Technical program managers, or TPMs for short, are mid-to senior-level professionals that are in charge of providing product development concepts and managing the development and release of products. This article goes in-depth to explain the role of technical program managers and the skills, education and salary that these professionals commonly have.
What is Technical Program Management?
As businesses thrive and grow, the need for programs that are cross-functional grows as well. To facilitate this, technical program management is required. Technical program management facilitates the collaboration of programs between different teams within an organisation.
The goal here is to support businesses with their product goals and to ensure that products are developed and released in a smooth way. The benefits of technical program management include:
- Boost in company strategy
- Easier collaboration with cross-functional stakeholders
- Efficient delivery on various complex projects
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Technical Program Manager: Roles and Responsibilities
Technical program managers are in charge of planning, managing and overseeing a product through its development stages. They do this by working with business stakeholders to understand their program requirements and determining what resources they might need.
These professionals create detailed project plans at each development stage and are in charge of reviewing the overall schedule to ensure everything continues smoothly.
TPMs often also collaborate with system engineers and software architects and report product development progress to senior staff members. They diagnose and test any technical issues and provide potential solutions as well as evaluate product performance metrics.
What are the responsibilities of a technical program manager?
- Planning, managing and overseeing products through development stages
- Work with business stakeholders to understand program requirements
- Determine resources needed to deliver products
- Create detailed plans for each product development stage
- Review overall schedule to ensure process runs smoothly
- Collaborate with system engineers and software architects
- Report product development progress to senior staff members
- Diagnose and test any technical issues
- Provide potential solutions
- Evaluate product performance metrics
Skills of a Technical Program Manager
A technical program manager has advanced knowledge when it comes to the full life-cycle of product development. They have a deep understanding of the process, and are knowledgeable of each individual development stage.
TPMs also have leadership experience in product planning and management and proficiency in programming languages such as Python and JavaScript.
These managers have experience with project management and are familiar with agile methodologies.
In terms of soft skills, technical program managers have strong communication, leadership and interpersonal skills. They are also detail-oriented and have a good understanding of basic business concepts.
What are the skills of a technical program manager?
- Advanced knowledge of product development life-cycle
- Deep understanding of product development processes and individual stages
- Leadership experience in product planning and management
- Proficiency in programming languages such as Python and JavaScript
- Experience with project management
- Familiarity with agile methodologies
- Strong communication skills
- Good leadership skills
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Detail-oriented
- Good understanding of business concepts
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Background and Education
A technical program manager typically has at least a Bachelor’s degree This could be in Business Administration, Business Management, Computer science, or a related field. Some employers also prefer managers who have Master’s degrees.
You will also need to obtain certain certifications to find high-paying jobs. Check out options for these down below:
- Project Management Professional Certification Program (PMP)
- Technical Program Management
- IT Project Management: Delivering successful IT projects
- Project Management Professional
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Salary of a Technical Program Manager
A technical program manager typically earns $160,000 per year on average. Professionals who are just starting out can expect a salary of around $100,000 per year whereas those with years of experience with management can expect a salary of around $261,000 per year.
Keep in mind that these figures can vary depending on where you are, what your exact role is and the level of expertise you have.
In Germany, the salary range for technical program managers is €64,000 – €104,000 whereas in the UK, the range is £49,000 – £126,000.
How much do technical program managers earn?
| US | $100,000 – $261,000 |
| Germany | €64,000 – €104,000 |
| UK | £49,000 – £126,000 |
How much do freelance technical program managers make?
Technical Program Manager on freelancermap charge on average:
Rates in this field range between $40 and $96/hour for most freelancers.
The daily rate for Technical Program Managers (8 working hours) would be around:
