Sr Program Manager
Job description
Introduction At IBM Finance & Operations, we are the backbone of IBM's transformation driving efficiency, transparency, and smart decision-making across the business. Our teams provide the insight and discipline that guide strategy, ensure financial strength, and enable IBM to invest in innovation and growth. Working in Finance & Operations means combining analytical skills with collaboration and curiosity.
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Your role and responsibilities IBM's Confluent is looking for a Senior Technical Program Manager to help lead complex, cross-functional initiatives across the Business Technology / CIO organization. This role sits at the intersection of Product, Engineering, and enterprise systems, turning strategic priorities into executable plans and measurable outcomes.
The Senior TPM will play a critical role in driving enterprise programs that support new product introductions, Quote-to-Cash capabilities, and major IT integration efforts. Because Business Technology owns core downstream systems that enable Product and Engineering launches, this person will help ensure programs are planned well, dependencies are surfaced early, and delivery stays predictable across a broad set of stakeholders.
This is a high-impact, hands-on role for someone who is comfortable navigating ambiguity, aligning technical and business teams, and driving execution across multiple workstreams. The ideal candidate combines strong program leadership, technical fluency, operational discipline, and stakeholder management skills to help teams deliver scalable and reliable outcomes.
What You'll Do
- Lead large, complex, cross-functional programs from planning through execution and delivery.
- Partner with Business Technology, Product, Engineering, and operational teams to define scope, clarify business value, and translate goals into structured roadmaps.
- Drive programs supporting new product introductions (NPI), especially where Quote-to-Cash systems and enterprise platforms are critical downstream dependencies.
- Coordinate initiatives involving enterprise applications and IT systems integrations, including support for integration efforts tied to IBM and other strategic business changes.
- Build and maintain integrated program plans, timelines, milestones, and communication rhythms across multiple teams and functions.
- Identify risks, dependencies, blockers, and trade-offs early, and drive clear decision-making to keep programs on track.
- Create visibility for stakeholders and leadership through consistent status updates, execution dashboards, and clear reporting on progress, issues, and outcomes.
- Partner with teams to improve delivery predictability, execution rigor, and operational readiness across programs.
- Help establish scalable program management practices, governance mechanisms, and cross-functional planning processes within the Business Technology organization.
- Develop a strong understanding of Confluent's business processes, enterprise systems landscape, and technical constraints in order to influence priorities and execution strategy.
Preferred education None
Required technical and professional expertise
- 7 years of experience in Technical Program Management, Program Management, or related roles within software, SaaS, or enterprise systems environments.
- Proven track record delivering large-scale, cross-functional programs, managing multiple stakeholders, risks, dependencies, and parallel initiatives.
- Strong expertise in Agile program management tools and practices, including Jira for workflow management, tracking deliverables, and reporting progress.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence outcomes and build alignment across technical, operational, and executive audiences in a matrixed organization.
- Highly collaborative and execution-focused, with strong attention to detail, experience working with globally distributed teams, and a bias for action in fast-paced, ambiguous environments.
Join our team in accounting, financial planning, pricing, business controls, tax, treasury, business development (acquisitions & divestitures), and global financing.
Your life @ IBM In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients' success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.
Being an IBMer means you'll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you'll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment every day, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.
Our IBMers are growth-minded, always staying curious, open to feedback, and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide ongoing feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues, keeping in mind a team-focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions every day is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude, and always striving for an outcome-focused approach within everything that they do.
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Other relevant job details IBM offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits program. Eligible employees may have access to:
- Healthcare benefits including medical & prescription drug coverage, dental, vision, and mental health & well-being.
- Financial programs such as 401(k), cash balance pension plan, the IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan, financial counseling, life insurance, short & long-term disability coverage, and opportunities for performance-based salary incentive programs.
- Generous paid time off including 12 holidays, minimum 56 hours sick time, 120 hours vacation, 12 weeks parental bonding leave in accordance with IBM Policy, and other Paid Care Leave programs. IBM also offers paid family leave benefits to eligible employees where required by applicable law.
- Training and educational resources on our personalized, AI-driven learning platform where IBMers can grow skills and obtain industry-recognized certifications to achieve their career goals.
- Diverse and inclusive employee resource groups, giving & volunteer opportunities, and discounts on retail products, services & experiences.
This position was posted on the date cited in the key job details section and is anticipated to remain posted for 21 days from this date or less if not needed to fill the role.
IBM will not be providing visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future. Therefore, in order to be considered for this position, you must have the ability to work without a need for current or future visa sponsorship.
The compensation range and benefits for this position are based on a full-time schedule for a full calendar year. The salary will vary depending on your job-related skills, experience, and location. Pay increment and frequency of pay will be in accordance with employment classification and applicable laws. For part-time roles, your compensation and benefits will be adjusted to reflect your hours. Benefits may be pro-rated for those who start working during the calendar year.
Locations: Burlingame, LOWELL, ROCHESTER, Rocket Center, DURHAM, Raleigh, San Jose, Dallas, Austin, San Francisco, WASHINGTON, Cambridge, Chicago, Minnesota, Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, Massachusetts, California, West Virginia, District of Columbia, United States.
Interested in this role?