Contract Principal Project Manager

Stable Kernel•Houston, TX

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Stable Kernel is hiring a Contract Principal Project Manager to guide complex, transformational client initiatives from planning through delivery. The role combines delivery leadership and trusted-advisor support, ensuring projects and programs are delivered on time and within budget while fostering strong client and stakeholder relationships. The Principal Project Manager partners throughout the client lifecycle with sales, strategy, technical, and client services professionals to deliver high-quality work and client experiences. The role establishes program-wide delivery approaches, scope governance, quality benchmarks, project planning standards, risk frameworks, and reporting cadences. It coordinates multiple project teams and stakeholders, advises on strategic decisions, mentors project managers, and drives adoption of effective methodologies and tools. Responsibilities also include shaping roadmaps and delivery approaches, supporting SOW development and RFP and paid-discovery engagements, overseeing estimates and financial forecasting, identifying opportunities to expand services, and helping manage program staffing and resourcing. The role designs AI-enabled delivery workflows and leads responsible AI adoption across program teams. This is a contract position requiring the candidate to be located in Houston, Texas, for client onsite needs as required. Stable Kernel describes its work model as People Before Place Hybrid. The minimum base rate is $75 per hour. The company is not sponsoring employment visas; applicants with an employment visa must have authorization effective for at least three years from the application date.

Requirements

8–10 years of project management experience in consulting, professional services, or similar services-based organizations.
PMP, CSM (Certified Scrum Master), CSPO (Certified Scrum Product Owner), or similar project management certification.
Proven track record of successfully delivering projects of varying sizes and complexity.
Exceptional communication skills, including client and stakeholder management.
Experience crafting deliverable components of SOWs and writing business requirements documents.
Fluent in Scrum, Kanban, Waterfall, and other project management methodologies, with willingness to adapt as the SDLC evolves.
Working familiarity with JIRA, Notion, Slack, Claude, GitHub, Miro, and budget-tracking tools.
Must be located in Houston, Texas, to be onsite with the client as needed.
Applicants with an employment visa must have it effective for at least three years from the application date; the company does not sponsor employment visas.

Responsibilities

Establish scalable delivery approaches, phasing, and sequencing across complex, multi-project programs, accounting for dependencies and changing client needs.
Set program-wide scope governance and change control practices; coach project managers on scope creep and change requests.
Set engagement health and quality standards across project teams and evaluate delivery tools for procurement, integration, or retirement.
Design AI-enabled delivery workflows and lead responsible AI adoption across program teams.
Coordinate technical, design, product, and business teams and establish cross-departmental collaboration norms.
Clarify strategic outcomes, create integrated roadmaps, translate client goals into program objectives, and anticipate changing priorities.
Establish project planning standards and coach project managers on plan development, baselining, and tracking.
Support SOW development, RFPs, and paid-discovery engagements; identify opportunities to expand services within client programs.
Lead estimation and financial calibration, oversee burn tracking and forecasting, and coordinate business forecasts with finance and account leadership.
Orchestrate coordination across project teams, account leadership, technical leads, and senior business stakeholders.
Lead program status reporting and tailor governance cadences to stakeholder audiences.
Drive adoption of methodologies, tools, and practices through demonstration and consensus-building; advise teams and executives on complex program decisions.
Mentor project managers on stakeholder situations, delivery practice, stakeholder mapping, dependency management, and political complexity.
Lead communication during escalations, major milestones, and strategic decisions; manage senior client and cross-functional relationships across interconnected projects.
Help teams establish clarity in ambiguous, high-stakes environments and encourage proactive strategic client partnership.
Lead program-level problem solving, serve as an escalation point, diagnose root causes, and coach project managers in critical thinking.
Establish risk management, escalation pathways, metrics, and measurement frameworks across project teams; identify systemic issues and communicate risks and recommended solutions.
Set strategic direction for project management within the program and lead multiple project teams or large programs.
Propose process improvements in team throughput, delivery quality, and engagement management, establishing standards for broader adoption.
Evaluate industry practices and promote iteration of delivery practices and philosophy.
Help lead program resource management by maintaining staffing plans, forecasting needs, and partnering with account and delivery leadership.