Program Manager (Retail industry)

Technical Program Manager Retail industry background is mandatory

Location: Vancouver PST, Hybrid - 4 days in office

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Technical Program Manager (TPM) to lead the delivery of complex technology initiatives across software engineering, quality assurance, cloud platforms, and DevOps operations. The ideal candidate will have a strong technical background with hands-on experience in software development and/or software testing, coupled with proven expertise managing large-scale programs and cross-functional engineering teams.

This role requires a highly collaborative leader who can partner with Product, Engineering, QA, Architecture, Cloud, and Business stakeholders to successfully deliver scalable, high-quality solutions. Experience within the Retail, Apparel, Fashion, eCommerce, or Omnichannel Retail industry is highly desirable.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end planning, execution, and delivery of strategic technology programs and software initiatives.
• Partner with engineering, product, QA, DevOps, and business teams to define roadmaps, priorities, milestones, and release plans.
• Drive Agile/Scrum delivery processes, sprint planning, backlog management, and program governance.
• Manage cross-functional dependencies, risks, issues, and stakeholder communications.
• Provide technical leadership and oversight throughout the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
• Collaborate closely with development and QA teams to ensure high-quality product delivery.
• Drive continuous improvement in software delivery practices, release management, and operational excellence.
• Partner with DevOps teams to improve CI/CD pipelines, deployment automation, monitoring, and scalability.
• Lead cloud-based initiatives leveraging AWS services and cloud-native architectures.
• Establish and report key program metrics, delivery health indicators, and executive dashboards.
• Facilitate technical design discussions and align solutions with business objectives and enterprise architecture standards.
• Support vendor management and coordination with external partners where applicable.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or related field.
• 8+ years of experience in software delivery, engineering, quality assurance, or technical project/program management.
• 3+ years of experience in a Technical Program Manager, Engineering Manager, or similar leadership role.
• Hands-on experience in software development, software testing, QA, SDET, or application engineering.
• Strong understanding of SDLC methodologies, Agile frameworks, and release management practices.
• Experience managing large-scale software development programs involving multiple stakeholders and teams.
• Strong technical acumen with the ability to communicate effectively with engineers, architects, and business leaders.
• Proven track record of delivering enterprise applications on time and within budget.

Required Technical Skills

Software Development & Testing

Application development and software engineering fundamentals

Software testing methodologies and quality assurance practices

Test automation frameworks and tools

API, integration, and performance testing concepts

Microservices and distributed system architectures

REST APIs and modern application design patterns

DevOps & Automation

CI/CD pipeline implementation and management

Git, GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket

Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, or similar platforms

Docker and containerization technologies

Kubernetes and orchestration platforms

Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation)

AWS Cloud

EC2, ECS/EKS

Lambda

S3

RDS/Aurora

IAM

CloudWatch

VPC Networking

Route 53

CloudFormation

Program & Delivery Management

Agile, Scrum, Kanban

Jira, Confluence, Azure DevOps

Risk and dependency management

Resource planning and forecasting

Executive reporting and stakeholder management

Vendor and third-party coordination

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in Retail, Apparel, Fashion, eCommerce, Supply Chain, Merchandising, POS, Inventory Management, or Omnichannel Retail platforms.

Experience supporting digital transformation and cloud migration programs.

Background as a Software Engineer, QA Lead, SDET, Technical Lead, or Solutions Architect.

Knowledge of retail systems such as OMS, WMS, ERP, Product Information Management (PIM), or Customer Experience platforms.

AWS certifications such as:

AWS Solutions Architect

AWS Developer Associate

AWS DevOps Engineer Professional

PMP, PgMP, SAFe, Scrum Master (CSM), or equivalent certifications.

What You'll Bring

Strong leadership and communication skills with the ability to influence across all levels of the organization.

Ability to balance technical depth with strategic program execution.

Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.

Passion for driving continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Experience managing multiple priorities in fast-paced, highly collaborative environments.