Product Owner Alation Data Catalog

Job Title: Product Owner - Alation Data Catalog

Location: Boston, MA

Experience Required: 10+ Years

Employment Type: Contract

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Product Owner - Alation Data Catalog to lead enterprise data catalog initiatives that enhance data discovery, governance, and data literacy across the organization.

This role will be responsible for defining the product vision, roadmap, and delivery for data catalog capabilities using Alation or similar metadata management platforms. The ideal candidate will work closely with data stewards, engineers, and business stakeholders to ensure the data catalog supports enterprise data governance and analytics initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Roadmap

• Define and maintain the product roadmap for Alation-based data catalog initiatives.

• Align catalog capabilities with enterprise data strategy and business objectives.

• Identify opportunities to improve data accessibility, governance, and metadata management.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Work closely with data stewards, analysts, engineers, and business users to gather requirements.

• Serve as the primary liaison between business and technical teams.

• Facilitate workshops and stakeholder discussions to drive data catalog adoption.

Agile Product Ownership

• Create and manage a prioritized product backlog.

• Write clear user stories and acceptance criteria for catalog enhancements.

• Participate in Agile ceremonies including sprint planning, backlog grooming, and reviews.

Data Governance & Metadata Management

• Drive adoption of metadata standards, data lineage, and stewardship practices.

• Ensure catalog content is accurate, maintained, and aligned with governance policies.

• Promote data literacy and catalog usage through documentation, training, and internal advocacy.

Data Integration & Automation

• Work with data engineers and architects to integrate Alation with enterprise data sources, such as:

  • Snowflake

  • AWS data platforms

  • Data pipelines using AWS Glue

• Support automation of metadata ingestion and policy enforcement.

Metrics & Performance Tracking

• Define and monitor KPIs to measure catalog adoption, data usage, and data quality improvements.

• Provide insights and recommendations to improve enterprise data management practices.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in data management, data governance, or product ownership roles.

• Hands-on experience with Alation Data Catalog or similar platforms:

  • Collibra

  • OvalEdge

• Strong understanding of:

  • Metadata management

  • Data lineage

  • Data quality frameworks

• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform).

• Experience working with modern data stacks and analytics platforms.

• Proficiency with Agile methodologies and tools (Jira, Confluence).

• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with SQL and data modeling.

• Knowledge of data privacy and regulatory frameworks such as GDPR or CCPA.

• Experience in Financial Services, Asset Management, or regulated industries.

Core Competencies

Alation Data Catalog | Data Governance | Metadata Management | Data Lineage | Data Quality | Product Ownership | Agile Delivery | Data Strategy | Cloud Data Platforms | Data Stewardship