Technical Project Manager/Scrum Master

The Technical Project Manager (TPM) is responsible for leading the planning, execution, and delivery of complex technical projects within product and technology organization. Serving as the critical bridge between business strategy and technical execution, the TPM orchestrates cross-functional collaboration among product managers, product owners, engineering managers, software engineers, and QA teams to deliver high-quality technical solutions that drive business value. The ideal candidate brings a balanced blend of technical depth and project management excellence, with proven ability to navigate complex technical landscapes while maintaining focus on business outcomes. You will be responsible for managing multiple concurrent projects, driving agile delivery practices, and ensuring seamless communication across technical and business stakeholders.

This role requires someone who can dive into technical details with engineering teams while articulating business impact to executives, all while maintaining rigorous project discipline and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Project Planning & Execution (25%)

Strategic Project Planning

Define comprehensive project scope, objectives, success criteria, and deliverables aligned with business strategy and technical requirements

Develop detailed project plans including work breakdown structures, schedules, resource allocation, budget estimates, and dependency mapping

Establish project governance structure with clear decision rights, escalation paths, and approval gates

Create realistic timelines incorporating technical complexity, resource constraints, and risk factors

Define and track key project milestones, deliverables, and quality gates

Execution & Delivery Management

Coordinate and monitor project progress across multiple workstreams and technical teams

Track project performance against baseline using earned value management and agile metrics

Conduct regular status reviews with project teams and stakeholders

Manage project changes through formal change control processes

Ensure smooth handoffs between project phases and successful transition to production

Lead project retrospectives capturing lessons learned and implementing improvements

Resource & Budget Management

Forecast and secure necessary technical resources (engineers, architects, QA, DevOps)

Manage project budgets including labor costs, infrastructure, licensing, and vendor expenses

Partner with software architects and technical leads to understand system architecture, technical constraints, and design decisions

Facilitate technical design reviews ensuring scalability, performance, security, and maintainability requirements are met

Coordinate integration planning across multiple systems, APIs, and microservices

Work with DevOps teams on CI/CD pipeline, deployment strategies, and infrastructure provisioning

Understand cloud architecture (AWS, Azure, GCP) and infrastructure implications on project timelines

Technical Requirements Management

Ensure technical requirements are complete, testable, and traceable through implementation

Facilitate technical feasibility assessments and proof-of-concept planning

Coordinate API design, data model definitions, and integration specifications

Act as primary liaison between product management and engineering teams

Translate technical complexities into business language for non-technical stakeholders

Champion engineering best practices including code reviews, automated testing, and documentation

Technical Risk Assessment

Identify technical risks including architectural complexity, technology maturity, and integration challenges

Collaborate with architects and senior engineers on risk mitigation strategies

Assess impact of technical decisions on project schedule, cost, and quality

Monitor technical health indicators (code quality, test coverage, performance metrics)

Stakeholder Management & Communication (20%)

Build strong working relationships with product managers aligning project execution with product strategy and roadmap

Partner with product owners ensuring backlog prioritization supports project milestones

Collaborate with engineering managers on resource planning, capacity management, and team velocity

Coordinate with QA leadership on test strategy, automation, and quality metrics

Work with release management on deployment planning and production readiness

Executive & Leadership Communication

Prepare and deliver executive status reports with Red/Yellow/Green health indicators and trend analysis

Present to senior leadership on project progress, risks, and strategic decisions needed

Translate technical details into business impact for executive audiences

Build credibility with leadership through transparency, data-driven insights, and proactive communication

Stakeholder Expectation Management

Conduct stakeholder analysis identifying interests, influence, and communication preferences

Create clear, concise project communication including status reports, dashboards, and presentations

Maintain project wiki/Confluence spaces with current documentation accessible to all stakeholders

Agile Project Management & Delivery (15%)

Agile Methodology Implementation

Drive agile/scrum practices within project teams ensuring adherence to sprint cycles and agile principles

Tailor agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe) to project context and organizational maturity

Balance agile flexibility with project predictability providing reliable delivery commitments

Champion agile values of transparency, inspection, and adaptation

Support Product Owners in effective backlog management and prioritization

Foster agile mindset across teams emphasizing collaboration and iterative delivery

Agile Ceremony Facilitation

Facilitate or coordinate sprint planning sessions ensuring realistic commitments and clear sprint goals

