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

What do we do?

Introducing Thinkproject Platform

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 known as Desite BIM) is our Windows desktop application for expert BIM workflows. It is not a viewer — 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. The users are technically sophisticated. The product is complex. The problems are real. We're a PE-backed company mid-way through an ambitious platform consolidation, with engineering hubs in Munich, London, Pune, and Barcelona. The product team operates with a high degree of ownership and direct access to users.

What your day will look like

About the Role

You'll own the VDC Manager product backlog end-to-end — the quality of what gets built starts with you.This is an execution role, not a strategy role: you work from a validated roadmap set by the VDC Product Manager and your job is to 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. They know more about their workflows than almost anyone. Your credibility with them — and with the Engineering team — depends on your ability to engage at a technical level. If you can't have a conversation about IFC structure, IDS validation, or what a clash tolerance setting actually does in practice, this role will be difficult.

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

Key Responsibilities

Backlog ownership

• 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 standups, 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 categorised, 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 DevOps story reopen rate — Engineering raising stories back due to unclear criteria is the key metric)
• 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

What you need to fulfill the role

The 3 must-haves
1. 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
2. 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
3. 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 JavaScript scripting or REST API concepts (sufficient to write testable acceptance criteria for automation features)
• Familiarity with Azure DevOps 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

Thinkproject Academy learning programmes | Hybrid-first working | Structured career progression | Employee communities | Free English lessons | Regular team events | Volunteering activities | Open-door leadership access | Inclusive, multicultural team culture We're a passionate team that genuinely cares about the work we do and the people we work with. Joining Thinkproject means contributing to the digitisation of construction and infrastructure — an industry that shapes cities, transport systems, and public spaces for decades. We take feedback seriously, encourage open collaboration, and give our teams the support and tools they need to build well.