Technical Program Manager - AI & Data Systems

About the Role

Abnormal AI is hiring a Technical Program Manager to lead delivery of high-impact programs across our AI Platform and Data Systems teams. You'll own strategic initiatives from CIO leadership — spanning AI governance, the data foundation for AI agents, AI outcomes analytics, and new agent and platform rollouts — and turn them into structured, well-tracked programs. You'll define processes where none exists, drive valuable outcomes, and keep executive stakeholders aligned and ahead of surprises. This role sits at the intersection of engineering execution and leadership visibility, requiring someone who thrives in ambiguity, earns credibility through follow-through, and instinctively reaches for AI to solve real delivery challenges.

Who you are

• An experienced Program Manager who takes initiative where the goal is set but the path isn't — and builds the structure around it: milestones, owners, risks, and a clear route to delivery.
• Energized by high-stakes, high-visibility work — you want your programs to matter, and you hold yourself accountable when they don't.
• Action-biased and momentum-driven — you don't wait for perfect clarity to begin building structure or driving toward an outcome.
• Equally comfortable in a room with a C-level executive and in the weeds with an engineering team lead — you adjust your communication without losing precision.
• A proactive problem-solver who surfaces blockers and risks before they become escalations.
• Experienced leading projects and programs in highly technical environments — you extract delivery signal from engineering deep-dives, connect technical decisions to program risk, and push back on sequencing when it matters.
• Disciplined about visibility: stakeholders always know where things stand, and surprises don't happen on your programs.
• A trusted partner who earns credibility through follow-through — you build relationships that make cross-functional coordination feel easy.
• Calm and effective in ambiguity — you create structure where none exists and adapt when priorities shift.
• Comfortable using AI to solve problems and streamline workflows — for yourself and your team — and actively looking for new ways to put it to work.

What you will do

• Own program delivery for high-impact AI Platform and Data Systems initiatives, from initiation through completion — including scope definition, milestone planning, dependency and escalation management, and stakeholder alignment.
• Translate ambiguous mandates from IT leadership into structured, trackable programs with clear owners and success criteria.
• Serve as the coordination layer for high-impact, cross-functional programs — working in lockstep with engineering leaders and teams, ensuring dependencies are visible and delivery stays on track.
• Maintain executive-ready status reporting for AI Data Systems leadership and C-level stakeholders, ensuring no surprises and consistent confidence in program and portfolio health.
• Identify, escalate, and mitigate risks across programs before they impact delivery timelines or stakeholder trust.
• Partner with technical team-leads to understand delivery capacity, technical dependencies, and sequencing trade-offs.
• Use AI tools in your own program execution — and build lightweight workflows, skills, or automations that make status reporting, risk tracking, and stakeholder updates faster and more reliable.
• Support roadmap planning and resource forecasting at the program and portfolio level.
• Drive retrospectives and continuous improvement practices, and contribute to building a high-performing, AI-native program management function within the CIO organization.

Must Haves

• 3-4 years of program or project management experience leading complex, cross-functional technical initiatives — ideally in a high-growth SaaS or enterprise tech environment.
• Demonstrated ability to take an early-stage idea — where the goal is clear but the path isn't — and build it into structured delivery with measurable outcomes.
• Proven ability to move fast and drive velocity — keeping programs progressing through ambiguity and unknowns.
• Track record of managing executive-level stakeholder relationships, including C-level communication, with poise and precision.
• Strong experience working alongside technical team leads in AI, engineering, data, or platform contexts — you can follow the technical conversation, ask the right questions, and push back when sequencing or assumptions need challenging.
• Familiarity with AI tools and an automation instinct — you naturally ask "how can I use AI to do this?" and have applied it to improve how you work, whether personally or professionally.
• Excellent command of project tracking and program management tools (Linear, Jira, ServiceNow, Asana, or equivalent).
• Exceptional communicator across technical and non-technical audiences — written updates, verbal alignment, and executive readouts are all in your wheelhouse.
• Demonstrated ability to drive accountability and alignment across teams without formal authority.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Information Technology, Business Administration, Information Security or a related field

Nice to Haves

• Hands-on experience using agentic AI tools (Claude Code, Codex, Cowork, or similar) to build skills, automations, or multi-step workflows — not just to use AI passively.
• Familiarity with AI/ML platform delivery, data engineering workflows, data warehousing, or MLOps practices.
• PMP, CSM, or SAFe certification.
• Experience at a high-growth cybersecurity or SaaS company.
• Experience in a remote-first, distributed team environment.
• Exposure to cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and how it intersects with data and AI platform programs.
• Experience with Agile/Scrum ceremonies and sprint-level delivery in addition to program-level ownership.

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