Associate Director, Technical Product & Program Manager

We are a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, we create what is next by pioneering ideas, acting fast, and moving further because standing still just is not in our DNA.

We are drawn to people who stay curious, move with intent, and never stop inventing. Our culture runs on three values: better together, relentlessly curious, and get sh*t done. It is how we work, how we grow, and how we make things that matter.

At DEPT®, you will find the freedom to explore, the space to collaborate, and the trust to make a real impact for our clients, for each other, and for the world we are helping to build.

DEPT® is seeking a hybrid Technical Product & Program Manager (TPM) to drive the day-to-day execution of a high-velocity AI-enablement engineering partnership program for a premier global enterprise client. In this role, you will operate at the intersection of product strategy and agile delivery, bridging the gap between localized business stakeholders and a dedicated team of embedded engineers.

You will act as the shared strategic lead across two distinct enterprise business units, directly managing the project workflow for a pod of Forward Deployed Engineers (FDE). Partnering closely with the overarching Group Director, Program Management and the Senior Engineering Lead, you will translate raw marketer ideation and low-code prototypes into strict technical sprints, unblock development queues, and actively manage the day-to-day workflow within the client's proprietary task and issue-tracking ecosystems.

• Translate the vision: Partner directly with marketing and business stakeholders to evaluate their custom AI concepts and "vibe-coded" prototypes. Translate these functional mockups into rigorous, actionable technical requirements and user stories for your engineering pod.
• Help define the MVP: Act as the product owner for your specific business units, helping stakeholders prioritize features, define and document business logic, and help determine what is required for a rapid prototype versus a full production build.

• Run your program engine: Own the day-to-day sprint management and task execution for your dedicated pod of embedded engineers.
• Master the internal ecosystem: Actively manage and maintain project momentum within the client's complex, proprietary enterprise task-flow and bug-tracking systems. You will ensure every ticket is properly routed, dependencies are logged, and code-review queues are unblocked.
• Clear the path: Proactively identify and help resolve technical dependencies - such as complex infrastructure permissions, environment setups, and data access approvals - before they slow down engineering velocity.

• Bridge the business units: Serve as a shared resource across two distinct enterprise verticals. You will build deep subject matter expertise in both areas and proactively cross-pollinate technical learnings, ensuring that a breakthrough in one unit is leveraged by the other.
• Ensure SLA compliance: Track and enforce service level agreements (SLAs) for different technical tracks, ensuring your engineering pod delivers rapid prototypes and safe testing environments on time and on budget.
• Maintain architectural alignment: Work closely with the central technical governance team to ensure all localized builds meet strict enterprise architecture, data privacy, and security standards.

• Hybrid expertise: 5+ years of experience acting as a Technical Program Manager, Technical Product Manager, or Agile Scrum Master - ideally blending the strategic "why" of product management with the executional "how" of program delivery.
• System navigation: Deep experience operating within complex, proprietary enterprise ticketing, task, and bug-tracking systems (e.g., Jira, Azure DevOps, or proprietary big-tech internal equivalents).
• Technical fluency: A strong understanding of modern web application architecture, API integrations, cloud environments, and emerging AI/LLM capabilities. You do not need to write code, but you must be able to hold your own in deep technical architectural discussions with senior engineers.
• Cross-functional agility: Proven ability to manage competing priorities across multiple distinct business units simultaneously, seamlessly context-switching between different stakeholder needs.
• Unblocker and helper mentality: A relentless, proactive approach to identifying bottlenecks - whether they are bureaucratic approval queues or technical dependencies - and actively clearing the path for your developers.

DEPT® is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). We believe our work is its best when our people feel safe and free to be themselves. We’re committed to an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment and selection process and workplace, regardless of anyone’s identity, background, beliefs, lifestyle or disabilities. So tell us about any accommodations you need. It’s totally confidential and only used to make sure you feel fully supported at every step. 

DEPT® participates in E-Verify, meaning your Form I-9 information will be sent to the federal government to confirm you are authorized to work in the U.S. 

We are a B Corp-certified company passionate about purpose-driven work.  Our hope is that you can feel good about the contributions DEPT® is making to the world and we always have an open door for your ideas in making the world a better place. 

DEPT® is a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, our 4,000+ specialists deliver growth invention across Brand & Media, Experience, Commerce, CRM, and Technology & Data. We’re 50|50 tech and marketing, partner-led, and first to move. Clients include Google, Lufthansa, Coach, eBay, and OpenAI.

Learn more about DEPT®

At DEPT®, we take pride in creating an inclusive workplace where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive. We actively seek to recruit, develop, nurture, and retain talented individuals from diverse backgrounds, with varying skills and perspectives.

Not sure you meet all qualifications? Apply, and let us decide! Research shows that women and members of underrepresented groups tend not to apply for jobs when they think they may not meet every requirement, when in fact they do. We believe in giving everyone a fair chance to shine. 

We also encourage you  to reach out to us and discuss any reasonable adjustments we can make to support you throughout the recruitment process and your time with us.

Want to know more about our dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion? Check out our efforts here.