Technical Program Manager

Position Summary

The Technical Program Manager (TPM) drives the execution of our client's Engineering projects from approved scope through delivery. The TPM maintains project schedules, risk/dependency tracking, and stakeholder alignment while leading project management process improvements across the department.

Core Responsibilities

• Project Planning & Schedule Control:

Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, and milestones based on Technical Activity Plans (TAPs). Track progress, identify variances early, and adjust plans as dependencies or priorities shift.

• Risk & Escalation Management:

Maintain visibility over risks, dependencies, and blockers. Ensure mitigation plans have clear owners, and escalate technical issues to the Chief/Legacy Engineers and staffing/priority issues to the Director of Engineering.

• Delivery Visibility & Closeout:

Act as the source of truth for project status using PM tools. Report updates to stakeholders, confirm handoffs and deliverables before closure, and capture lessons learned.

• PM Capability & Process Improvement:

Own and streamline Engineering's project management tools, workflows, and templates to maximize project visibility while minimizing administrative burden on engineers.

Role Boundaries & Decision Rights

• TPM:

Owns project management plans, process alignment, and TAP schedule integration.

Does not make technical decisions, direct personnel, or resolve staff performance issues.

• Director of Engineering:

Owns staffing, resource allocation, priorities, capacity, budgets, and overall department performance.

• Legacy Engineers:

Own technical delivery, solutions, estimates, and execution.

• Chief Engineer:

Owns technical authority, standards, acceptance, and technical risk oversight.

• Operational Execution Lead:

Owns day-to-day operational execution within Engineering.

Key Performance Metrics

• Planning Readiness:

Approved plans and TAPs are in place before commitments or work begin.

• Schedule Integrity:

Schedules reflect active capacity, dependencies, and priorities.

• Risk & Dependency Control:

Blockers are identified, assigned, and escalated promptly.

• Execution Visibility:

Clear, real-time status in PM tools without relying on repetitive manual engineering updates.

• Closure Discipline:

Complete handoffs, approvals, and open-item dispositions prior to closeout.

Qualifications

• Experience:

5+ years in technical program/project management across complex, cross-functional technical projects. Hardware, electronics, embedded systems, or legacy-product experience strongly preferred.

• Skills:

Strong proficiency in project scheduling, risk management, and dependency tracking. Ability to constructively challenge engineering plans and estimates without taking technical ownership.

• Communication:

Excellent written and verbal communication for stakeholder updates and escalation management.

• Tools & Standards:

Familiarity with PM/collaboration tools (Zoho, Jira, Confluence) and quality frameworks (ISO 9001, AS9100) preferred.

• Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, a technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience preferred.