Technical Program Manager

Job description

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:   Grade: Technical 409

Pay Range: $130,900.00 - $196,300.00 Job Description

The Program Manager - Technical leads complex, multi-team technology programs from concept through delivery, ensuring alignment across engineering, architecture, product, security, and business stakeholders. This role drives program strategy manages technical dependencies at scale, and ensures delivery of high quality, secure, resilient solutions that meet business objectives, quality, secure, resilient solutions that meet business objectives.

This role blends deep technical understanding with program leadership, Agile methodology expertise, and strong cross functional communication. They anticipate risks, remove impediments, guide teams through ambiguity, and connect long term program roadmaps to organizational goals. This is a role that operates with broad autonomy and influence, serving as a bridge between technical teams and business leaders to ensure technology investments deliver measurable value. They anticipate risks, remove impediments, guide teams through ambiguity, and connect longterm program roadmaps to organizational goals. This is a role that operates with broad autonomy and influence, serving as a bridge between technical teams and business leaders to ensure technology investments deliver measurable value.   Duties:

- Lead the   end-to-end   planning and delivery of complex, multiteam technology programs, ensuring clear scope,   objectives , and success criteria .

- Partner with engineering, architecture, product, and business teams to define program requirements, technical direction, and integrated delivery plans.

- Coordinate   cross team   workstreams, manage dependencies, and drive alignment on technical milestones, sequencing, and key decisions.   M anage dependencies, and drive alignment on technical milestones, sequencing, and key decisions.

- Facilitate Agile and   SAFe   program activities, including PI planning, backlog refinement, dependency management, and program   level retrospectives .

- Identify   and mitigate risks, blockers, and technical challenges early; escalate issues appropriately and drive resolution.

- Deliver clear, consistent communication of program status, risks, decisions, and impacts to stakeholders and leadership.

- Ensure solutions   comply with   enterprise security standards, technical design patterns, and operational readiness requirements.

- Support change management   activities, including training, readiness planning, and adoption support for impacted teams.

- Maintain   accurate   program documentation, including roadmaps, decision logs, requirements, risks, and performance metrics.

- Conduct post - implementation validation and help measure program outcomes against expected business   value.   implementation validation and help measure program outcomes against expected business value.

- Performs other   job-related   duties as   assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

- Strong understanding of software development lifecycle, systems architecture, integrations, cloud concepts, and technical design patterns.

- Ability to engage with engineering teams, understand technical   trade offs , and translate complex concepts for diverse audiences.

- Demonstrated ability to manage multi team technical programs using Agile/ SAFe   frameworks.

- Skilled in planning, dependency management, risk management, and   cross   team   coordination.

- Proficient with Jira, Confluence, and other delivery lifecycle and visualization tools.

- Strong collaboration and facilitation skills with the ability to lead through influence rather than authority.

- Effective at navigating ambiguity, driving alignment, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

- Excellent verbal and written communication, including the ability to create clear executive summaries.

- Strong analytical and   problem-solving   abilities, with a data   informed approach to decision   making.

AI & Innovation Expectations:

- Hands-on experience using AI tools such as Claude, Kiro, ChatGPT , or similar in a professional context

- Demonstrated ability to apply AI to: - Improve workflows

- Automate repetitive tasks

- Enhance decision-making

- Strong curiosity and adaptability in adopting emerging AI technologies

- Ability to guide teams in integrating AI into daily practices responsibly and effectively

Qualifications

Education

- Bachelor's Degree in Business , Management Information Systems, Computer Science, or a related field

- Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements.   Generally, equivalent   relevant experience is defined as 1 year of experience for 1 year of education and is the discretion of the hiring manager.

Experience

- 6+   years of progressive project management experience

- Demonstrated experience leading technical projects or programs in an Agile environment.

- Experience working closely with engineering teams and understanding technical architecture concepts.

- Strong experience with Jira, Confluence, or other Agile lifecycle tools.

- Experience influencing without authority in matrixed organizations.

- Experience managing large-scale, multi-team technical programs or initiatives.

Preferred Qualifications

- SAFe , PMP, ACP, CSM, or equivalent Agile/PM certifications.

- E xperience with cloud technologies (Azure, AWS, GCP), APIs, microservices, or enterprise integrations.

Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements. Generally, equivalent relevant experience is defined as 1 year of experience for 1 year of education and is the discretion of the hiring manager. This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year).   Additional   travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed.    Additional   travel may be assigned as needed to support business requirements.

Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave. How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.