Senior Engineering Program Manager

Rafay Systems; Northern (KY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

a fun and dynamic work environment

a competitive salary

robust benefits

attractive stock options

Job summary

Rafay Systems in the United States seeks a Senior Engineering Program Manager to lead cross-functional engineering programs from concept to delivery. You will partner with Engineering, Product, Architecture, Operations, Quality, and Security to translate strategy into executable plans and drive high-quality outcomes.

The ideal candidate brings strong technical understanding, program leadership, and the ability to navigate ambiguity while providing clear visibility to senior leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of experience in Engineering Program Management, Technical Program Management, Product Development, Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience leading large-scale, cross-functional engineering programs with multiple dependencies and stakeholder organizations.
• Strong understanding of the software and/or hardware product development lifecycle.
• Ability to understand system architecture, engineering designs, technical dependencies, and development trade-offs.
• Proven ability to develop program plans and drive teams against milestones and measurable outcomes.
• Strong risk, dependency, issue, and change-management capabilities.
• Experience working with Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, or hybrid development methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end execution of large, technically complex engineering programs involving multiple teams and workstreams.
• Develop and maintain integrated program plans, roadmaps, milestones, schedules, dependencies, and critical paths.
• Partner with engineering and product leaders to define program scope, requirements, priorities, deliverables, and success criteria.
• Drive cross-functional alignment across Engineering, Product, Architecture, Operations, Quality, Security, and other stakeholder organizations.
• Identify technical, schedule, resource, and organizational risks early and drive mitigation and contingency plans.
• Facilitate technical reviews, requirements discussions, planning sessions, program reviews, and executive decision-making.
• Track execution against commitments and proactively resolve blockers, dependencies, and conflicting priorities.
• Establish effective program governance, operating rhythms, status reporting, escalation mechanisms, and decision frameworks.
• Translate complex engineering issues into clear business impacts, options, trade-offs, and recommendations.
• Provide concise program updates to directors, VPs, and executive stakeholders.
• Partner with engineering leadership on resource planning, capacity constraints, sequencing, and prioritization.
• Define and monitor program KPIs covering schedule, quality, execution, readiness, risk, and business outcomes.
• Drive launch/readiness activities and ensure appropriate validation, operational readiness, and stakeholder sign-offs.
• Lead retrospectives and implement improvements to engineering planning and execution processes.
• Mentor program managers and contribute to improving program-management standards, tools, and best practices across the organization.
• Influence teams and senior stakeholders effectively without relying on direct reporting authority.

Skills

Engineering PM experience

Cross-functional leadership

Program planning

Risk management

Agile/Scrum/Waterfall

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical field

Tools

none

Job description

Full Time

U.S.

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Senior Engineering Program Manager (Sr. EPM) to lead complex, cross-functional engineering programs from concept through delivery. This role partners closely with Engineering, Product Management, Architecture, Operations, Quality, and other business functions to translate strategic objectives into executable plans and drive predictable, high-quality outcomes.

The ideal candidate combines strong technical understanding with exceptional program leadership. You will operate effectively in ambiguous environments, identify dependencies and risks early, facilitate technical and business decisions, and provide clear visibility to senior leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end execution of large, technically complex engineering programs involving multiple teams and workstreams.


• Develop and maintain integrated program plans, roadmaps, milestones, schedules, dependencies, and critical paths.


• Partner with engineering and product leaders to define program scope, requirements, priorities, deliverables, and success criteria.


• Drive cross-functional alignment across Engineering, Product, Architecture, Operations, Quality, Security, and other stakeholder organizations.


• Identify technical, schedule, resource, and organizational risks early and drive mitigation and contingency plans.


• Facilitate technical reviews, requirements discussions, planning sessions, program reviews, and executive decision-making.


• Track execution against commitments and proactively resolve blockers, dependencies, and conflicting priorities.


• Establish effective program governance, operating rhythms, status reporting, escalation mechanisms, and decision frameworks.


• Translate complex engineering issues into clear business impacts, options, trade-offs, and recommendations.


• Provide concise program updates to directors, VPs, and executive stakeholders.


• Partner with engineering leadership on resource planning, capacity constraints, sequencing, and prioritization.


• Define and monitor program KPIs covering schedule, quality, execution, readiness, risk, and business outcomes.


• Drive launch/readiness activities and ensure appropriate validation, operational readiness, and stakeholder sign-offs.


• Lead retrospectives and implement improvements to engineering planning and execution processes.


• Mentor program managers and contribute to improving program-management standards, tools, and best practices across the organization.


• Influence teams and senior stakeholders effectively without relying on direct reporting authority.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience.


• 8+ years of experience in Engineering Program Management, Technical Program Management, Product Development, Engineering, or a related field.


• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale, cross-functional engineering programs with multiple dependencies and stakeholder organizations.


• Strong understanding of the software and/or hardware product development lifecycle.


• Ability to understand system architecture, engineering designs, technical dependencies, and development trade-offs.


• Proven ability to develop program plans and drive teams against milestones and measurable outcomes.


• Strong risk, dependency, issue, and change-management capabilities.


• Experience working with Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, or hybrid development methodologies.

WHY JOIN RAFAY?

Rafay is at the forefront of GPU PaaS technologies and Kubernetes and we offer unique opportunities to join a winning team working on foundational technology for cloud and AI/ML services and enterprises. We work in a collaborative environment that rewards creative thinking and provides opportunities to advance professional careers in advanced technology development.

• a fun and dynamic work environment


• a competitive salary


• robust benefits


• attractive stock options

As the first of our kind, we are truly in a class of our own.