Senior 2 Technical Program Manager, AI Native Operating Model - HYBRID (Seattle, WA)

Nordstrom; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 166,000 - 258,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Vision, Dental

Retirement

Merchandise Discount

EAP Resources

Job summary

Nordstrom is seeking a Senior Technical Program Manager to bring order and rigor to our AI-native transformation within Nordstrom Technology. You'll translate aligned but evolving directions into concrete plans, runbooks, and measurable outcomes across engineering and business partners.

This senior, individual-contributor role partners with engineering leaders to define metrics, sequencing, and reporting. You’ll shepherd delivery speed, production stability, and adoption of new practices while

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in technical program management.
• Experience leading large-scale, cross-functional transformation programs.
• Experience helping engineering teams adopt AI-assisted development tools.
• Demonstrated ability to execute with ambiguity and deliver measurable process changes.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day sequencing of new processes under the operating model.
• Define thresholds and process ownership as items are resolved.
• Adjust plans as the model evolves and communicate changes.
• Pilot new processes with a subset of teams and refine.
• Drive change management, communications, and adoption tracking.
• Define and stand-up key metrics and reporting for leadership visibility.

Skills

Strategic thinker

Portfolio thinking

Technical fluency with CI/CD pipelines

Data-driven decision-making

Effective communicator

Cross-functional collaboration

Change management

Mentoring others

Stakeholder management

Delivery-focused

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Business, Computer Science, Engineering

Tools

CI/CD pipelines

Deployment gating

Observability

Vulnerability management

Patch management

Job description

Nordstrom isn't just another job, it's a career. We are a leading fashion retailer that has offered the very best of what is on trend for men, women, and children since 1901. We believe in rewarding outstanding work, developing employees' careers, and building long-term relationships with our customers.

Nordstrom Technology is moving to an AI Native operating model, and we're rebuilding the processes, tools, and standards our engineering teams use to build and ship software - without sacrificing quality or stability as speed increases. We need a Senior 2 Technical Program Manager to bring order and rigor to this transformation while it's still taking shape: someone who can turn a direction that's aligned but not yet fully defined into working processes, clear metrics, and day-to-day discipline that both leadership and engineering teams can rely on.

This is a senior, individual-contributor role. You'll partner closely with engineering and business leaders as we evolve how engineering teams work - sequencing process changes, building the metrics and reporting that make progress visible, and helping teams adopt new ways of working while some specifics are still being resolved. It's a delivery-focused role: you're measured by what gets built, adopted, and running well. Once a phase is delivered and operating on its own, you'll move to the next priority that needs the same focus.

You'll be part of the Technology Portfolio & Operations team, working closely with engineering leaders and cross-functional partners across the business. Success in this role looks less like any single deliverable and more like engineering teams operating with rigor and metrics that leadership can trust as new practices take hold.

Who You Are…

• A strategic thinker who understands how your work connects to the broader organization's goals and can spot trends and issues that will matter down the road
• A blend of portfolio thinker and hands-on operator, technically fluent enough to be credible with engineering platform teams (CI/CD pipelines, deployment gating, observability, vulnerability and patch management): you can build a rollout sequence and a capacity plan, and you can also sit with a team to work through a deployment gate failure or delivery blocker
• Comfortable operationalizing an aligned direction rather than just planning it: turning it into working processes, runbooks, and team habits
• A finisher who keeps a program focused on results: ships durable progress, helps others push through setbacks, and creates urgency without creating chaos, rather than staying attached to any one program indefinitely
• Comfortable managing complexity and owning work before every detail is settled; moving forward against an aligned direction while open items like thresholds and process ownership are still being resolved, testing new approaches without waiting for a perfect playbook, and adjusting course based on what the data shows
• Direct enough to raise hard issues, push back when necessary, and make an unpopular call when it's the right one
• A trust-builder who puts the organization's needs first and is consistent in following through on commitments
• A data-driven decision-maker who acts under uncertainty, knows when to elevate, and can build and defend a measurement approach (for example, end-to-end delivery speed and production stability) that multiple teams are held accountable to
• A communicator and influencer without formal authority who tailors style and content to different audiences - moving comfortably between a steering committee update and a technical working session - builds consensus across engineering, security, and architecture teams, and navigates the sensitivities that come with significant change
• A team-builder and developer of people who brings together different perspectives and styles, makes sure everyone understands their role in delivering results, and coaches others through candid feedback and stretch opportunities

