Principal Project Manager

Stable Kernel is a technology services firm and custom software developer building scalable software solutions for cutting-edge, innovative enterprises. Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, we are a privately held, Great Place to Work Certified Company™ with a multi-award-winning culture and over 10 years of sustainable growth. We support our employees in ways that help them do some of the best work of their lives.

About the role

As a Stable Kernel Principal Project Manager, you play an essential role in setting our portfolio of world-class clients up for success through the on-time and on-budget development and delivery of their most innovative, transformational initiatives. You are equal parts delivery expert and trusted advisor to internal and external project stakeholders. Your positivity, candor, and effectiveness make you the Project Manager that clients request time and again. You partner with sales, strategy, technical, and client services professionals throughout the client life cycle to ensure outstanding work, documentation, and customer experiences. Principal Project Managers report directly to our Director of Project Management and may be classified as individual contributors or as people managers with individual contributor responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Technical Impact:
  • Establish scalable delivery solutions and define the approach, phasing, and sequencing across complex, multi-project programs, making strategic trade-offs that account for cross-functional dependencies and evolving client needs.
  • Establish scope governance and change control discipline across the program, coaching project managers on managing scope creep and change requests.
  • Set standards for engagement health and quality benchmarks across multiple project teams; mentor project managers on interpreting delivery health indicators.
  • Evaluate tool effectiveness at program scale, identifying gaps and making recommendations for procurement, integration, or retirement.
  • Design AI-enabled delivery workflows and lead responsible AI adoption across program teams.
  • Serve as the bridge between technical, design, product, and business teams across enterprise-level programs, establishing cross-departmental coordination norms.
• Business Alignment:
  • Clarify strategic outcomes and define integrated roadmaps across multiple projects; translate high-level client goals into actionable program-level objectives and anticipate shifts in client priorities.
  • Establish project planning standards across the program, coaching project managers on plan development, baselining, and tracking discipline.
  • Support statement of work (SOW) development and RFP and paid discovery engagements.
  • Identify and pursue opportunities to expand service offerings within existing programs.
  • Lead estimation and financial calibration across the program; oversee burn tracking and forecasting and work with finance and account leadership to translate estimates into business forecasts.
• Interacting with Others:
  • Lead coordination across the full program, orchestrating collaboration between multiple project teams, account leadership, technical leads, and senior business stakeholders.
  • Lead program-level status reporting with governance cadences tailored to different stakeholder audiences.
  • Influence the program and broader organization to drive adoption of new methodologies, tools, or practices across multiple teams through demonstration and consensus-building.
  • Advise teams across the company, including executive leadership, on complex program challenges and strategic decisions.
  • Mentor junior project managers on handling difficult stakeholder situations and advancing their delivery practice.
  • Lead communication during critical situations, including escalations, major milestones, and strategic decisions.
• Consulting:
  • Partner with leadership to shape delivery approaches; coach project managers on large-scale initiatives and complex stakeholder dynamics.
  • Lead stakeholder navigation across the full program, managing relationships with senior client stakeholders, cross-functional partners, and delivery teams across multiple interconnected projects.
  • Coach project managers on stakeholder mapping, dependency management, and navigating political complexity.
  • Operate comfortably in ambiguous, high-stakes environments, helping program teams establish clarity when strategic direction is still evolving.
  • Coach project managers on developing an advisory mindset, moving from reactive execution to proactive strategic partnership with clients.
  • Pose probing questions and challenge proposed solutions to drive teams toward the best possible outcome.
• Problem-Solving:
  • Lead program-level problem solving and serve as the escalation point for assigned project managers, applying structured methodologies to diagnose root causes.
  • Coach project managers to think critically and analytically when problem-solving.
  • Establish risk management and escalation frameworks across multiple project teams and coach project managers on early warning signals.
  • Help clients and colleagues understand and respond to risk.
  • Escalate business-impactful issues with context, impact assessment, and recommended solutions while solving in parallel; establish escalation pathways across the program.
  • Analyze patterns across multiple projects to identify systemic issues; establish metrics and measurement frameworks for tracking program health.
• Leadership:
  • Set the strategic direction for how projects are managed within the program; lead multiple project teams or large programs.
  • Exhibit strong capabilities in stakeholder management, negotiating, and problem-solving in complex situations.
  • Propose and lead process improvements across key program areas, such as team throughput, delivery quality, and engagement management, establishing standards that serve as models for broader adoption.
  • Advocate for the iteration of practices and delivery philosophy across the program and organization; evaluate industry standards for applicability to program contexts.
  • Lead resource management across the program, maintaining staffing plans, forecasting resourcing needs, and partnering with account and delivery leadership.
  • Exhibit exceptional mentoring abilities, developing other leaders within the program team.
  • Identify and nurture potential in others, providing strategic guidance and supporting career path development for team members.
  • Take initiative in leading department-level activities, including facilitating team meetings, driving internal PMO initiatives, and contributing to hiring, onboarding, and team culture.

Requirements

• 8-10 years of experience in project management for consulting, professional services, or similar services-based organizations.
• PMP, CSM (Certified Scrum Master), CSPO (Certified Scrum Product Owner), or similar Project Management certifications.
• Proven track record of successful delivery of projects of all sizes and complexities.
• Exceptional communication skills, including client and stakeholder management.
• Experience crafting deliverable components of SOWs and writing business requirements documents.

Skills

• Intimate, working familiarity with JIRA, Notion, Slack, Claude, Github, Miro, and any budget tracking tools.
• Fluent in Scrum, Kanban, Waterfall, and other project management methodologies, but willing to adapt as the SDLC evolves.

Pay

Base Compensation Range: $135,000

Schedule

This is a full-time position. Stable Kernel operates a People Before Place Hybrid model, allowing most employees to choose where they can do their best work most days. Minimal travel is associated with this role.

Benefits

• Company-subsidized health, vision, and dental plan premium options beginning on the first day of employment.
• 401k with above-average company matching.
• Fully paid Group Life, Short and Long Term Disability, and AD&D insurance.
• Optional Flexible Spending Account, Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, and Health Savings Account participation.
• Voluntary Life, Critical Illness, and Accident insurance.
• EAP and Health Advocacy program available at no cost to employees and their dependents.
• $3000+ annual industry educational budget.
• Paid time off and paid holidays.

Note – We are not sponsoring employment visas at this time. If you are currently in possession of an employment visa, it will need to be effective for at least 3 years from the date of your application for your candidacy for employment to be considered.