Product Owner

Every week, about thirty-five thousand collector’s items go up for auction at Catawiki.com. Everything from antique tennis rackets to rare diving watches and vintage whiskey. According to the FT1000, Catawiki is Europe’s second-fastest growing e-commerce company. To keep up that growth, they’re hiring top talent from around the world. They are creating two new vacancies in the team of Product Owners. 

About Catawiki

Catawiki makes unique auctions accessible to everyone. The auction platform is active in more than 70 categories, including classic cars, sports memorabilia, antiques, whiskeys, and art. Some of the more remarkable objects include the world’s most expensive lego brick and the trainers in which Usain Bolt won 3 gold medals at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing. All auction lots on Catawiki are guaranteed to be high-quality offers because they are curated by specialized auctioneers.

Behind the scenes

The business received the Deloitte Technology award in 2015 and in 2016. Each month, more than 14 million visitors from around the world engage with the platform. Every auction is available in 16 languages, including traditional Chinese and Mandarin. This international presence is also reflected in the company culture. There are hundreds of professionals with more than 40 different nationalities working at the Catawiki headquarters in The Netherlands (Assen and Amsterdam). Catawiki also has offices in Germany, France, England, Italy and Spain. Read more about careers at Catawiki.

About the vacancy: Product Owner

From front end to back end, from UX to data warehousing – everything technical about Catawiki is developed in-house. The sheer amount of tech talent gathered at the office means the possibilities are endless. There’s one clear metric to decide whether or not a new feature should be built: whether or not it will benefit the user. The Product Owner represents the voice of the user – whether that’s a seller, a buyer or even an auctioneer – in the development process.

About the teams

The tech team of about a hundred experts is organized in eight multidisciplinary squads. Each squad focuses on a different aspect of the platform. For example, there are separate teams for Search, Buyer experience, Auctioneer tools and Mobile apps. To accelerate the growth of the business, Catawiki is expanding the team with two experienced Product Owners. The new Product Owners will focus on topics such as Personalization, Recommendations, and Seller Experience.

“Personalization and the use of recommender systems is a greenfield for Catawiki. The potential impact is immense.” – Jan Joost Kraal, CPO

Way of working

Catawiki is a highly data-driven organization. For Product Owners, that means they identify user behavior and needs through A/B-testing, data analysis, and further research. They use insights to prioritize the development of new features and enhancements to existing features. By sharing insights into the user’s behavior, Product Owners empower their teams to build the best possible product. They speak the same language as the developers in their squad, but what sets them apart is their relentless focus on what’s best for the customer. Because each feature is a different facet of the same diamond, Product Owners will often encourage collaboration with other teams. As with cutting a diamond, the true challenge is alignment. All Product Owners report directly to the CPO, Jan Joost Kraal.

Candidate profile

Candidates will have at least five years’ experience as a Product Owner at a fast-growing e-commerce company. For the position of Product Owner Personalization/Recommendations, a background in recommender systems is a nice-to-have. Both Product Owners are familiar with A/B-testing, and they know that both negative and positive results yield valuable information. It’s all about how you read the data. Product Owners will have a highly data-driven approach, and they’re always keen to learn new things. Clear and respectful communication is at the heart of this start-up’s culture.

“Generally speaking, colleagues at Catawiki are generous with constructive feedback. Suitable candidates are appreciative and willing to return the favor.” – Jan Joost Kraal, CPO

About the candidate

• 5 years’ experience as a Product Owner within e-commerce
• Self-motivated problem solver with a commercial focus
• Curious and agile innovator
• Experience with recommender systems is a nice-to-have

About the vacancy

• C-level exposure
• Excellent opportunities for career development
• Complex and commercial challenges with huge impact

About the employer

• One of the world’s fastest growing e-commerce companies
• Highly data-driven environment
• International team of top-notch professionals