Staff Technical Program Manager

4 days ago

Toronto, Ontario, Canada Lightspeed Commerce Full-time

Hi there Thanks for stopping by

We're looking for a Staff Technical Program Manager to join our Product & Technology Operations team and own how we build the Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC) into a shared execution model across Product, Engineering, and Design.

You will own how work flows from idea to impact across the organization - one language for how work moves, one set of metrics leaders can trust, and one standard for what "good" looks like at every stage of PDLC.

This is a founding role for the function. You'll define the model, align stakeholders around it, and prove out its value as you build.

What You’ll Be Doing

Define the execution model

  • Design a PDLC framework that works across Product, Engineering, and Design and across all Lightspeed products.
  • Define what good looks like at each stage of PDLC, including the artifacts, checkpoints, and exit criteria teams should use.

Build the measurement system

  • Establish metrics that give leaders a trustworthy, holistic view of how work is flowing and where it's getting stuck.
  • Design the framework so it measures the system and surfaces bottlenecks, not individual performance.
  • Build in exception tracking so blocked or off-track work is visible early.

Drive adoption

  • Partner with Product, Engineering, and Design leaders across every vertical to align on the model and earn genuine buy-in and adoption.
  • Navigate real differences across verticals and business units without forcing false consistency where it doesn't make sense.
  • Bring structure to ambiguity - resolve open questions as they surface rather than waiting for a perfect spec.

Build an AI-first PDLC

  • Define what humans own versus what AI agents own at each stage of PDLC, keeping judgment, accountability, and anything irreversible or customer-facing with humans.
  • Partner with Engineering to identify where AI agents can accelerate delivery, build pilots, and measure their ROI and impact on speed.
  • Ensure human checkpoints are genuine decisions, not rubber stamps, as adoption scales.

Evolve the model

  • Treat the framework as a living system - review it periodically and adjust based on what's actually working.
  • Report on program health and progress to senior leadership.

What You Need To Bring

  • Experience designing or significantly evolving a delivery framework, execution model, or program management system - not just operating one someone else built.
  • Experience leading cross-functional organizations through operational change, including turning skepticism into genuine adoption.
  • A track record of building measurement systems from ambiguous or inconsistent data, and knowing which problems to solve first versus defer.
  • Experience partnering with Engineering on applied AI or automation, including how to evaluate and measure whether it's actually accelerating delivery, not just novel.
  • Strong executive communication skills - able to represent program health, risk, and trade-ops credibly to senior leadership.
  • Demonstrated ability to influence and align senior stakeholders across Product, Engineering, and Design without formal authority over them.
  • Comfort operating with significant ambiguity and independently structuring a path forward rather than waiting for direction.
  • As a global company with employees and clients outside of Quebec, fluency in English as a working language is required for this position.

You'd Be Great At This Role If You...

  • Enjoy building something from a blank page rather than optimizing an existing system.
  • Can hold a strong point of view on "what good looks like" while staying open to what the data and teams tell you.
  • Get energized aligning stakeholders with different views, perspectives, and backgrounds.
  • Think in systems and flow, not individual tickets or teams.

Be a changemaker

You’ll Enjoy

  • A flexible work environment that empowers you to do your best work
  • A culture that celebrates performance
  • The chance to make an impact in a team that’s big enough for career growth, but lean enough to make your voice heard
  • Career-defining opportunities

Plus benefits designed to keep you happy, healthy and fulfilled.

  • Flexible paid time off and remote work policies
  • Equity options, because this is your company too
  • Contributions to your pension plan. Your future matters
  • Training opportunities to grow your skills and career
  • Health and wellness credit so you feel your best
  • Time off to volunteer and give back to your community
  • Interest groups, employee led networks, social committees to sp