Director, Technical Program Management

About the Role

A global SaaS business in the travel technology sector is hiring a Director of Technical Program Management. The role is fully remote, US-based, with Central to Eastern time zones preferred. Candidates near Miami are welcome to come into the office periodically, but this is a remote-first position. Travel to global team locations should be expected.

This role exists because the business is running 70 concurrent programs across cloud cost reduction, cybersecurity, and software engineering transformation, and the way those programs are being delivered needs to fundamentally change. Milestones are being missed, problems surface too late, and the culture of accountability is not yet where it needs to be.

The person who thrives here will have enough technical depth in at least one of AWS/cloud, cybersecurity, or software engineering to earn real credibility with engineering leaders, not just manage around them. They will also have the EQ and cultural range to work across a distributed team spanning the US, India, and Colombia, building trust with people who are used to telling leaders what they want to hear rather than what they need to know. This is a hands-on, high-stakes role with direct access to the C-suite and a genuine mandate to change how the business delivers.

Responsibilities

• Build and own program governance across a portfolio of approximately 70 concurrent tracks
• Drive measurable progress on AWS hosting cost reduction across client and internal data environments
• Lead cybersecurity remediation programs, embedding privacy-by-design thinking into engineering teams
• Oversee the transformation of software engineering practices, including the integration of QA and test automation into engineering workflows
• Establish early-warning systems so risks and delays surface before they become crises, not after
• Manage and develop a team of 2-3 direct reports, hiring into gaps and shaping the team around the needs of the portfolio
• Maintain the Executive Sponsor relationship, providing clear, honest reporting to C-level stakeholders
• Build accountability and delivery culture across a distributed team in the US, India, and Colombia

Requirements

Must-haves

• Proven track record of delivery culture change, not just governance installation
• Technical depth in at least one of: AWS/cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, or software engineering
• Background in a SaaS or technology organisation
• Experience managing distributed, cross-cultural teams across multiple time zones
• Direct line management experience, including hiring and developing PMs
• Ability to influence senior, sometimes resistant, stakeholders without formal authority
• High EQ and cultural range across US, South Asia, and Latin American working styles
• Hands-on approach, comfortable getting into the detail alongside the team
• US-based, Central to Eastern time zones

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with AWS cost optimisation programs specifically
• Background in cybersecurity program leadership
• Familiarity with QA automation and engineering transformation
• Experience working in travel technology or a similarly regulated, data-sensitive sector

What Success Looks Like

• Cloud hosting costs are measurably reduced within the first year, with clear evidence the programs are being led with rigour
• Critical project milestones are being hit consistently across the portfolio, and slippage is surfaced early rather than discovered late
• Security thinking is embedded in how engineering teams work day to day, not just in tooling or policy documents
• A team of 2-3 direct reports is in place, each covering areas of technical depth that complement the hire's own background
• C-suite stakeholders trust the reporting they receive because it reflects reality, not what people think they want to hear

Team and Culture

• Small, senior leadership team with direct access to the Chief Program Officer, COO, and broader C-suite
• Distributed team across the US, India, and Colombia, with the expectation that the right person will invest in relationships across all three
• The business values humility and hands-on leadership, people who build credibility by doing, not just directing
• The interview panel includes the Chief Program Officer, Chief People Officer, COO, and a Non-Executive Director, reflecting how seriously the business takes this hire

Challenges

• A culture where problems tend to be reported late, or not at all, is the central thing this role has to change, and that takes relationship capital and patience, not just process
• The India team is large and capable, but bridging the gap between US-based leadership expectations and on-the-ground delivery norms requires genuine cultural intelligence, not a one-size-fits-all management style
• Some senior stakeholders have established ways of working and may push back on new governance structures, so influence without authority is a real daily requirement
• The portfolio is broad and technically varied, meaning the right person will need to lean on their direct reports for depth in areas outside their own expertise, and trust them to deliver