What does a Technical Program Manager do?
Technical program managers are responsible for a company’s technical projects of all types and stay involved for each stage of development, from idea to design to their completion. They develop new products and features to create new revenue sources and increase company profits. They may lead hardware and software design teams implementing new programs that will create products, applications, and additional projects that benefit the company.
Technical program managers ensure projects remain on schedule and within the allotted budget, which could mean cutting costs as needed and delegating more staff to work on a program or perform other tasks to maintain the project parameters. Working with management executives, they regularly inspect and report the program's progress. They are responsible for tracking technical issues and finding solutions for problems that may arise. They review test code and designs frequently to ensure a program meets its goals. Technical program managers need a bachelor's degree in management, business administration, computer science, or related fields.
- Be the liaison between the product management and software development teams.
- Drive project execution from scoping through delivery.
- Partner with key team members to ensure visibility and alignment.
- Partner as a technical liaison between customers and engineering teams.
- Assist with recruiting, the hiring process, and growing the team.
- Communicate schedules, dependencies, issues, and risks across teams and to stakeholders.
- Support the development of strategic plans, goals, and objectives.
- Socialize ideas, make recommendations, develop plans, and gather consensus to move forward.
- Produce weekly status reports and attending weekly status meetings.
- Assess risks and identify solutions to timely, efficient achievement of program goals.
- Lead program scoping with architecture, engineering, and senior leaders.
- Keep senior executives and business teams updated on project timelines and results.
- Align the audience to organizational goals and outcomes, creates engagement and empower teams.
- Maintain a quarterly view of defined, prioritized, and scoped work.
- Creatively develop plans to mitigate any issues that affect the project deliverables.
- Support internal governing bodies including steering committees, investment review boards, and ad hoc or standing work groups.
- Lead and coordinate design/implementation efforts with internal teams and external partners.
- Bachelor's or Graduate's Degree in business, engineering, or computer science or equivalent experience.
- Participate in all Agile ceremonies including the daily SCRUM.
- Able to collaborate and lead where necessary.
- A critical thinker and problem solver.
- Sound business acumen and ability to prioritize tasks as appropriate.
- Strive for continuous improvement.
- Fluent in computing, Jira, R Language, and cloud computing.
- Fluent in machine learning practices.
- Can toggle between tasks such as interfacing and templating.
Technical Program Manager Salaries
Average Base Pay
Technical Program Manager Career Path
Learn how to become a Technical Program Manager, what skills and education you need to succeed, and what level of pay to expect at each step on your career path.
Years of Experience Distribution
Technical Program Manager Insights
Grab“Grab really promotes internal mobility and good place to work if you want to switch career path”
AUDIENCEX“Working on global brands has been really great for my credentials and my career as a whole.”
Amazon“The quantity and quality of the information available and the actual opportunities to advance one's career is nearly limitless.”
Ayehu“There are many great people to work with which you can turn to learn and always make forward progress.”
Oscar Health“You will work with some of the best software engineers I have ever had the pleasure of working with”
Amazon“So you will see folks are incorrect but won’t listen so we move forward that way.”
Amazon Web Services“Work life balance is good; I'm far less stressed than at my previous job.”
Amazon“The career growth is unparalleled and it does not matter if you have been at your position for six months or six years.”
Frequently asked questions about the role and responsibilities of a Technical Program Manager
When working as a Technical Program Manager, the most common skills you will need to perform your job and for career success are Deliverables, Load Balancing, Negotiation, MS SQL Server and PHD.
- Program Manager
- Global Program Manager
- Technical Project Manager
- Project Manager
The most common qualifications to become a Technical Program Manager is a minimum of a Bachelor's Degree and an average of 0 - 1 of experience not including years spent in education and/or training.