Technical Program Manager / Product-to-Market / Contract / Hybrid / Pleasanton, CA

Motion Recruitment; Pleasanton (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Part time

Job summary

Motion Recruitment is seeking a contract Technical Program Manager to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives in a fast-paced, startup-like environment. The role focuses on Product-to-Market (P2M) programs and requires collaboration with Engineering, Product, Strategy, AI teams, and external SaaS vendors.

The ideal candidate will be a strong communicator who can bring structure to ambiguity, manage dependencies, and ensure successful program execution across multiple workstreams in a fully

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Technical Program Manager or similar senior role.
• Experience managing multiple technical workstreams and priorities.
• Strong experience partnering with Engineering and technical teams.
• Understanding of SDLC processes and software development environments.
• Strong project management fundamentals: planning, execution, dependency management, and status reporting.
• Experience with program budgets, financials, or forecasts; $2–3M programs is relevant.
• Experience in an Agile environment.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to collaborate with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical programs across multiple workstreams, tracks, and cross-functional teams.
• Drive alignment around technical program requirements, priorities, timelines, dependencies, and deliverables.
• Partner closely with Engineering, Product, Strategy, AI teams, and external SaaS vendors.
• Develop and maintain program plans, schedules, status reporting, documentation, and action items.
• Take detailed meeting notes and translate discussions into clear decisions, actions, owners, and next steps.
• Manage cross-team dependencies, competing priorities, and stakeholder expectations.
• Identify, assess, and proactively mitigate program risks and impediments.
• Support Q4 planning and help bring structure to programs that are still evolving.
• Support the transition toward more formal SDLC processes and improve program management practices.
• Manage program financials, budgets, and forecasts for programs in the $2–3M range.
• Facilitate communication and alignment across teams and global/offshore time zones.
• Work with AI teams and internal POCs on initiatives, including potential enhancements to in-house AI platforms.
• Manage relationships, deliverables, and dependencies with external SaaS vendors.

Skills

Technical Program Manager

Stakeholder management

Agile

SDLC

Budget management

Risk management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Remote collaboration

Project planning

Tools

Clarity PM tool

Job description

Our client, a global retail and apparel leader, is hiring for a contract Technical Program Manager. Onsite M-F in Pleasanton, CA is preferred but 1 day a week remote would be ok. Onsite in San Francisco, CA is also an option.

This role will lead complex, highly visible technical programs across multiple workstreams and cross-functional teams. The primary focus will be Product-to-Market (P2M) initiatives. This role will work closely with Engineering, Product, Strategy, AI teams, and external SaaS vendors to drive alignment, manage dependencies, mitigate risk, and ensure successful program execution.

The ideal candidate is a strong communicator and relationship builder who is comfortable operating in a fast-paced, startup-like environment where programs and processes are still evolving. The team operates in a fully Agile environment and is transitioning toward more formal SDLC processuss, so the ability to bring structure to ambiguity and help establish effective processes is important. An engineering background is not required, but candidates should be comfortable working with technical teams and understanding technical program considerations.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical programs across multiple workstreams, tracks, and cross-functional teams.
• Drive alignment around technical program requirements, priorities, timelines, dependencies, and deliverables.
• Partner closely with Engineering, Product, Strategy, AI teams, and external SaaS vendors.
• Develop and maintain program plans, schedules, status reporting, documentation, and action items.
• Take detailed meeting notes and translate discussions into clear decisions, actions, owners, and next steps.
• Manage cross-team dependencies, competing priorities, and stakeholder expectations.
• Identify, assess, and proactively mitigate program risks and impediments.
• Support Q4 planning and help bring structure to programs that are still evolving.
• Support the transition toward more formal SDLC processes and improve program management practices.
• Manage program financials, budgets, and forecasts for programs in the $2–3M range.
• Facilitate communication and alignment across teams and global/offshore time zones.
• Work with AI teams and internal POCs on initiatives, including potential enhancements to in-house AI platforms.
• Manage relationships, deliverables, and dependencies with external SaaS vendors.

Required Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Technical Program Manager or similar senior program management role.
• Experience managing multiple technical workstreams, stakeholders, and competing priorities.
• Strong experience partnering with Engineering and technical teams.
• Understanding of SDLC processes and software/technology development environments.
• Strong project and program management fundamentals, including planning, execution, dependency management, and status reporting.
• Demonstrated experience with risk identification, management, and mitigation.
• Experience managing program budgets, financials, or forecasts; experience with $2–3M programs is highly relevant.
• Experience working in a fully Agile environment.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to build relationships and effectively collaborate with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Comfortable operating independently in an ambiguous, fast-paced environment and bringing structure to evolving programs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Retail industry experience — highly preferred, but not required.
• Experience with Product-to-Market (P2M) programs or related retail, product, supply chain, or merchandising initiatives.
• Experience supporting AI platforms or AI-related technical programs.
• Experience working with SaaS vendors or external technology partners.
• Experience working with global/offshore teams and across multiple time zones.
• Experience with Clarity or similar project/program management tools; ability to quickly learn new tools.
• Experience helping organizations establish or mature program management and SDLC processes.
• Experience working in a startup-like or rapidly evolving environment.