Technical Program Manager – Retail Technology

Job summary

Define and lead the global technology portfolio and multi-year roadmap for merchandise planning, forecasting, sizing, and allocation, including platform modernization, enterprise migrations, and investment governance. Coordinate business, engineering, product, and data science teams; improve delivery and system reliability; manage critical incidents; and communicate roadmaps and recommendations to executives.

Job details

Principal Technical Program Manager – Retail Technology Location: Vancouver, BC Work Model: Hybrid – 3 Days Onsite Role Summary We are seeking a Principal Technical Program Manager (TPM) to define and lead the global technology portfolio supporting Merchandise Planning, Forecasting, Sizing, and Allocation systems. This is a senior strategic leadership role responsible for connecting business strategy with enterprise-scale technology architecture and execution. The ideal candidate will have deep experience in retail technology, merchandising, planning, allocation, supply chain, forecasting, and large-scale technology transformation. The role will lead multi-year transformation programs, platform modernization, enterprise migrations, technical standardization, and cross-functional initiatives involving Engineering, Product, Data Science, and business leadership. Key Responsibilities Portfolio Strategy & Governance Define and drive the 3–5 year technology roadmap for Merch Planning, Forecasting, Sizing, and Allocation. Own strategic alignment, governance, investment planning, and delivery across large enterprise technology portfolios. Align technology roadmaps with business milestones, merchandising cycles, and global go-to-market requirements. Strategic Business & Technology Leadership Partner with senior business and technology leaders to translate business priorities into scalable technology solutions. Drive measurable improvements across pre-season planning, assortment, sizing, buy quantities, forecasting, and in-season allocation. Lead complex business and technology trade-off decisions involving automation, forecasting accuracy, planner overrides, and operational responsiveness. Architecture & Platform Modernization Lead enterprise platform modernization and architectural decision-making. Drive integrations across planning platforms, data warehouses, proprietary applications, and AI/ML services. Experience with platforms such as Anaplan, Snowflake, AWS/GCP, data pipelines, and AI/ML solutions is highly valued. Establish technical evaluation frameworks for build-vs-buy, modernization, deprecation, and platform investment decisions. Program Delivery & Operating Model Design and scale delivery models across large engineering and program management organizations. Establish execution standards covering backlog readiness, dependency management, resource allocation, and cross-team coordination. Drive continuous improvement in delivery predictability, software quality, and operational readiness. Cross-Functional Leadership Act as the strategic program owner connecting Merchandising, Allocation, Engineering, Data Science, Product Management, and business teams. Identify and mitigate complex dependencies across forecasting engines, sizing systems, allocation platforms, and financial systems. Establish enterprise-level data quality and integrity standards. Incident & Reliability Leadership Lead executive-level response to critical production incidents affecting global planning and allocation systems. Drive root-cause analysis, post-mortems, and permanent remediation. Establish and enforce reliability standards and SLAs for business-critical systems. Executive Communication & Mentorship Develop executive-level roadmaps, business cases, status reports, and technology investment recommendations. Communicate complex technical and data-science concepts to senior business stakeholders. Mentor Senior and Staff-level TPMs and program managers and help establish scalable program management practices. Required Qualifications 15+ years of progressive experience in Technical Program Management, Engineering Leadership, Enterprise Architecture, or related technology leadership roles. 5+ years' operating at Principal, Director, or equivalent senior leadership level. Proven experience leading large enterprise technology portfolios within: Retail Technology Merchandising Merchandise Planning Allocation Supply Chain Forecasting Experience leading large, matrixed Engineering, Product, and Data Science organizations. Strong understanding of: Forecasting models Inventory optimization Size-curve profiling Allocation algorithms Data-driven planning systems Proven ability to influence senior business and technology stakeholders. Preferred Qualifications Experience with Anaplan or enterprise planning platforms. Experience with custom allocation engines or legacy planning system modernization. Strong knowledge of Snowflake, AWS/GCP, ETL/ELT, and streaming data platforms. Experience implementing AI/ML forecasting and optimization models at enterprise scale. Experience in global omnichannel retail, apparel, merchandising, or high-volume logistics environments. Education Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Operations Research, MIS, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. Location & Work Model Vancouver, BC | Hybrid | 3 Days Onsite

What you’ll do

Define and lead the global technology portfolio and multi-year roadmap for merchandise planning, forecasting, sizing, and allocation, including platform modernization, enterprise migrations, and investment governance. Coordinate business, engineering, product, and data science teams; improve delivery and system reliability; manage critical incidents; and communicate roadmaps and recommendations to executives.

Requirements

Requires 15+ years of progressive experience in technical program management or related technology leadership, including 5+ years at Principal, Director, or equivalent level. Candidates should have led large enterprise retail technology portfolios and matrixed teams, understand forecasting, inventory optimization, sizing, and allocation systems, and hold a bachelor's or master's degree in a relevant technical field or equivalent practical experience.

Listed skills

• Supply Chain · Preferred
• Incident Management · Preferred
• Forecasting · Preferred

Other relevant skills

Identified from the job description. Confirm important requirements above.

• Technical Program Management
• Retail Technology
• Merchandise Planning
• Forecasting
• Sizing and Allocation
• Supply Chain
• Portfolio Strategy
• Enterprise Architecture
• Platform Modernization
• Program Delivery
• Cross-Functional Leadership
• Data Quality and Integrity
• Incident Management
• Anaplan
• Snowflake
• AI/ML

Job areas

• Technology
• Management & Leadership
• Retail
• Software
• Data & Analytics