Principal Program Manager

symplr

About The Position

The Principal Program Manager leads the largest and most material enterprise‑scale, cross‑functional programs that are highly visible and critical to company performance. This role owns end‑to-end program strategy, execution, and outcomes across multiple portfolios and workstreams—operating with significant autonomy in complex, fast‑paced, distributed environments. As a principal‑level individual contributor, this role is distinguished by scope, influence, and ambiguity. The Principal Program Manager partners closely with executive and senior leadership to drive alignment, manage financials and risk, and ensure delivery of mission‑critical initiatives. Success in this role requires exceptional program leadership, executive communication, and the ability to influence without authority across global teams. The most critical responsibility for this role is turning program obstacles into solutions and accelerators.

Requirements

20+ years of experience in program and/or project management
Demonstrated success leading enterprise‑scale, cross‑functional initiatives with executive visibility
Ability to find problems and obstacles and quickly turn them into solutions
Expert knowledge of risk management, dependency management, and organizational change
Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence at all levels of the organization
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including executive presentations
Ability to manage multiple priorities, navigate ambiguity, and maintain delivery discipline

Nice To Haves

Experience working with distributed and global teams
Agile, Scrum, SAFe, KANBAN, or equivalent Agile delivery or leadership certifications
AI tooling in a product and engineering setting
Personal AI productivity tools
Experience with program and portfolio tools such as:
Azure DevOps
Aha!
Confluence
Microsoft Teams
Gantt charts, Excel, and reporting tools

Responsibilities

Own delivery of our most complex, enterprise‑level programs and special initiatives concurrently. Also, our largest and most significant programs
Ensure program success is defined and understood. Laser focused on driving the program to success
Develop and maintain integrated program plans across portfolios, Agile Release Trains, teams, and functions
Drive clarity around objectives, milestones, dependencies, and outcomes across ambiguous problem spaces
Track and report progress against strategic plans, milestones, and feature/epic delivery
Manage program financials including spend vs. plan, forecasting, and vendor invoice reconciliation
Track headcount against plan, supporting resource ramp‑up and ramp‑down decisions
Ensure timely onboarding and offboarding of program resources
Partner with functional leaders to monitor capacity, utilization, and team performance
Proactively identify, assess, and manage risks, issues, and cross‑program dependencies
Drive resolution through influence, escalation, and structured governance forums
Apply expert change‑management practices to ensure sustained adoption and delivery continuity
Prepare and deliver concise, executive-ready program and portfolio updates
Facilitate recurring governance forums, including steering committees and portfolio reviews
Translate complex delivery data into clear insights, risks, and recommendations for senior leadership
Create professional decks, reports, and dashboards tailored to executive and board audiences
Model and reinforce Agile principles including transparency, accountability, prioritization, and continuous improvement
Collaborate across Scrum Teams, Agile Release Trains, and non-Agile business functions
Identify opportunities to improve delivery effectiveness, tooling, and operating cadence
Build trust and credibility across departments and leadership levels
Influence outcomes without direct authority across Engineering, Product, Finance, Innovation, and Operations
Step into hands‑on execution when needed to remove blockers and ensure program success