Sr. Technical Program Manager

Netspend•Austin, TX

About The Position

Netspend is hiring a Senior Technical Program Manager with 10+ years of experience to lead complex, cross-team engineering programs built on Java. The role enables engineering teams that own delivery by bringing structure, visibility, and alignment from scoping through launch, while engaging with engineers on architecture, dependencies, and technical trade-offs. The position sits at the intersection of engineering and execution, turning ambiguous goals into clear plans, coordinating multiple teams, and giving leadership an early, honest view of risk. The role partners with engineering managers, architects, technical leads, DevOps, QA, Product, Security, Compliance, Operations, vendors, and senior executives. It covers program planning and operating rhythms, technical partnership, risk and governance, stakeholder communication, delivery metrics, process improvement, and mentoring junior TPMs. In the first year, success means enabling one or two critical programs to hit key milestones on or near plan, establishing a single trusted view of program health, risks, and dependencies for leadership, and being seen by engineering teams as a technical peer who removes blockers rather than adds process.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in software delivery, including at least 5 years as a Technical Program Manager, Technical Project Manager, or equivalent.
A track record of enabling large programs involving three or more engineering teams and multiple stakeholder groups.
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Strong working knowledge of Java-based systems, including core Java concepts, Spring or Spring Boot, and the JVM; hands-on coding is not required.
Solid understanding of microservices, REST APIs, relational and NoSQL databases, and messaging systems such as Kafka.
Familiarity with AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD tools such as Jenkins or GitLab CI.
Ability to review design documents, follow technical debates, and ask questions that surface real risk.
Deep command of the full project lifecycle: initiation, planning, estimation, scheduling, execution, monitoring, and closure.
Strong practice in Agile and hybrid delivery, including sprint planning, release planning, and dependency management at scale.
Proficiency with Jira, Confluence, and a diagramming tool such as Lucid Chart.
Proven skill in risk management, scope control, budget tracking, and stakeholder management.
Clear, concise written and verbal communication, including executive-level status reporting.
Ability to influence without authority and resolve conflicts across teams.
Comfort with ambiguity and ability to bring structure to it quickly.
Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities, a results-oriented mindset, and commitment to delivering customer value.

Nice To Haves

PMP, PgMP, PMI-ACP, SAFe, or Certified Scrum Master certification.
Experience leading platform migrations, monolith-to-microservices transitions, or cloud modernization programs.
Domain experience in fintech, e-commerce, SaaS, or another regulated, high-scale environment.
Exposure to observability tools such as Splunk, Dynatrace, Datadog, or Grafana.
Experience managing distributed teams across time zones.
A Master's degree or MBA.

Responsibilities

Enable large, multi-quarter programs spanning several engineering teams, partnering with engineering managers from charter through launch and post-launch review.
Build and maintain integrated program plans covering milestones, critical path, dependencies, and resourcing.
Facilitate program planning, standups or syncs, status reporting, release readiness, and retrospectives.
Coach teams on Agile Scrum and Kanban practices and adapt delivery models to team size, risk, and deadlines.
Engage with engineers on system design, Java/JVM service architecture, APIs, and integration points to challenge estimates and identify dependencies.
Partner with architects and technical leads on technical debt, scalability, performance, and migration plans, making trade-offs visible to stakeholders.
Review design documents and translate technical constraints into scope, timeline, and risk decisions.
Work with DevOps and QA on CI/CD, release management, environments, and quality gates.
Identify risks and blockers early, maintain a RAID log, help owners drive mitigation, and escalate when needed.
Communicate program status, decisions, and trade-offs to engineering leaders, product teams, and senior executives.
Define and track delivery metrics such as predictability, velocity, defect trends, and milestone health.
Facilitate scope-change decisions, track budgets, and align cross-functional partners including Product, Security, Compliance, and Operations.
Improve engineering and program management practices across the organization.
Mentor junior technical program managers.
Coordinate with vendors when programs depend on them.