Senior Technical Project Manager

Senior Technical Project Manager at DataKind

DataKind is seeking a Senior Technical Project Manager to spearhead our technical project management function. In this role, you will lead a team of project managers and play a pivotal role in driving the development and scaling of mission-critical products.

This is a remote position available anywhere in the U.S., with working hours primarily between 8am-6pm Eastern Time.

The salary range for this position is $110,000 - $130,000, based on DataKind's director level salary band. Actual salary will be determined by experience and internal salary equity.

About the Opportunity

Reporting to the Vice President, Technology, the Senior Technical Project Manager combines hands-on technical project management with team leadership. In our lean, mission-driven organization, you'll lead the TPM practice while managing critical projects yourself and coaching a small team of 1-2 TPMs.

This role demands someone who is comfortable with daily hands-on involvement, from sprint planning and stakeholder updates to technical decisions. Simultaneously, you will establish standards, mentor team members, and build scalable processes.

You will serve as the primary bridge between Research, Education, Product, Engineering, and Data Science teams, translating organizational technology priorities into coordinated delivery. You'll also develop your team members (who may not have traditional PM backgrounds) into skilled practitioners, managing a complex portfolio with multiple internal and external stakeholders including technical leaders, end users, donors, university leaders, and implementation partners.

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Planning & Hands-On Execution (60% of role)

• Co-create the technical roadmap with Engineering and Data Science leadership, shaping strategy, not just executing it.
• Own end-to-end delivery of the most complex, high-stakes projects yourself while mentoring other TPMs.
• Balance portfolio priorities across feature delivery, technical debt, and platform stability, making trade-off decisions collaboratively with the VP of Technology.
• Define and track program-level milestones, deliverables, and success metrics across concurrent projects.
• Jump into details when needed: reviewing technical designs, attending architecture discussions, debugging blockers, or covering for team members.
• Identify strategic risks early, including technical dependencies, integration challenges, resource constraints, and scalability issues; drive mitigation with urgency.
• Document complex technical requirements and propose practical pathways forward based on stakeholder needs and compliance.
• Facilitate cross-functional alignment between product, engineering, data science, and business stakeholders through working sessions.

Day-to-Day Project Delivery

• Run multiple complex projects concurrently, managing 2-4 major workstreams yourself at any given time.
• Implement practical agile practices that fit the team's size and culture.
• Track and communicate project schedules, sprint plans, and release dates clearly and concisely.
• Proactively identify and resolve risks, issues, and dependencies before they become blockers.
• Lead critical planning sessions, standups, and retrospectives, facilitating decisions.
• Create useful documentation (roadmaps, status reports, technical requirements) that people actually read.
• Make real-time resource trade-offs when priorities shift or capacity changes.
• Roll up your sleeves to unblock teams by clarifying requirements, getting stakeholder decisions, or coordinating with partners.

Quality & Compliance

• Define and integrate appropriate quality standards into product requirements and technical design without slowing teams down.
• Define clear validation, testing, documentation, and risk management requirements, ensuring the team understands completion criteria and quality standards.
• Work with the Data Security team to integrate security and privacy requirements into development workflows.
• Implement quality checks that catch issues early (definition of done, code review standards, testing protocols).
• Champion accessibility and compliance requirements (e.g., FERPA, WCAG, etc.) from the start of projects.
• Track meaningful quality metrics (defect rates, rollback frequency, user-reported issues) and address trends.

Stakeholder Communication

• Own the relationship with the VP of Technology, providing regular updates, escalating blockers, and recommending strategic decisions.
• Present project status and portfolio health to VP-level stakeholders with clarity and confidence.
• Manage expectations actively with external partners, university leaders, and donors through regular communication and transparency.
• Translate between technical teams and non-technical stakeholders fluently.
• Navigate difficult conversations about scope, timeline, or resource trade-offs with professionalism and a solutions-oriented mindset.
• Build trust with stakeholders through consistent delivery, honest communication, and follow-through.

