Program Management Fellow

500 WP Company LLC; Washington, Washington Township (District of Columbia, IN); On-site; USD 159,000 - 265,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision coverage

Company-paid pension and 401(k) match

Vacation and sick leave

Paid holidays and personal days

Parental leave

Mental health resources

Subsidized Post subscription

Job summary

The Washington Post is hiring a Program Management Fellow to define, implement, and continuously improve the operating processes used by Product and Engineering to plan, build, and ship their best work. The role focuses on the operating system that governs planning, design, development, launch, and learning, with a central emphasis on AI-enabled practices.

You will collaborate with senior leaders to translate roadmaps into executable plans, strengthen delivery discipline, and drive faster, more

Qualifications

• Significant experience in program management or product/engineering operations within complex tech orgs.

Responsibilities

• Define, implement, and continuously improve operating processes from roadmap to learning.
• Partner with Product and Engineering leadership to translate roadmaps into executable plans with clear ownership.
• Establish practices for planning, scoping, sequencing, dependency management, and retrospectives.
• Lead cross-functional programs and provide visibility into commitments, risks, and tradeoffs.
• Lead AI-enabled development lifecycle adoption across discovery, planning, design, development, testing, and documentation.

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional leadership

AI-enabled lifecycle

Delivery discipline

Strategic planning

Communication to senior leaders

Job description

Join the future of news

We’re on a mission to deliver riveting storytelling for all of America. At The Washington Post, you’ll help reinvent news. Our work is driven by a deep investigative spirit and enhanced by innovation to bring audiences closer to the stories that matter most.

About Our Team

The Washington Post is powered by the passion and talent of our people. It takes all of us to reinvent news. Beyond our award-winning News and Opinions teams, we work across many departments, including Brand & Events, Communications, Customer Care, Engineering & Product, Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Marketing & Advertising, Print Operations, and Sales.

Why This Role Matters

The Washington Post is seeking a Program Management Fellow to define, implement, and continuously improve the operating processes that enable Product and Engineering teams to plan, build, and ship their best work. This is a senior program-management leadership role focused on the Product and Engineering operating system: the practices, tools, decision rights, and operating rhythms that determine how work moves from strategy and roadmap planning through design, development, launch, and learning. The Program Management Fellow will identify where that system creates friction, strengthen delivery discipline and visibility, and lead improvements that help teams deliver more predictably and efficiently. Working closely with Product and Engineering leadership, this role will help translate roadmap priorities into executable plans while preserving Product Management's ownership of what we build and why. A central focus will be advancing an AI-enabled development lifecycle, identifying where AI can improve planning, development, testing, documentation, and operational work and embedding effective practices into how teams work. This position is based in Washington, D.C.

What Motivates You

You enjoy solving complex organizational and delivery problems and creating systems that help teams do their best work. You are energized by turning ambitious product roadmaps into clear, executable plans without adding unnecessary process or bureaucracy. You care about improving delivery speed and predictability by addressing root causes rather than simply tracking deadlines. You enjoy connecting work across Product, Engineering, Design, Data, and business teams and helping people navigate complex dependencies and tradeoffs. You are comfortable challenging existing processes and using evidence to determine what should be simplified, standardized, changed, or stopped. You believe strong program management creates clarity and accountability while enabling teams to move faster and make better decisions. You are excited by the potential for AI to fundamentally improve how product and engineering organizations plan, build, test, document, and operate. You enjoy influencing senior leaders and multidisciplinary teams through strong judgment, clear communication, and practical solutions.

How You'll Support the Mission

• Define, implement, and continuously improve the Product and Engineering operating processes that move work from roadmap through planning, design, development, launch, and learning.
• Partner closely with Product and Engineering leadership to translate roadmap priorities into clear, executable plans with appropriate sequencing, ownership, and accountability.
• Establish consistent and effective practices for planning, scoping, sequencing, dependency management, delivery reviews, and retrospectives.
• Lead program management for high-priority cross-functional initiatives involving multiple Product, Engineering, Design, Data, and business teams.
• Create clear visibility into commitments, progress, risks, capacity constraints, dependencies, and tradeoffs early enough for teams and leaders to act.
• Diagnose recurring causes of missed commitments, stalled work, inefficient handoffs, and delivery friction and lead practical changes that address underlying causes.
• Lead the implementation and adoption of an AI-enabled development lifecycle in partnership with Product and Engineering, embedding effective uses of AI across discovery, planning, design, development, testing, documentation, and operational work.
• Establish and monitor measures of delivery performance, including predictability, cycle time, throughput, quality, and the impact of process improvements.
• Lead regular reviews of Product and Engineering operating practices, using delivery evidence and team feedback to determine where processes should be simplified, standardized, improved, or eliminated.
• Build and strengthen program-management practices that create rigor, alignment, and accountability while avoiding unnecessary process and enabling teams to operate efficiently.

The Skills and Experience You Bring

Qualifications Significant experience in program management, technical program management, product operations, engineering operations, or a related discipline within complex product and technology organizations.

• Demonstrated experience leading large, complex, cross-functional programs involving Product, Engineering, Design, Data, and business stakeholders.
• Experience designing, implementing, or materially improving product-development or engineering operating processes at organizational scale.
• Strong understanding of modern product and software development lifecycles, including planning, scoping, sequencing, dependency management, development, testing, launch, and continuous improvement.
• Demonstrated ability to translate strategic priorities and roadmaps into clear execution plans, milestones, ownership, dependencies, and decision points.
• Experience identifying systemic delivery bottlenecks and root causes and leading process improvements that measurably improve execution.
• Experience establishing and using delivery metrics such as predictability, cycle time, throughput, quality, or comparable measures to evaluate organizational effectiveness.
• Strong cross-functional leadership and influencing skills, with the ability to drive alignment and accountability across teams without relying on direct authority.
• Strong judgment and the ability to balance delivery rigor, organizational complexity, team autonomy, and the risk of unnecessary process.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate progress, risks, tradeoffs, and recommendations clearly to senior leaders and multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience using or implementing AI-assisted workflows, automation, or emerging technologies to improve product development, engineering delivery, or organizational processes.
• Ability to operate independently in ambiguous environments, identify opportunities for improvement, and lead change from diagnosis through implementation and adoption.

Compensation and Benefits

• Competitive medical, dental and vision coverage
• Company-paid pension and 401(k) match
• Three weeks of vacation and up to three weeks of paid sick leave
• Nine paid holidays and two personal days
• 20 weeks paid parental leave for any new parent
• Robust mental health resources
• Backup care and caregiver concierge services
• Gender affirming services
• Pet insurance
• Free Post digital subscription
• Leadership and career development programs

Benefits may vary based on the job, full-time or part-time schedule, location, and collectively bargained status.

The salary range for this position is: $159,100 - $265,100 Annual

The actual salary within this range will depend on individual skills, experience, and qualifications as they relate to specific job requirements.

This position may be eligible for a bonus or incentive program, and a member of the Talent Acquisition team will discuss bonus payment terms and conditions during the interview process.

Collaboration makes us stronger.

That’s why our offices are designed with open layouts, modern technology, and easy access to transportation. With certain exceptions for newsgathering and business travel, we work on-site five days a week.

We’re on a mission to deliver riveting storytelling for all of America. At The Washington Post, you’ll help reinvent news. Our work is driven by a deep investigative spirit and enhanced by innovation to bring audiences closer to the stories that matter most. We are powered by the passion and talent of our people. It takes all of us. Join the future of news.