Principal Technical Program Manager
About The Position
Lumen connects the world. We are igniting business growth by connecting people, data and applications – quickly, securely, and effortlessly. Together, we are building a culture and company from the people up – committed to teamwork, trust and transparency. People power progress. We’re looking for top-tier talent and offer the flexibility you need to thrive and deliver lasting impact. Join us as we digitally connect the world and shape the future. We are seeking a highly skilled Principal Technical Program Manager (TPM) to lead large, complex, cross‑functional engineering programs across the Product & Technology organization. This is a senior individual‑contributor role requiring strong technical depth, strategic program leadership, and the ability to communicate clearly at the VP/SVP/EVP level. The Principal TPM must maintain working fluency in cloud architecture, distributed systems design, large‑scale enterprise integration patterns, data flows, APIs/services, network engineering fundamentals, security, reliability, and modern SDLC/DevOps practices. The Principal TPM converts business strategy into predictable engineering delivery, drives cross‑value‑stream alignment, manages critical dependencies and risks, and ensures executive stakeholders receive concise, decision‑ready updates. Location This is a fully remote opportunity open to candidates located anywhere in the U.S.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in a technical field or equivalent experience; advanced degree is a plus.
- 12-15+ years of experience leading large‑scale technical or engineering programs within complex, matrixed technology organizations.
- Strong technical fluency in architecture, system design, APIs/services, data flows, and SDLC/DevOps.
- Proven ability to communicate clearly and influence at the VP/SVP/EVP level—distilling complex engineering issues, risks, and trade‑offs into concise recommendations.
- Demonstrated experience managing engineering dependencies, sequencing across multiple teams, and driving outcomes across software and/or network domains.
- Strong ability to navigate ambiguity, resolve cross‑team conflicts, and turn strategy into structured engineering execution plans.
- Exceptional stakeholder engagement and relationship‑building skills across Product, Engineering, Architecture, Operations, and Finance.
- High urgency, accountability, and operational rigor; sets high standards for clarity, delivery predictability, and tooling hygiene.
Nice To Haves
- PMP/PMI, Agile/SAFe, or Lean Six Sigma certifications are a plus
Responsibilities
- Lead the end‑to‑end lifecycle of large, complex, multi‑team engineering programs, ensuring program structure, delivery rhythms, and engineering outcomes are clear and predictable.
- Define and track performance metrics tied to engineering execution, program health, and SLAs with business and product stakeholders.
- Develop and maintain engineering‑aligned roadmaps, integrated timelines, dependency maps, budgets, and risk mitigation plans.
- Build and lead program governance for executives, synthesizing engineering progress, risks, and technical trade‑offs into clear, decision‑oriented updates.
- Implement best practices in engineering program governance, dependency management, cross‑team risk visibility, SDLC alignment, and change management.
- Foster a culture of accountability, technical excellence, and delivery predictability across engineering teams and partner groups.
- Partner with finance, engineering, and product to monitor capital/opex, capacity utilization, and resource allocation across internal teams and vendors.
- Report on program status—including engineering risks, dependencies, integration concerns, and mitigation paths—to senior leadership and key stakeholders.
- Coordinate engineering planning cycles (roadmap planning, PI planning, quarterly commitments) and ensure backlogs are prioritized, estimated, and aligned with program objectives.
- Contribute to strategic planning and partner across Product, Engineering, Architecture, and Operations to ensure engineering readiness for launches and major releases.
Benefits
- Lumen offers a comprehensive package featuring a broad range of Health, Life, Voluntary Lifestyle benefits and other perks that enhance your physical, mental, emotional and financial wellbeing.
- Learn more about Lumen's: Benefits Bonus Structure
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
