Role: Technical Program Manager, Platform Modernization
Duration: 6 Months (with potential to extend)
Location: Remote
             
Role Overview
We are looking for a seasoned Technical Program Manager (TPM) to drive the end-to-end execution of our platform modernization initiative — a high-visibility, multi-year transformation effort to re-architect and upgrade our core platform. This contract role sits at the intersection of engineering, architecture, and product, requiring someone who can translate technical complexity into clear program plans, manage dependencies across multiple engineering teams, and keep a large-scale modernization effort on track. The ideal candidate combines deep technical fluency with world-class program management discipline and has direct experience leading legacy platform migrations, re-architecture projects, or large-scale infrastructure modernization efforts.
 
Program Context
The platform modernization program encompasses multiple concurrent workstreams including service decomposition, data migration, API modernization, infrastructure uplift, and legacy system decommission. This is a complex, high-stakes initiative with broad organizational impact and executive visibility.
 
Key Responsibilities
Technical Program Leadership

• Own the integrated program plan for the platform modernization, spanning architecture, engineering, data, infrastructure, and testing workstreams.
• Define and manage program milestones, critical path dependencies, and delivery commitments across multiple engineering squads.
• Translate technical architecture decisions and engineering constraints into program-level impacts on scope, schedule, and risk.
• Drive technical discovery sessions, architecture reviews, and workstream planning to maintain program momentum.
• Partner closely with Engineering Leads, Architects, and Product Managers to ensure technical strategy is reflected in the delivery roadmap.

 
Risk & Dependency Management

• Identify, track, and actively manage technical risks, blockers, and cross-team dependencies.
• Develop and maintain risk registers and mitigation plans, escalating to senior leadership when program health is at risk.
• Proactively identify sequencing conflicts and integration risks across workstreams and drive resolution.
• Coordinate with vendors, infrastructure providers, and third-party partners where applicable.

 

• Stakeholder Communication & Governance
• Provide executive-level program reporting on progress, milestones, risks, and decisions required.
• Establish and run program governance forums including steering committees, working groups, and engineering sync rhythms.
• Communicate program status and impacts to business stakeholders across Product, Operations, and Customer Success.
• Maintain a clear RAID log (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies) and ensure timely resolution.

 
Cross-team Coordination

• Coordinate across multiple engineering teams working on concurrent modernization workstreams, ensuring alignment on shared services, APIs, and data contracts.
• Facilitate cross-team planning ceremonies (program increment planning, dependency mapping, retrospectives).
• Work with QA, Security, and Compliance teams to ensure the modernization meets quality, security, and regulatory requirements.
• Coordinate cutover planning, migration sequencing, and legacy system decommission activities.

 

• Process & Tooling
• Implement and maintain program dashboards, roadmaps, and reporting frameworks that provide real-time visibility into program health.
• Drive adoption of program management standards across engineering teams participating in the modernization.
• Maintain comprehensive program documentation including architecture decision records (ADRs), runbooks, and migration playbooks.

 
Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of Technical Program Management experience in software engineering or platform/infrastructure organizations.
• Direct, hands-on experience managing large-scale platform modernization, legacy migration, or re-architecture programs.
• Strong technical background — able to engage substantively with engineering teams on architecture, APIs, data models, and infrastructure concepts without requiring translation.
• Proven ability to manage programs with 5+ concurrent workstreams, multiple engineering teams, and complex interdependencies.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure modernization (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and cloud-native architectural patterns (microservices, event-driven, containers/Kubernetes).
• Proficiency with engineering program management tools: Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet, or equivalent.
• Excellent executive communication skills with demonstrated experience presenting program status to C-suite and VP-level stakeholders.
• Strong facilitation skills for cross-team planning, dependency resolution, and technical decision-making forums.

 
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) or other enterprise agile program management frameworks.
Background in data platform modernization, API gateway migration, or service mesh adoption.
Experience coordinating DevSecOps practices and security/compliance requirements within modernization programs.
Familiarity with database migration strategies (e.g., lift-and-shift, strangler fig, event sourcing).
PMP, PgMP, SAFe SPC, or equivalent certification.
Prior experience as a software engineer, solutions architect, or technical lead.
 
What Success Looks Like
The modernization program has a clear, credible integrated plan with milestones that are trusted by engineering and executive leadership alike.
Cross-team dependencies are visible, actively managed, and rarely become blockers.
Risks are surfaced early, mitigation plans are in place, and leadership is never surprised by program health.
Engineering teams feel supported and unblocked, spending more time on technical execution than on coordination overhead.
Key modernization milestones land on schedule with measurable improvement in platform reliability, scalability, or developer velocity.
  
 
At SPECTRAFORCE, we are committed to maintaining a workplace that ensures fair compensation and wage transparency in adherence with all applicable state and local laws.This position's pay range is $70.00/hr - $79.71/hr.