Agile Program Manager

Free resume; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Toptal is seeking an experienced Agile Program Manager to lead delivery across multiple cross-functional teams. You’ll translate roadmaps into coordinated, predictable delivery, manage dependencies, and ensure the right decisions are made at the right time.

This hands-on role owns cadence, planning, and risk across several Agile teams, acting as the trusted source for stakeholders on program status and health. Experience with distributed teams and senior partner collaboration is essential.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in program or project management, with 5+ years in Agile delivery.
• Proven track record managing multi-team programs from planning through release.
• Deep knowledge of Scrum and Kanban; experience with scaling frameworks.
• Strong command of Agile tooling and program-level reporting.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end delivery of a multi-team program across three or more Agile teams.
• Run program-level planning, including quarterly/PI planning and release planning.
• Identify and manage cross-team dependencies, risks, and blockers with clear options.
• Facilitate Scrum of Scrums, program syncs, demos, and retrospectives to drive decisions.

Skills

Agile program management

Multi-team delivery

Scrum/Kanban knowledge

Stakeholder communication

Roadmap alignment

Risk management

Facilitation

Distributed teams

English communication

Tools

Jira

Jira Align

Azure DevOps

Rally

Job description

Toptal · Anywhere in the World, United States · Posted 1d ago

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Job Description

We're looking for an experienced Agile Program Manager to lead delivery across multiple cross-functional teams working toward a shared set of business outcomes. You'll sit at the intersection of strategy and execution: translating roadmap priorities into coordinated, predictable delivery, keeping dependencies visible, and making sure the right people are making the right decisions at the right time.

This is a hands‑on program role, not a status‑reporting one. You'll own the cadence, the plan, and the risks across several Agile teams, and you'll be the person stakeholders trust to tell them where things really stand.

What You'll Do

• Lead end-to-end delivery of a multi-team program, coordinating three or more Agile teams (Scrum, Kanban, or hybrid) toward shared quarterly objectives.
• Run program-level planning, including quarterly/PI planning, roadmap alignment, capacity planning, and release planning.
• Identify, map, and actively manage cross-team dependencies, risks, and blockers, escalating early and with clear options.
• Facilitate program ceremonies such as Scrum of Scrums, program syncs, system demos, and retrospectives, and make sure they produce decisions, not just updates.
• Partner with Product Owners and Product Managers to keep backlogs prioritized, refined, and aligned to business value.
• Build and maintain program-level reporting: delivery health, burn‑up/velocity trends, OKR or objective progress, and RAID logs, tailored for both team‑level and executive audiences.
• Drive continuous improvement in delivery practices, tooling, and team workflows, coaching teams and leaders on Agile principles where needed.
• Manage stakeholder communication across engineering, product, design, business, and leadership, keeping expectations aligned as scope and priorities shift.
• Track program budget, resourcing, and vendor or third‑party deliverables where applicable.

What You Bring

• 8+ years of experience in program or project management, with at least 5 years leading delivery in Agile environments.
• Proven track record managing multi-team programs (not just single‑team Scrum) from planning through release.
• Deep, practical knowledge of Scrum and Kanban, plus experience with at least one scaling framework (SAFe, LeSS, Scrum@Scale, or similar).
• Strong command of Agile tooling such as Jira, Jira Align, Azure DevOps, Rally, or equivalent, including building dashboards and program-level reporting.
• Excellent facilitation skills: you can run a 50‑person planning event as comfortably as a tense 1:1 escalation.
• Clear, concise written and verbal communication in English, with the ability to tailor the message for engineers and executives alike.
• Experience working with distributed or remote teams across time zones.
• Comfort operating with ambiguity: you can stand up structure where there is none and adapt it as the program evolves.

Nice to Have

• Agile or program management certifications such as SAFe RTE, SAFe SPC, PMI-ACP, PgMP, PMP, CSM/CSP, or ICAgile.
• Experience with Agile transformations or introducing scaled frameworks into an organization.
• Background in software, SaaS, data, or digital product delivery.
• Familiarity with OKRs and value-stream or portfolio management.
• Experience in regulated industries (financial services, healthcare, insurance, public sector) where Agile delivery coexists with compliance requirements.
• Budget and vendor management experience on programs with multiple delivery partners.