Execution. * Review and analyze complex multi-faceted, larger scale, or longer-term Business Execution challenges that require in-depth evaluation of multiple factors including intangibles or unprecedented factors. * Contribute to the resolution of complex and multi-faceted situations requiring solid understanding of the function, policies, procedures, and compliance requirements that meet deliverables. * Strategically collaborate and consult with client personnel. * Backlog \& Story Excellence (Primary Focus) * Partner closely with the Product Owner to build and maintain a high quality backlog with at least two sprints of DoR ready items. * Refine epics/features into user stories with clear, testable acceptance criteria; balance functional and non?functional needs. * Facilitate/participate in refinement sessions, uncover dependencies, and ensure scope, value, and risks are understood. * Raise and flag unplanned work (sprint disruptions) and propose trade offs to keep delivery on track. * Product Analysis \& Current State Understanding * Document app/platform current state, business processes, and data flows/mapping. * Identify known gaps (tech or process), existing defects, and recommend pragmatic paths to resolution. * Apply critical thinking to shape problem statements and solution design options for PO consideration. * Stakeholder Engagement \& Collaboration * Engage product, technology, and business stakeholders; translate abstract concepts into concrete requirements. * Collaborate with SMEs to validate use cases and acceptance criteria; drive alignment when responsibilities overlap (e.g., acceptance criteria ownership among PO, PA, Tech Leads). * Support control/audit requests by assembling clear, traceable evidence across requirements and delivery artifacts. * Quality, Testing \& Production Readiness * Document use cases/scenarios that inform design and business testing. * Partner with UAT leads to shape the testing strategy/approach, share use cases, and engage end users; perform lightweight UAT when needed. * Represent the scrum team in production triage; research issues/defects and act as the point of contact for defect intake and analysis. * Sprint Planning \& Delivery Rhythm * Assist with Sprint Planning by reviewing current sprint outcomes, identifying carryover, and prioritizing upcoming work. * Proactively surface risks, assumptions, and dependencies; keep the PO informed and decisions well-documented.