Technical Project Manager

Light & Wonder; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 700 000 - 900 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading gaming technology company based in South Africa is seeking an experienced Project Manager to lead cross-functional teams in delivering innovative products. The role requires 7 years of experience in technical solutions and software architecture, with a strong focus on customer needs and financial management. Candidates should be proficient in Agile frameworks and tools like JIRA and Excel. Travel may be required up to 30% of the time. This position is crucial for ensuring project success and enhancing customer relationships.

Qualifications

• 7 years of technical solutions/software architecture experience required.
• Must have experience managing offshore teams.
• Ability to remain calm and compose under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Manage people leading cross-functional teams.
• Develop, define and execute project plans, budgets, and deliverables.
• Interface with external customers on technical matters.

Skills

Technical solutions expertise

Software architecture experience

Customer service acumen

Financial management capability

Experience in Agile frameworks

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree

Project Management Qualification

Tools

JIRA

Excel

SharePoint

Job description

Gaming

Welcome to the world of land-based gaming.

At Light & Wonder it’s all about the games and our Gaming team builds cutting-edge technology products and content for the most iconic casinos and operators across the globe.

Position Summary

The Project / Program (Design) focus specializes in engineering operational projects / programs. Manages engineering technical and procurement activities related to planning, executing, supervising, control of technical operational & financial budgeting and contractual commitments.

Business Case

Establish the background and justification of the product strategy by explaining the benefit and value it creates for our business and customers. Work with development teams on cost and present ROI and options for execution leveraging current approval processes.

Customer Insights

Develop strong relationships with key customers to gather feedback, understand their needs and incorporate insights into product enhancements. Advocate for the customer throughout the product development process.

Customer Success

Hold regular feedback sessions with customers and with internal stakeholders from groups such as Client Success, Sales and Support. Participate in customer upgrades or go-lives (minimally two per year as budget allows). Solicit testimonials or success stories for marketing use.

Sales Training and Demos

Help create initial sales enablement collateral including demo material and talk track to communicate the value of the product release. Conduct hands‑on enablement training to sales teams.

Business Development

Provide technical guidance on business development activities and take ownership of Technical Systems input and output requirements, integrating the voice of the customer. Assess new projects, support sales and Client Project Managers during proof of concepts and oversee project implementation and continuous improvement.

Leadership

• Manage customer escalations, create project plans and supervise team members to ensure that deadlines are followed.
• Confer with cross‑functional units to develop process improvements with a lens toward increasing customer experience, operational efficiency and revenue opportunities.
• Act as team mentor and establish strong working relationships with internal support service and engineering departments to optimize customer service in cross‑area activities.
• Manage timely departmental workflow and productivity as well as enhance experience and knowledge for the staff.
• Responsible for managing hardware and software teams for testing and demonstrations.

Main Responsibilities

• Manage people who lead cross‑functional teams focused on the delivery of a product or computer‑based system from design to release for customers.
• Develops, defines and executes project plans, schedules, budgets and deliverables.
• Identifies needed resources for projects, defines and assigns major project roles.
• Monitors the product, program or project from initiation through delivery, interfacing with external customers or field‑based employees on technical matters as needed.
• Assigns and monitors work of project / program management staff, providing technical support and direction.
• Selects, develops and evaluates personnel to ensure the efficient operation of the function.
• Direct people‑management responsibility is typically required.
• Oversight of employees assigned to manage specific projects that have a distinct beginning and end.

Qualifications

• Experience: 7 years of technical solutions / software architecture experience required.
• Technical Operations knowledge required, preferably in the casino domain.
• Experience in all phases of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and software configuration processes.
• Must have experience managing offshore teams and knowledge of developing programs in both batch and online environments.
• Expertise in High & Low Level Design, Module Design, Code‑Reviews & Testing.
• Strong knowledge of software technical architecture / support.
• Process adherence optimization and ability to develop new processes.
• Ability to remain calm and composed even under trying situations and see challenges objectively.
• Ability to lead, train and motivate technical staff.
• Excellent communication with IT and business users, all management levels, and precision in articulating technical solutions and issues.
• Strong customer service acumen.
• Financial management capability – cost control and budgeting.
• Role to be based in South Africa (Midrand, Johannesburg) with an estimated 30% travel required.

Desired Skills / Experience

• 5 years of overall experience with at least 2 years in project management in a product development environment.
• Strong in reporting and analysis.
• Must have strong knowledge of JIRA, Excel and SharePoint.
• Experience managing Product release end‑to‑end (including production rollout & maintenance) is a plus.
• Should be strong in communication, coordination and teamwork.
• Proven experience in delivering projects using Agile frameworks such as Scrum.
• Able to document granular project plan and understand system core product dependencies.
• Experience in a technical or software development environment.
• Gaming experience is a plus.

Education & Credentials

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree preferred.
• Project Management Qualification and Certification in PMBOK or PRINCE2.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with all key stakeholders for project planning for new projects.
• Collaborate with Development / QA team during projects to ensure the customer requirements are intact.
• Coordinate the regulatory process like Deployment testing and GLI report.
• Assist the project team and customer for UAT / OR / Training.
• Assist the project team for production rollout.
• Assist the L1 / L2 team for project transition and support.
• Prioritization of Pdm SR queues into Service Pack planning and rolling out the SP deployment at Production.

Additional Information

Project Management Qualification and certification in PMBOK or PRINCE 2. Code level technical qualification and experience. Collaborate with all key stakeholders for project planning for new projects. Technical managerial role with demands for communication coordination and teamwork.

Note

IC, Key Skills Abinitio, Editorial