Technical Program Manager, Principal

Blue Shield of California•Oakland, CA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Technical Program Manager, Principal within the IT Payer Applications team is responsible for end-to-end oversight, governance, and successful delivery of a portfolio of related projects aligned to strategic business objectives. Reporting to the Director or VP, the Principal Program Manager operates at the intersection of business strategy, technical execution, and cross-functional stakeholder management. This role translates Stellarus’s goals into actionable program roadmaps, defines operating models, and establishes scalable governance frameworks to drive consistency, transparency, accountability, and measurable outcomes. The Technical Program Manager partners with Product, Engineering, Operations, Finance, Security, and executive leadership to manage scope, timelines, risks, dependencies, resources, budgets, and key performance indicators. This role leads strategic planning, program execution, change management, process optimization, communications, executive reporting, and continuous improvement across complex, high-impact initiatives. Success requires strong leadership, technical acumen, data-driven decision-making, Agile delivery experience, and the ability to influence teams without direct authority in a fast-paced, matrixed environment. Our leadership model is about developing great leaders at all levels and creating opportunities for our people to grow – personally, professionally, and financially. We are looking for leaders that are energized by creative and critical thinking, building and sustaining high-performing teams, getting results the right way, and fostering continuous learning.

Requirements

Requires a Bachelor’s degree in IT, Engineering, Healthcare Administration, or related field
Requires a minimum of 10 years of technical program management or related experience
Proven track record of working on complex enterprise programs across multiple teams and multi-year timelines
Strong expertise in end-to-end technical program delivery, including planning, execution, governance, and closure
Demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional dependencies, critical paths, and multiple interdependent workstreams
Experience working in matrixed organizations with distributed ownership and aligning diverse stakeholders
Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence and drive alignment among senior stakeholders
Excellent communication skills, including executive-level reporting and translating technical concepts into business language
Proven experience in driving organizational change management, user adoption, and enterprise readiness for major transformations
Strong analytical, risk management, and problem-solving skills with the ability to navigate ambiguity and make data-driven decisions
Ability to develop business cases & perform cost-benefit analysis and ROI

Responsibilities

Define and drive the overall program vision, goals, and success criteria aligned with business and technology strategy
Translate enterprise strategy into executable program roadmaps and multi-year plans
Provide guidance on technical decisions, implement new processes or tools, and optimize engineering productivity
Develop scalable program structures, governance models, and delivery frameworks
Build and maintain integrated program plans covering scope, schedule, cost, and dependencies
Establish measurable KPIs and success metrics across initiatives
Own delivery of complex, cross-functional programs from initiation through closure
Oversee multiple interdependent projects, ensuring alignment, sequencing, and milestone tracking
Drive execution against committed timelines, budgets, and outcomes
Ensure readiness across systems, processes, people, and operations for major releases or transformations
Identify and proactively resolve delivery blockers and execution risks
Lead coordination across business, IT, operations, finance, compliance, and external partners
Act as the central point of accountability across matrixed teams where ownership may be distributed
Build strong relationships with executive sponsors and senior stakeholders
Facilitate decision-making, escalation resolution, and alignment across leadership forums
Drive collaboration across internal teams, vendors, and external stakeholders
Lead organizational change management strategies to ensure successful program adoption
Drive communication plans, stakeholder engagement, and user readiness efforts
Identify adoption barriers and implement mitigation strategies
Partner with business teams to ensure smooth transition to new processes, tools, or operating models