Samba is seeking a Director of Technical Program Management to lead and grow the TPM function during company expansion. This strategic leadership role involves planning, executing, and governing complex programs across the ad tech stack including data collection, identity, audience platforms, measurement solutions, and third-party integrations. Responsibilities include leading a team of 2-4 TPMs, defining operating models, driving program execution strategy, enforcing governance frameworks, aligning cross-functional roadmaps, and managing high-stakes programs. The role requires deep engineering discipline, ad tech domain expertise, proven leadership, and ability to operate at senior leadership level. Candidates must have 10+ years in TPM with 5+ years in senior roles, experience managing TPM teams, strong knowledge of Agile, Scrum, SAFe, program governance, regulatory compliance (GDPR, CCPA), and technical background in software engineering or related fields. Familiarity with AI tools for automation and cloud-based data platforms is preferred. Location: Austin, Texas.
What you'll do
Lead, mentor, and grow a team of 2–4 TPMs, setting a high bar for program ownership, communication, and technical credibility
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Define the TPM team's operating model — how programs are staffed, governed, escalated, and reported — and evolve it as the organization scales
Act as the senior-most TPM voice in leadership forums, representing program health, risk posture, and execution capacity to the CTO, SVP of Engineering and cross-functional peers
Drive hiring decisions, performance development, and career growth for the TPM team
Own the end-to-end program execution strategy for the technology organization's most complex, cross-functional initiatives — from annual planning through delivery
Define and enforce program governance frameworks: scope, milestones, dependency management, risk registers, and earned value tracking
Partner with Engineering, Product, and Data Science leadership to align program roadmaps with business priorities, capacity constraints, and strategic objectives
Drive the shift from bespoke, one-off execution to scalable, repeatable program infrastructure — ensuring teams build for hundreds of integrations, not one at a time
Personally lead the highest-stakes programs when complexity, risk, or organizational span demands senior TPM ownership
Operate as a credible peer to VPs and Sr. Directors — a strategic partner with a clear point of view on tradeoffs, priorities, and risk
Communicate program status, risks, and strategic dependencies to the CTO, SVP of Engineering and executive leadership with clarity, precision, and appropriate urgency
Build and maintain alignment across Engineering, Product, Legal, Data, and Operations on programs that cut across organizational boundaries
Surface and resolve cross-functional blockers that cannot be handled at the team level — escalating with a recommended resolution, not just a flag
Use AI tools and skills for acceleration of automations from the perspective of TPM artifacts
Establish and continuously improve the standard TPM toolkit: program templates, RAID frameworks, status reporting cadences, and planning rituals
Champion Agile and scaled Agile (SAFe) practices across engineering teams, partnering with Engineering Managers to ensure methodology serves delivery
Ensure programs reflect regulatory and compliance requirements (GDPR, CCPA, privacy-by-design) as first-class planning inputs
Stay current on industry trends in ad tech, programmatic advertising, and digital measurement — bringing external perspective into internal planning
Requirements
10+ years of experience in technical program management, with at least 5+ years in a senior or lead TPM role
Experience managing and developing a team of TPMs — hiring, coaching, setting standards, and building a high-performance culture
Deep domain expertise in ad tech — including programmatic advertising, audience data platforms, measurement and attribution solutions, identity, and/or data product delivery
Proven track record operating as a peer to VPs and Sr. Directors — influencing strategic decisions, representing program risk at the executive level, and driving alignment across senior leadership
Expertise in Agile, Scrum, and SAFe methodologies with hands-on experience driving adoption across engineering organizations
Strong command of program governance: earned value metrics, dependency management, risk mitigation, and structured escalation frameworks
Exceptional written and verbal communication — able to adapt from engineering deep-dives to executive briefings without losing precision or credibility
Experience managing programs that span regulatory or compliance constraints (GDPR, CCPA, or similar privacy frameworks)
Background in software engineering, computer science, or a related technical field — prior hands-on engineering experience
Experience with cloud-based data platforms, big data technologies, and/or real-time data pipeline infrastructure
Familiarity with ACR (Automatic Content Recognition), connected TV data, or OEM-level data collection
Experience managing TPM functions during periods of rapid organizational growth, M&A integration, or geographic expansion
MBA or advanced technical degree is valued but not required
Tech stack
AI tools (Claude, Gemini, Cursor, Codex)AgileScrumSAFecloud-based data platformsbig data technologiesreal-time data pipeline infrastructureprogrammatic advertisingaudience data platformsmeasurement and attribution solutionsidentitydata product deliveryACR (Automatic Content Recognition)connected TV dataOEM-level data collection
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