Lead Technical Program Manager
Job description
Lead Technical Program Manager
Location: Remote with some travel expected 1 - 3 times a year
Department: Product and Technology
Reports To: Director of Program Management
Hours: Available for synchronous collaboration 3pm - 8pm UTC
About the Role
We are looking for an experienced and strong Technical Program Manager (TPgM) to drive critical cross-functional and cross-departmental programs, ensure strategic alignment of the work, and guide teams toward impactful outcomes.
In this role, you’ll be both a trusted thought partner and a hands-on execution-oriented driver, enabling teams to deliver complex programs with clarity, efficiency, and measurable results. We are looking for someone with a proven ability to build strong relationships and align diverse stakeholders around shared objectives. The role requires comfort navigating ambiguity independently.
We are specifically looking for a TPgM with demonstrated technical depth, and a proven track record of working with and partnering with large, complex technology organizations.
Key Responsibilities
Program Leadership & Delivery
- Drive planning, coordination, and execution of initiatives across teams and departments.
- Track, support, and enable teams to deliver meaningful impact; establish clear metrics and/or milestones to measure success.
- Facilitate and improve - at a program level - the team practices, workflows, and processes.
Strategic Planning & Capacity Management
- Lead capacity planning exercises, identify gaps and make recommendations for resource allocation or escalation as needed.
- Partner with Product and Technology leadership and program stakeholders to align priorities with strategic objectives and operational realities.
Risk, Issue & Dependency Management
- Proactively identify risks, issues, and cross-functional dependencies (especially with
- Legal and Communications), and develop management, mitigation or escalation plans.
- Resolve conflicts and ensure smooth collaboration across teams.
- Partner with engineering to evaluate technical tradeoffs, identify architectural risks, and guide decisions that balance speed, scalability, and quality.
Stakeholder & Relationship Management
- Build and maintain strong relationships with diverse internal and external stakeholders, including the volunteer community where required; communicate effectively, "read the room" and tailor engagement to context.
- Act as a strategic thought partner by asking the right questions, sensing partnership needs, and fostering productive dialogues.
Program Operations & Reporting
- Manage program-level operations such as scheduling, coordination, reporting, and meeting facilitation.
- Maintain strong documentation and transparent reporting structures, ensuring visibility across all stakeholders.
- Evaluate success against metrics and milestones, and ensure clear communication of that in reporting.
Enablement & Training
- Conduct training and coaching for program stakeholders on programmatic tools, processes, and best practices.
- Promote understanding and adoption of scalable program management practices across the department.
- Mentor and support other TPgMs.
Narrative & Communication
- Tell the story of complex work streams clearly and simply, highlighting the why, the how, and the impact.
- Serve as an effective nudger - keeping the right level of accountability without micromanagement.
Qualifications
- 8+ years of experience in Technical Program Management or a related field, preferably in a product-driven or engineering-led organization.
- Strong systems thinking, organizational, and analytical skills.
- Proven success managing complex programs with multiple stakeholders.
- Expertise in risk management, capacity planning, and strategic alignment.
- Exceptional communication and relationship-building abilities.
- Comfort with ambiguity and a bias for action.
- Experience working with Legal, Communications, and other business-critical functions outside of Product & Technology.
About the Wikimedia Foundation
The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia free knowledge projects. Our vision is a world in which every single human can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. We believe that everyone has the potential to contribute something to our shared knowledge, and that everyone should be able to access that knowledge freely. We host Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, build software experiences for reading, contributing, and sharing Wikimedia content, support the volunteer communities and partners who make Wikimedia possible, and advocate for policies that enable Wikimedia and free knowledge to thrive.
The Wikimedia Foundation is a charitable, not-for-profit organization that relies on donations. We receive donations from millions of individuals around the world, with an average donation of about $15. We also receive donations through institutional grants and gifts. The Wikimedia Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California, USA.
As an equal opportunity employer, the Wikimedia Foundation values having a diverse workforce and continuously strives to maintain an inclusive and equitable workplace. We encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate against any person based upon their race, traits historically associated with race, religion, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy or related medical conditions, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristics.
The Wikimedia Foundation is a remote-first organization with staff members including contractors based 40+ countries*. Salaries at the Wikimedia Foundation are set in a way that is competitive, equitable, and consistent with our values and culture. The anticipated annual pay range of this position for applicants based within the United States is US$126,234 to US$192,381 with multiple individualized factors, including cost of living in the location, being the determinants of the offered pay. For applicants located outside of the US, the pay range will be adjusted to the country of hire. We neither ask for nor take into consideration the salary history of applicants. The compensation for a successful applicant will be based on their skills, experience and location.
*Please note that we are currently able to hire in the following:
US States: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico*, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming (*US Territory or Federal District)
Countries: Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya*, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore*, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Our non-US employees are hired through a local third party Employer of Record (EOR) and must have current work authorization in their location. (*citizens/permanent residents only)
We periodically review this list to streamline to ensure alignment with our hiring requirements.
All applicants can reach out to their recruiter to understand more about the specific pay range for their location during the interview process.
If you are a qualified applicant requiring assistance or an accommodation to complete any step of the application process due to a disability, you may contact us at [email protected] or +1 (415) 839-6885.
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