Senior Technical Program Manager

What You'll Do

• Architecture & Technical Governance: Establishing architectural review frameworks, technology decision standards, and multi-platform alignment.
• Product Quality & Customer Defect Reduction: Championing customer experience through systematic defect analysis, escape prevention, and release quality gates.
• Incident Prevention & Continuous Improvement: Leading systemic root cause analyses (RCA), corrective/preventive action frameworks, and post-incident learning to build resilient, self-healing engineering ecosystems.

What Your Responsibilities Will Be

• End-to-End Program Orchestration: Drive planning, execution, dependency mapping, and delivery of mission-critical, multi-team initiatives spanning Product, Architecture, Platform Engineering, Security, and Cloud Operations.
• Risk & Dependency Mastery: Proactively expose hidden technical assumptions, manage complex inter-service dependencies, evaluate architectural trade-offs, and unblock teams to sustain delivery predictability.

• Operational & Jira Excellence: Super-fluent in structuring, designing, and optimizing Jira ecosystems (filters, JQL, advanced roadmaps, board configurations, velocity tracking, and cycle time metrics) to enforce rigorous SDLC hygiene without acting as a mere administrator.
• SDLC / PDLC Standardization: Institutionalize scalable execution mechanisms, KPI governance, milestone adherence (>85%), and post-launch stability metrics (uptime, defect escape rates, adoption).

• AI-assisted rapid development & Custom Dashboards: Rapidly prototype and build custom, interactive dashboards, scripts, and analytical tools (leveraging Python, modern frontend toolkits, Streamlit, Retool, or low-code frameworks alongside AI assistants) to extract, visualize, and analyze engineering data directly from Jira, GitLab, and internal APIs.
• Data-Backed Insights: Turn raw operational telemetry into meaningful metrics that uncover bottlenecks, predict delivery slip risks, and measure team health.

• Expert Storyteller: Synthesize multi-layered technical complexity into crisp, engaging, executive-ready narratives, QBR updates, and visual presentations for VPs and C-level leadership.
• Bridge Strategy & Execution: Translate high-level business vision and OKRs into clear engineering execution roadmaps and vice versa, aligning cross-functional stakeholders on priorities and trade-offs.

• AI-First Workflows: Champion and adopt cutting-edge AI developer tools, intelligent agents, and LLM-assisted workflows) across the program lifecycle to dramatically increase execution velocity and efficiency.
• Continuous Enablement: Mentor teams and act as a change agent in adopting modern AI-driven delivery practices, agile coaching, and automated reporting frameworks.

What You’ll Need To Be Successful

• 8–12+ years of Technical Program Management experience in fast-paced, product-based cloud/SaaS environments.
• Track record of managing multi-team org initiatives across global time zones (strong US/India stakeholder alignment).
• Proven track record leading root cause analysis, customer-found defect reduction, or site reliability/quality governance programs.
• Deep fluency with Jira & Agile/Flow metrics (expert at designing JQL, roll-up views, CFD/Kanban workflows, and delivery KPIs).
• Hands-on prototyping / AI-assisted rapid development to quickly build dashboards and data scripts (Python, Streamlit, JS, or low-code frameworks alongside AI assistants).
• Exceptional executive storytelling with proven ability to influence VPs and directors through clear, structured communication.
• Strong technical acumen (BS/MS in Computer Science/Engineering or equivalent hands-on experience) with the ability to evaluate architectural trade-offs, APIs, and scaling constraints.

• Hands-on familiarity with modern AI coding assistants (e.g., Cursor, Claude Code, GitLab Copilot) for personal productivity and automated workflow generation.
• Prior experience leading AI/ML program delivery or developer productivity tooling initiatives.
• Formal Agile / Scaled Agile credentials (e.g., SPC, SAFe Agilist, PMP) with a focus on modern, lightweight flow rather than bureaucratic overhead.
• Experience in fintech, transactional tax compliance, high-scale transaction processing, or distributed enterprise SaaS systems.

• Colorado $136,400 - $225,000 [annually]
• Washington $136,400 - $248,600 [annually]
• California $136,400 - $272,500 [annually]
• NYC $150,800 - $272,500 [annually]

Avalara is an AI-first Company

AI is embedded in our workflows, decision-making, and products.  Success here requires embracing AI as an essential capability.

• You’ll bring experience using AI and AI-related technologies, ready to thrive here.

• You’ll apply AI every day to business challenges - improving efficiency, contributing solutions, and driving results for your team, our company, and our customers.

• You’ll grow with AI by staying curious about new trends and best practices, and by sharing what you learn so others can benefit too.

How We’ll Take Care Of You

Total Rewards 

In addition to a great compensation package, paid time off, and paid parental leave, many Avalara employees are eligible for bonuses. 

Health & Wellness 
Benefits vary by location but generally include private medical, life, and disability insurance. 

Inclusive culture and diversity 
Avalara strongly supports diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is committed to integrating them into our business practices and our organizational culture. We also have a total of 8 employee-run resource groups, each with senior leadership and exec sponsorship. 

What You Need To Know About Avalara

We’re defining the relationship between tax and tech.

We’ve already built an industry-leading cloud compliance platform, processing over 54 billion customer API calls and over 6.6 million tax returns a year. Our growth is real - we're a billion dollar business - and we’re not slowing down until we’ve achieved our mission - to be part of every transaction in the world.

We’re bright, innovative, and disruptive, like the orange we love to wear. It captures our quirky spirit and optimistic mindset. It shows off the culture we’ve designed, that empowers our people to win. We’ve been different from day one. Join us, and your career will be too.

We’re An Equal Opportunity Employer

Supporting diversity and inclusion is a cornerstone of our company — we don’t want people to fit into our culture, but to enrich it. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, national orientation, disability, sexual orientation, US Veteran status, or any other factor protected by law. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.

8-12+ years of technical program management in cloud/SaaS; expert Jira and Agile metrics; hands-on prototyping with Python, Streamlit, or low-code; strong executive communication; BS/MS in CS or equivalent.

Key Responsibilities

• leading programs
• managing dependencies
• building dashboards

Skills & Tools

Jira, JQL, GitLab, Python, Streamlit, Retool, Cursor, Claude Code, GitLab Copilot

Job Details

• Category: Project and Program Management
• Seniority: Senior Level
• Commitment: Full Time
• Workplace: Remote — United States
• Salary: USD 150,800 – 248,600 / year
• Languages: English

Benefits

• Generous paid time off
• Generous parental leave

About Avalara

A cloud compliance platform processing billions of customer API calls and millions of tax returns annually. — Industry: Information Technology