Deutsche Telekom Digital Labs - Director - Technical Program Management

Director - Technical Program Management (TPM)

Role Summary:

We are looking for a Director of Technical Program Management (TPM) to join our Engineering leadership team. Our organization builds and operates digital platforms used by millions of customers, forming critical foundations for business and technology. This is a senior leadership role responsible for driving strategy-to-execution across complex, cross-domain initiatives in a fast-paced, AI-first product and technology organization. The Director TPM acts as a force multiplier for Product and Engineering leaders-accelerating delivery, improving execution quality, and simplifying how work gets done at scale.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Program Leadership:

• Partner with Product, Engineering, and Business leadership to translate strategy into clear, executable programs
• Shape portfolio priorities, sequencing, and trade-offs across multiple value streams
• Ensure initiatives are aligned to customer impact, business outcomes, and long-term technology strategy

Cross-Domain Execution:

• Own delivery of large-scale, cross-functional initiatives spanning journeys, platforms, and teams
• Drive clarity on accountability, dependencies, and delivery predictability
• Operate effectively in a multi-program, high-ambiguity environment

AI-First Program Management

• Champion an AI-first approach to program execution and decision-making
• Drive adoption of AI and automation to improve risk and dependency identification, delivery forecasting and visibility, and status reporting and insights
• Reduce manual program overhead and raise execution maturity

Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Act as a trusted partner to senior Product, Engineering, and Business leaders
• Provide decision-ready insights, not just status updates
• Lead escalation management and complex trade-off decisions with clarity and data

Operating Model & TPM Organization Leadership

• Define and continuously evolve the program execution operating model
• Simplify processes, ceremonies, and reporting to reduce coordination overhead
• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing TPM organization
• Position TPM as a strategic enabler, not a reporting layer

Required Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in Technical Program Management, Engineering, or large-scale software delivery
• Proven experience leading complex, cross-organizational initiatives at Director or equivalent senior level
• Strong understanding of software architecture, modern platforms, and Agile delivery at scale
• Experience operating in fast-paced, change-driven environments

Skills & Capabilities

• Strong systems thinking and execution focus
• Deep understanding of Agile principles and delivery metrics
• Experience with CI/CD, quality engineering, and operational readiness
• Executive-level communication and influence skills
• Comfortable operating with high autonomy and accountability
• Experience with tools such as JIRA and Confluence (preferred)

What Success Looks Like

• Strategic initiatives move from idea to impact faster and more predictably
• Risks and dependencies are identified early and resolved decisively
• AI measurably improves execution quality and transparency
• Teams spend less time coordinating and more time delivering value
• TPM is recognized as a critical leadership and execution capability