A day in the life…

• Own the day-to-day sequencing of how we roll out new processes and practices under the modern engineering operating model, translating a direction that's aligned in principle but not yet fully specified into concrete plans and checkpoints
• Make sound judgment calls on open items, such as thresholds and process ownership, as they get resolved, rather than waiting for total clarity before making progress
• Adjust plans as the model itself evolves, and communicate those changes clearly so teams aren't caught off guard
• Pilot new processes with a small set of teams first, gather feedback, and refine before rolling out more broadly
• Drive change management for the operating model itself, communications, training, and adoption tracking, as its own deliverable
• Partner with leadership to define and stand-up key metrics and reporting structure that provide leadership visibility into how the transformation is progressing
• Translate qualitative goals, such as moving faster or reducing risk, into concrete, trackable measures that teams can be held to
• Build the operational cadence, reviews, checkpoints, escalation paths, and reporting rhythms, that make the new way of working durable rather than a one-time push
• Track engineering delivery metrics, such as deployment frequency, lead time for change, change failure rate, and mean time to restore, alongside AI-adoption and process-health indicators
• Partner with engineering and business leaders to align on priorities and sequence trade-offs, building consensus without formal authority
• Be a clear, credible voice with senior leadership on status, risk, and decisions, and with individual teams on what's happening in practice
• Communicate clearly about why our processes are evolving, and help teams adopt new practices with confidence
• Anticipate risks and bottlenecks early, and coordinate across teams to manage dependencies that cross organizational boundaries
• Track and elevate systemic issues before they become bigger problems
• Weigh security, compliance, and platform constraints against delivery speed and team capacity
• Map dependencies across the engineering toolchain, source control, CI/CD, ticketing, and observability platforms, to spot cross-system ripple effects
• Mentor other program managers and cross-functional partners supporting the transformation, helping them build both planning skills and the judgment to operate effectively through ambiguity

You own this if you have…

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Business, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; will accept any suitable combination of education, experience, and training
• 10+ years of experience in technical program management with a proven track record leading large-scale, high-impact, cross-functional programs
• Demonstrated experience leading teams through significant process transformation, including periods where the plan itself was still evolving
• Experience helping engineering teams adopt AI-assisted development tools and practices, and turning that adoption into measurable, durable process change
• A demonstrated bias for execution: a track record of delivering defined phases of work to completion, then moving on to the next priority that needs the same focus
• A strong track record building measurement approaches and operational reporting that hold up under scrutiny and that leadership can act on
• Comfort making sound decisions and sustaining progress while open items are still being resolved
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build agreement and influence outcomes without formal authority
• Experience mentoring program managers and other cross-functional collaborators, and building organizational capability
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills, comfortable using data to back up decisions and recommendations
• Familiarity with modern software delivery practices (for example, CI/CD, release management, observability) sufficient to be credible with engineering partners; this is not a hands‑on engineering role
• Experience leading organizational change management for technology or process transformations
• Experience with both waterfall and agile delivery models
• Familiarity with portfolio management and collaboration tools
• Background in retail or technology operations environments (preferred)
• Experience with large-scale technology modernization or transformation initiatives (preferred)

Pay Range Details

The pay range(s) below has been provided in compliance with state specific laws. Pay ranges may be different for other locations.

Pay offers are dependent on the location, as well as job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

$166,000.00 - $258,000.00 Annual

We’ve got you covered…

Benefits

Our employees are our most important asset and that's reflected in our benefits. Nordstrom is proud to offer a variety of benefits to support employees and their families, including:

• Medical/Vision, Dental, Retirement and Paid Time Away
• Life Insurance and Disability
• Merchandise Discount and EAP Resources

This position may be eligible for performance-based incentives/bonuses. Benefits include 401k, medical/vision/dental/life/disability insurance options, PTO accruals, Holidays, and more. Eligibility requirements may apply based on location, job level, classification, and length of employment. Learn more in the Nordstrom Benefits Overview by copying and pasting the following URL into your browser: https://careers.nordstrom.com/pdfs/Ben_Overview_17-19.pdf

A few more important points...

The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It's not all-inclusive. There may be additional duties, responsibilities and qualifications for this job.

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