Program Manager, PDLC

About the company

Vasion builds cloud-first enterprise software that helps organizations digitize work, automate processes, reduce paper dependence, and run more efficiently. The company is growing quickly and looks for people who are comfortable challenging traditional ways of working.

About the role

Vasion is implementing a Product Development Life Cycle (PDLC), a company-wide operating approach intended to add only the structure needed to build and ship software effectively. As the Program Manager for PDLC, you will help make that operating model work in practice.

This position is far more than scheduling or status tracking. You will work directly with engineering and product management teams as a hands-on practitioner, coach, and catalyst for change, helping teams understand the PDLC, trust it, and use it naturally in their day-to-day work.

Your time will be divided between running the PDLC across active programs and improving the framework itself. Insights from your work with teams will influence how the model evolves. Because Vasion is also moving toward agent-native development, a real interest in AI is important for this role.

What you will do

You will support PDLC adoption, strengthen the framework, manage programs from start to finish, align multiple functions, and keep documentation current and useful.

• Act as an embedded PDLC practitioner by demonstrating the framework and helping partners across the business understand its purpose and practical use.
• Coach engineering and product management colleagues on PDLC methods by meeting them at their current level rather than forcing a rigid playbook.
• Build confidence through consistency, reliability, and partnership instead of relying on formal authority.
• Explain the business value of PDLC to engineering teams in clear terms, including less context switching, cleaner handoffs, fewer rebuilds, and more predictable delivery.
• Work with the VP of Program Management to create, document, and improve processes, templates, stage-gate criteria, and governance standards.
• Write and maintain playbooks and supporting documentation so the PDLC is easy to use across Product Management and Engineering.
• Use hands-on experience to recommend improvements to the framework.
• Own assigned programs end to end, including discovery, scope, schedules, milestones, dependencies, and deliverables at each phase.
• Create program plans that give Product Management, Engineering, Design, QA, and Go-to-Market teams one shared view of progress, next steps, and ownership.
• Identify risks and blockers early and present thoughtful options to the VP before issues become larger problems.
• Run kickoffs, stage-gate reviews, cross-functional syncs, and retrospectives so meetings end with clear decisions and documented actions.
• Serve as the main day-to-day coordination point among Product Management, Engineering, Design, QA, and Go-to-Market for your programs.
• Detect and resolve cross-team misalignment and dependency conflicts before they affect delivery.
• Maintain accurate program records through the full lifecycle.
• View documentation as a key quality measure that helps programs become repeatable, easy to learn from, and increasingly ready for agent-based workflows.

Requirements

• 5 to 8 years of program management experience in software, specifically at the program level across several teams.
• Experience managing cross-functional programs through multiple phases of a product or software development lifecycle.
• Background working inside engineering and/or product management teams rather than from a centralized PMO.
• Experience participating in or leading a process or operating model transformation.
• Working knowledge of Atlassian tools such as Jira and Confluence, and/or Notion, and/or Adobe Workfront.
• Experience in B2B SaaS or enterprise software is strongly preferred.
• Exposure to dual-track agile, Shape Up, OKR-led planning, or similar lean methods is preferred.
• Understanding of product discovery practices such as opportunity mapping, user story mapping, and hypothesis-driven development is preferred.
• Experience supporting both product management and engineering within one organization is preferred.
• Experience in a high-growth or private-equity-backed software environment is preferred.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience is required.
• PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP, or a similar certification is a plus.
• Bonus consideration for candidates who have helped skeptical engineering or product teams adopt a new way of working, built a PDLC or SDLC framework from scratch, or developed practical tactics for improving cross-functional alignment.

Skills and attributes

The ideal candidate builds alignment through trust and credibility, explains process clearly, keeps work organized without overcomplicating it, and is comfortable using AI as part of the workflow.

• Cross-functional program management
• PDLC and process adoption
• Change management
• Stakeholder alignment
• Risk and dependency management
• Program planning and governance
• Documentation and playbook development
• Facilitation and meeting leadership
• Agile and lean delivery methods
• Product discovery awareness
• AI curiosity and practical usage
• Enterprise SaaS collaboration

Perks and benefits

• Flexible work arrangement
• Discretionary vacation bonus
• Flexible paid time off
• Paid parental leave
• Competitive compensation
• Comprehensive benefits package
• Training and advancement opportunities
• 401(k) with company match and immediate vesting
• Financial wellness education
• Mental wellness support
• Company-funded HSA contribution
• Onsite amenities such as a gym, pickleball, snacks and drinks, an arcade, and a theater room

Core values

• Disruptive Visionaries: Customers come first, and the team listens carefully to understand their real needs.
• Relationship Builders: People are treated with empathy, compassion, and honest communication.
• Candor Seekers: Open, caring, and direct conversations are encouraged to help achieve goals.
• Action Owners: Every employee owns outcomes, learns from setbacks, and creates a plan to improve.

Additional information

Vasion is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants are considered without regard to race, age, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic.

Why this role matters

This is a chance to help build a mature, scalable, and genuinely useful PDLC at a company that is investing in this foundation before it becomes a problem. You will work closely with a VP who is committed to your development and contribute to programs that are visible across the Product and Engineering organization.