Team Leadership & Development (40% of role)

• Establish lightweight but effective project management standards, methodologies, and best practices.
• Create reusable frameworks and templates that enable consistent work across product and engineering.
• Model excellence through your own project work, teaching team members by example.
• Manage and mentor the current TPM and any future hires through regular 1:1s, performance feedback, and career development support.
• Develop TPM capabilities in team members who may not have traditional PM backgrounds, providing hands-on training, shadowing, and skill-building.

Qualifications

Required

• Deep alignment with DataKind's mission and values, and demonstrated commitment to educational equity and data-driven social impact.
• 8+ years managing software/data engineering projects with proven ability to deliver complex initiatives end-to-end.
• 3+ years in a player-coach or team lead role, managing/mentoring others while doing significant individual contributor work.
• Comfort with ambiguity and scrappiness, thriving in lean, mission-driven environments.
• Strong technical fluency: can review technical designs, participate meaningfully in architecture discussions, understand trade-offs, and debug blockers.
• 5+ years working directly with engineering teams using modern SDLC practices (CI/CD, Git workflows, API development, microservices).
• 3+ years working on data engineering, ETL/ELT pipelines, analytics platforms, or data-intensive applications.
• Track record of successful technical product launches from concept through production.
• Proficiency with project tracking tools (Asana, Jira, Linear, Monday.com) and documentation platforms.
• Exceptional communication skills: explaining technical concepts, translating business needs, facilitating discussions, writing clear documentation.
• Proven ability to deliver multi-quarter projects with cross-functional teams while building processes.
• Coaching mindset: can develop team members from non-traditional backgrounds.
• Bias toward action: comfortable shipping good solutions efficiently.
• Strong technical judgment: assessing technical debt, scope, and quality needs.

Preferred

• Prior experience as a software engineer, data engineer, data scientist, or similar hands-on technical role.
• PMP, PMI-ACP, CSM, or SAFe certification (strongly preferred).
• Previous work in education, edtech, student information systems, or higher education technology.
• Understanding of data privacy regulations (FERPA, GDPR), security requirements (SOC 2), and accessibility standards (WCAG, Section 508).
• Experience managing vendor relationships or external development partners.
• Background in mission-driven, nonprofit, or social impact organizations.
• Comfort working remotely with distributed teams across time zones.

About DataKind

At DataKind, we believe in the transformative power of data science and AI to create a more promising future. Since 2012, we've designed scalable, data-driven tools for global challenges in health, humanitarian action, climate, economic opportunity, and education. We set new standards in the social sector, empowering organizations to harness data science and AI while prioritizing communities.

Why Work with DataKind

DataKind values its people as the most important asset to its mission. As a people-first remote organization, we offer:

• Flexibility and time off: Genuine flexibility, shared time off, organization-wide recharge days, bi-weekly meeting-free days, and flexible PTO (minimum 20 vacation days encouraged).
• Comprehensive Wellness Support: 100% employer-paid medical, vision, and dental benefits for employees (72% for dependents), a wellness reimbursement program, and 12 weeks paid parental leave.
• A Culture of Growth: Annual professional development funding, mentorship, advancement opportunities, and a 401(k) plan with 5% employer matching.
• Meaningful Connection: Opportunities to gather in person for conferences, strategic planning, and an annual staff retreat.
• Living our Values: Commitment to a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment through daily work and special initiatives.

DataKind is an Equal Opportunity Employer and strongly encourages candidates from underrepresented groups in tech to apply. Applicants must have a U.S.-based permanent address and be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis indefinitely without employer visa sponsorship.

Key skills/competency

• Technical Project Management
• Data Engineering
• Agile Methodologies
• Team Leadership
• Strategic Planning
• Stakeholder Management
• SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle)
• Risk Management
• Product Development
• Compliance & Quality Assurance