Technical Program Manager

The xFoundry Alliance is transforming universities into solution engines that generate real ventures, develop entrepreneurial leaders, and advance meaningful societal outcomes. Headquartered at the University of Maryland's E.A. Fernandez IDEA Factory, xFoundry empowers students to tackle humanity's most pressing challenges through multidisciplinary collaboration, AI-powered tools, and rigorous venture-building programs.

Our flagship Xperience program is a 15–18-month venture-building competition in which student teams develop investment-grade MVPs that address grand societal challenges in climate, education, food and water, health, infrastructure, and society. Winning teams compete for investments of up to $2 million and receive guidance from seasoned CXOs through our Xcelerate accelerator program.

We are seeking a Technical Program Manager who will serve as the operational backbone of xFoundry's execution—but this isn't a traditional TPM role focused on status reports and Gantt charts. We need someone who can embed program management into the way teams actually work, using AI tools and integrations to make tracking effortless rather than burdensome. This role is ideal for someone who:

Believes project management should be invisible infrastructure, not administrative

• Believes project management should be invisible infrastructure, not administrative overhead
• Gets excited about connecting tools like Linear, Wrike, and AI meeting assistants to automatically capture and assign action items
• Can work equally well with software developers, marketing teams, and product teams
• Is comfortable using AI vibe coding tools (Cursor, Replit, Claude, etc.) to build integrations and automate workflows
• Translates messy discussions into clear requirements, then ensures those requirements become tracked, assigned work
• Sees their job as making everyone else more efficient, not policing their output

Cross-Functional Program & Project Management

• Lead end-to-end project management across xFoundry's technical platforms, competition infrastructure, marketing initiatives, and programmatic operations
• Coordinate workstreams spanning agile software development, marketing campaigns, product development, competition design, and external partnerships
• Develop integrated project plans with timelines, milestones, and dependencies that work across teams with different working styles
• Ensure alignment between strategic objectives and day-to-day execution across all functions

AI-Powered Workflow Integration

• Design and implement integrations between project management tools (Linear, Wrike) and AI tools to seamlessly capture action items from meetings
• Build automated workflows that assign tasks, update projects, and track progress without requiring manual data entry
• Use AI vibe coding tools (Cursor, Replit, Claude, v0, etc.) to develop custom integrations and workflow automations
• Embed project management into daily routines so teams use it as a tool to work more efficiently—not as a reporting burden
• Create intelligent dashboards that surface what matters without requiring teams to constantly update status

Technical Team Coordination

• Work with the Director of Technology to manage delivery across the software development team using agile methodologies
• Translate product and platform requirements into clear execution plans and sprint-level deliverables
• Facilitate standups, planning sessions, retrospectives, and cross-team coordination
• Track progress, risks, and technical dependencies across engineering initiatives

Marketing & Product Team Coordination

• Manage marketing campaigns and initiatives with the same rigor applied to software delivery
• Coordinate product development across research, design, and implementation phases
• Translate stakeholder discussions into clear, actionable requirements for implementation
• Ensure marketing, product, and engineering are synchronized around shared timelines and dependencies

Xperience Competition & Program Execution

• Manage timelines, deliverables, and interdependencies for the Xperience Competition and related programs
• Coordinate across competition design, operations, evaluation milestones, and venture progression
• Ensure readiness for major program milestones, demos, events (including NEXPLORE), and external engagements

Stakeholder Communication & Reporting

• Serve as the central coordination point between technical teams, marketing, product, program staff, leadership, and external partners
• Provide regular status updates and executive-level reporting—automated wherever possible
• Identify risks early and propose mitigation strategies
• Document decisions, processes, and outcomes in ways that are searchable and actionable

Cross-Functional Fluency

• You can manage agile software development sprints AND marketing campaign timelines AND product roadmaps
• You understand the different rhythms and working styles of engineering, marketing, and product teams
• You translate between functions—turning vague requests into clear requirements and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks

Technical Integration Skills

• You can connect project management tools (Linear, Wrike, Asana, Jira) with other systems via APIs, Zapier, Make, or custom code
• You're comfortable using AI coding assistants (Cursor, Replit Agent, Claude, GitHub Copilot) to build integrations and automate workflows
• You understand how to capture meeting outputs (via tools like Fireflies, Otter, Granola, or similar) and route them into project management systems

Workflow Design Philosophy

• You believe project management should reduce friction, not create it
• You design systems where tracking happens as a byproduct of work, not as a separate task
• You're relentless about removing manual data entry and status update meetings from people's lives

Requirements Translation

• You can sit in a messy brainstorm or stakeholder meeting and emerge with clear, implementable requirements
• You document in ways that engineers, marketers, and executives all find useful
• You close the loop—requirements become tasks, tasks get assigned, progress gets tracked, work gets done

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree + 5 years of professional experience in project or program management
• Demonstrated experience managing cross-functional teams, including software development, marketing, and product
• Strong command of project management methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Kanban, hybrid approaches)
• Proven ability to integrate and automate project management tools using APIs, no-code tools, or scripting
• Experience with AI tools for productivity, coding assistance, or workflow automation
• Track record of delivering complex projects in dynamic, fast-paced environments

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Linear, Wrike, or similar modern project management platforms
• Familiarity with AI meeting assistants and transcription tools (Fireflies, Otter, Granola, etc.)
• Background in startups, accelerators, or innovation-driven environments
• Experience with vibe coding tools (Cursor, Replit, v0, Lovable, etc.)
• Understanding of software development lifecycles and technical architecture discussions
• Experience managing content, campaigns, or go-to-market initiatives
• PMP, CSM, or similar certification (valued but not required if you have the skills)

Technical Tools You Should Know (or Learn Quickly)

• Project Management: Linear, Wrike, Jira, Asana, Notion
• Integration/Automation: Zapier, Make, n8n, custom API integrations
• AI Coding: Cursor, Replit, Claude, GitHub Copilot
• Meeting Intelligence: Fireflies, Otter, Granola, or similar
• Communication: Slack (including workflow automation), Microsoft Teams

Reinvent How Teams Work: Build project management systems that people actually want to use—not systems they tolerate

AI-Native Environment: Work in an organization that embraces AI tools and expects you to push the boundaries of what's possible

Cross-Functional Impact: Touch every part of the organization—engineering, marketing, product, programs, partnerships

Mission-Driven: Help launch the next generation of companies addressing humanity's grand challenges

Flexibility: Work from College Park, MD or Dallas, TX with hybrid arrangements

Competitive Compensation: $120,000 - $145,000 salary with benefits

Submit your resume along with a brief statement (1 page max) addressing the following:

mtech-human-resources@umd.edu

• A workflow or integration you've built that made project management invisible (or at least less painful) for a team
• How you approach managing teams with different working styles (e.g., engineers vs. marketers)
• Your experience with AI tools—either for coding, automation, or productivity

The University of Maryland is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.