Support daily stand-ups keeping teams focused and identifying blockers quickly

Participate in sprint reviews providing project context and stakeholder perspective

Coordinate Program Increment (PI) planning in scaled agile environments

Agile Metrics & Performance

Report on agile health metrics (escaped defects, technical debt, automation coverage)

Balance speed with quality ensuring sustainable pace and technical excellence

Experiment with new agile practices and tools measuring effectiveness

Share best practices across project teams and engineering organization

Facilitate problem-solving sessions using root cause analysis techniques

Risk Management & Problem Solving (10%)

Proactive Risk Management

Identify, assess, and prioritize project risks across technical, schedule, resource, and organizational dimensions

Develop comprehensive risk mitigation and contingency plans

Maintain risk register with probability/impact analysis and mitigation status

Monitor risk triggers and execute response plans proactively

Escalate risks appropriately providing leadership with options and recommendations

Conduct 'pre-mortem' exercises anticipating potential failures and planning prevention

Balance risk mitigation with acceptable risk-taking enabling innovation

Rapidly identify and triage issues impacting project progress

Facilitate root cause analysis and problem-solving sessions with cross-functional teams

Manage critical production issues during project deployment and stabilization

Document issues and resolutions building organizational knowledge

Challenge technical assumptions and push for creative solutions

Support teams through difficult technical challenges providing encouragement and resources

Quality Assurance & Compliance (5%)

Quality Management

Ensure all deliverables meet quality standards and acceptance criteria

Collaborate with QA teams integrating testing throughout project lifecycle (shift-left testing)

Define test strategy including unit, integration, system, performance, and security testing

Track quality metrics including defect density, test coverage, and escaped defects

Ensure adequate test environments and data availability supporting quality objectives

Balance speed-to-market with quality and technical debt management

Champion non-functional requirements (performance, security, scalability, maintainability)

Ensure projects comply with company policies, standards, and regulatory requirements

Coordinate with Information Security on security reviews, threat modeling, and vulnerability remediation

Support audit activities providing documentation and evidence of controls

Ensure change management and production deployment approvals

Maintain project artifacts per retention policies and governance frameworks

Implement controls ensuring data privacy, confidentiality, and regulatory compliance

Coordinate with infrastructure, monitoring, and support teams on go-live planning

Develop rollback and contingency plans for deployment risks

Ensure runbooks, operational documentation, and knowledge transfer to support teams

Monitor post-deployment stability and coordinate rapid issue resolution

Facilitate lessons learned capturing deployment insights for future improvements

Experience

• 6-8 years of progressive experience in technical project management, software engineering, or related technical roles
• Minimum 3-4 years managing complex technical projects in Hybrid environments
• Proven track record delivering software products or platforms from conception through production deployment
• Experience working directly with software engineering teams managing full SDLC
• Financial services or regulated industry experience highly preferred

Software Development & Architecture

Solid understanding of software development lifecycle (SDLC) and methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, DevOps)

Working knowledge of modern software architecture patterns (microservices, APIs, event-driven, serverless)

Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and cloud-native development

Understanding of CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and DevOps practices

Knowledge of software engineering best practices (code reviews, TDD, refactoring, technical debt management)

Understanding of data architecture, databases (SQL/NoSQL), and data integration patterns

Hands-on experience with project management tools: Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zoom

Experience with version control concepts (Git/GitHub/Bitbucket)

Understanding of monitoring, logging, and observability tools (Splunk, Datadog, New Relic)

Knowledge of test management and automation frameworks

Project Management Expertise

Strong command of project management methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, traditional/waterfall)

Proficiency creating project plans, schedules, WBS, and Gantt charts (MS Project, Smartsheet)

Budget management and financial tracking capabilities

Risk management frameworks and techniques

Change management and stakeholder engagement practices

Earned value management and project performance measurement

Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) or Professional Scrum Master (PSM)

PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)

Technical Experience

Hands-on software development or engineering background (even if not current role)

Experience with APIs, RESTful services, and microservices architecture

Knowledge of cloud technologies and cloud migration projects

Exposure to data engineering, analytics, or ML/AI projects

Understanding of cybersecurity and compliance requirements in financial services

Domain Experience

Financial services industry knowledge (retirement plans, investments, insurance, banking)

Product management or product ownership experience

Experience in product-led organizations with dual-track agile

Background in digital transformation or platform modernization initiatives

Customer-facing product development with UX/UI considerations