Principal Technical Program Manager

** About Lumen*
* Lumen connects the world. We are igniting business growth by connecting people, data and applications - quickly, securely, and effortlessly. Together, we are building a culture and company from the people up - committed to teamwork, trust and transparency. People power progress.

We're looking for top-tier talent and offer the flexibility you need to thrive and deliver lasting impact. Join us as we digitally connect the world and shape the future.

** The Role*
* We are seeking a highly skilled Principal Technical Program Manager (TPM) to lead large, complex, cross‑functional engineering programs across the Product & Technology organization. This is a senior individual‑contributor role requiring strong technical depth, strategic program leadership, and the ability to communicate clearly at the VP/SVP/EVP level. The Principal TPM must maintain working fluency in cloud architecture, distributed systems design, large‑scale enterprise integration patterns, data flows, APIs/services, network engineering fundamentals, security, reliability, and modern SDLC/Dev Ops practices.

The Principal TPM converts business strategy into predictable engineering delivery, drives cross‑value‑stream alignment, manages critical dependencies and risks, and ensures executive stakeholders receive concise, decision‑ready updates.

** Location*
* This is a fully remote opportunity open to candidates located anywhere in the U.S.

** The Main Responsibilities*
* + Lead the end‑to‑end lifecycle of large, complex, multi‑team engineering programs, ensuring program structure, delivery rhythms, and engineering outcomes are clear and predictable.

+ Define and track performance metrics tied to engineering execution, program health, and SLAs with business and product stakeholders.

+ Develop and maintain engineering‑aligned roadmaps, integrated timelines, dependency maps, budgets, and risk mitigation plans.

+ Build and lead program governance for executives, synthesizing engineering progress, risks, and technical trade‑offs into clear, decision‑oriented updates.

+ Implement best practices in engineering program governance, dependency management, cross‑team risk visibility, SDLC alignment, and change management.

+ Foster a culture of accountability, technical excellence, and delivery predictability across engineering teams and partner groups.

+ Partner with finance, engineering, and product to monitor capital/opex, capacity utilization, and resource allocation across internal teams and vendors.

+ Report on program status-including engineering risks, dependencies, integration concerns, and mitigation paths-to senior leadership and key stakeholders.

+ Coordinate engineering planning cycles (roadmap planning, PI planning, quarterly commitments) and ensure backlogs are prioritized, estimated, and aligned with program objectives.

+ Contribute to strategic planning and partner across Product, Engineering, Architecture, and Operations to ensure engineering readiness for launches and major releases.

** What We Look For in a Candidate*
* + Bachelor's degree in a technical field or equivalent experience; advanced degree is a plus.

+ 12-15+ years of experience leading large‑scale technical or engineering programs within complex, matrixed technology organizations.

+ Strong technical fluency in architecture, system design, APIs/services, data flows, and SDLC/Dev Ops.

+ Proven ability to communicate clearly and influence at the VP/SVP/EVP level-distilling complex engineering issues, risks, and trade‑offs into concise recommendations.

+ Demonstrated experience managing engineering dependencies, sequencing across multiple teams, and driving outcomes across software and/or network domains.

+ Strong ability to navigate ambiguity, resolve cross‑team conflicts, and turn strategy into structured engineering execution plans.

+ Exceptional stakeholder engagement and relationship‑building skills across Product, Engineering, Architecture, Operations, and Finance.

+ High urgency, accountability, and operational rigor; sets high standards for clarity, delivery predictability, and tooling hygiene. PMP/PMI, Agile/SAFe, or Lean Six Sigma certifications are a plus

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