Program Director

cognizant technologies; Irving (TX); On-site; USD 156,500 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

401(k) plan

Paid holidays and Paid Time Off

Paid Parental Leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Job summary

A leading technology services provider is seeking a Program Director located in Irving, TX, to manage large-scale software development projects. The ideal candidate will have over 7 years of experience in technology project management, demonstrate strong leadership skills, and be proficient in Agile techniques. This role involves overseeing team deliverables, coordinating with various functions, and ensuring high-quality system development. Competitive salary ranging from $156,500 to $195,000 per year, plus benefits including insurance and paid time off.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of technology project management experience in software development.
• Excellent understanding of software development processes.
• Knowledge of Lean and Agile practices.
• Experience in release management.

Responsibilities

• Inspire and motivate team members to achieve delivery goals.
• Coordinate operational readiness and oversee software release activities.
• Build a trusting environment for addressing problems.
• Facilitate Agile ceremonies and assess team maturity.

Skills

Leadership

Project Management

Communication Skills

Agile Methodologies

Analytical Skills

Software Development Knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, IT, Business Administration, or Economics

Tools

JIRA

Confluence

Job description

Program Director

Roles/Responsibilities:

• Possess strong leadership skills to inspire, motivate, and guide team members to achieving their delivery goals.
• Have a strong business and technical background in the software development life cycle. Your background will help guide the team, solve technical challenges, and make informed decisions.
• Guide and participate with the team to get to educated estimates leveraging your project delivery and solution design experience.
• Work with a team to identify roadmap/feature dependencies and impediments.
• Be accountable for tracking the dependencies and impediments and removing them to enable the team: surface, track, escape.
• Facilitate discussion, decision making, and conflict resolution.
• Build a trusting and safe environment where problems can be raised and resolved.
• Assist in the identification and mitigation of project risks before they become issues.
• Identify and act on coaching opportunities at the individual and team level.
• Conduct regular assessments of the team’s Agile Maturity and use the results to guide them to improved performance.
• Facilitate agile ceremonies (Daily Scrum, Backlog Refinement, Sprint Planning, Sprint Review, and Retrospective) and longer-term planning exercises (Release Planning, Release Train Planning).
• Be an expert in estimating and planning.
• Build useful, reliable, and practical plans for software development projects.
• Coordinate operational readiness activities with associated teams (security, infrastructure, network, etc.).
• Oversee and coordinate software release activities.
• Actively participate and help in timely decision making in defining product backlog (working with Product Owner, Business Analyst); alignment to overall product architecture, and technical design (working with Architect and Tech Leads).
• Effectively communicate with business functions, analysis, development, and quality assurance teams to align technology solutions with business needs.
• Manage and drive the delivery of external vendor dependencies to ensure project milestones are met.
• Drive accountability across internal project team members, business functional areas, external project teams, and external vendors.
• Have a keen attention to detail to enable collaboration with various teams to ensure high quality of systems being developed and deployed.
• Propose solutions and alternatives to internal and external stakeholders to enable the most effective process and solution to be implemented.

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years of technology project management experience leading large cross-functional/cross-regional teams on major organizational projects primarily dealing with software development releases.
• Excellent knowledge of software development processes and procedures to understand the team needs.
• Excellent communication skills to deliver presentations at an executive and project team level.
• Knowledge of Lean practices, eliminating waste, focusing on value delivery, small batch production, frequent delivery of working software, adapting to change.
• Understanding of Agile practices such as backlog grooming, Scrum and Kanban based delivery, task definition, story splitting, etc.
• Demonstrated high level of analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Working experience in JIRA/Confluence.
• Hands‑on experience leading release management activities for successful delivery of product launches.
• Ability to contextualize the bigger picture across the business landscape to set a strategy and execute on that plan across projects and products.
• Ability to drive the execution of deliverables across the team through strong time management, organization, and communication skills.
• Knowledge of how the Asset Management and Wealth Management business operates and key concepts, such as:
• Master Data Management (Security, Client, Position, Transaction, etc.)
• Client Lifecycle Management (Onboarding, Servicing, etc.)
• Client Reporting & Portal
• Investment Performance & Benchmarking
• Portfolio Management (Asset Allocation, Risk Management, Rebalancing, etc.)
• Trading Lifecycle (Order Management, Execution, Settlements, etc.)
• Investment Operations (Reconciliation, Trade Support, Account Servicing, etc.)
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Information Technology, Business Administration, Economics, or a related field is preferred. A Master’s degree or relevant certifications (e.g., CFA) is a plus.

Exact Job Location/Studio/Work Address Primary Location: Irving, TX

Secondary Location: Tampa FL, Basking Bridge NJ, Alpharetta GA

Salary and Other Compensation:

The annual salary for this position is between $156,500k - $195k depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program and stock awards, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.

Benefits:

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
• 401(k) plan and contributions
• Long-term/Short-term Disability
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.

Cognizant is an Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V. Cognizant is committed to ensuring that all current and prospective associates are afforded equal opportunities and treatment and a work environment free of harassment.

Cognizant is recognized as a Military Friendly Employer and is a coalition member of the Veteran Jobs Mission. Our Cognizant Veterans Network Assists Veterans in building and growing a career at Cognizant that allows them to demonstrate the leadership, dedication, integrity, and commitment to excellence instilled in them through participation in military service.

About us:

Cognizant is one of the world's leading professional services companies, transforming clients' business, operating, and technology models for the digital era. Our unique industry‑based, consultative approach helps clients envision, build, and run more innovative and efficient businesses. Headquartered in the U.S., Cognizant (a member of the NASDAQ‑100 and one of Forbes World’s Best Employers 2024) is consistently listed among the most admired companies in the world. Learn how Cognizant helps clients lead with digital at www.cognizant.com

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion:
Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer that embraces diversity, champions equity and values inclusion. We are dedicated to nurturing a community where everyone feels heard, accepted and welcome. Your application and candidacy will not be considered based on race, color, sex, religion, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state or local laws.

Disclaimer: Compensation information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.

Applicants may be required to attend interviews in person or by video conference. In addition, candidates may be required to present their current state or government issued ID during each interview.