Our Purpose
Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.
Title and Summary
Principal Technical Project Management
About the Role
The Principal, Technical Program Management (TPM) is a senior leadership role responsible for building and leading a high performing team of Technical Program Managers, while also directly owning and driving complex, high impact initiatives. This role partners closely with Data & Governance leadership and Technology Operations stakeholders to ensure strategic programs are well planned, effectively executed, and aligned to enterprise priorities.
This leader operates at both the strategic and execution layers—establishing delivery standards, coaching talent, and stepping in as a hands-on program leader for critical initiatives. Given the global nature of the organization, the role requires flexibility and effectiveness working across multiple time zones and regions.
Role
Program & Portfolio Leadership • Own and drive critical programs directly, particularly high-risk, high-visibility, or strategically significant initiatives. • Oversee a portfolio of programs across Data & Governance and Technology Operations, ensuring alignment to enterprise objectives. • Ensure consistent application of program management rigor, including planning, dependency management, risk mitigation, and execution tracking. • Proactively identify cross-program dependencies, constraints, and trade-offs, and drive resolution in partnership with senior stakeholders. • Provide end-to-end visibility into infrastructure equipment timelines required to deliver technology programs, from order placement through delivery and readiness. • Establish and maintain a consolidated view of infrastructure logistics status, dependencies, and risks across programs and delivery teams. • Partner with Infrastructure, Sourcing, and Finance teams to reconcile delivery timelines h spend commitments and sequencing decisions.
Strategic Initiative Enablement • Partner with Data & Governance leaders to translate strategy into executable roadmaps and delivery plans. • Assist in leading enterprise and cross-organizational strategic initiatives that cut across multiple technology and operations teams. • Establish and maintain governance structures, operating rhythms, and executive-level reporting to provide transparency into progress, risks, and outcomes. • Drive clarity in ownership, decision-making, and accountability across complex initiatives.
Stakeholder & Executive Engagement • Act as a trusted partner to senior leaders across Technology Operations, Data, Engineering, Security, and Product. • Communicate clearly and effectively with executive audiences, providing concise, outcome-oriented updates. • Navigate ambiguity and influence without authority in highly matrixed environments. • Represent the TPM function as a thought leader in delivery excellence and execution discipline.
Global & Operational Effectiveness • Lead and engage teams and stakeholders distributed across geographies and time zones. • Demonstrate flexibility in working hours to support global collaboration and critical delivery milestones. • Promote inclusive and effective collaboration practices across regions.
All About You
Required Qualifications • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical or business discipline, preferred. • Proven experience delivering results in technical program management, engineering program leadership, or related capacity. • Proven experience delivering large-scale, cross-functional technical initiatives in complex environments. •Strong understanding of software development lifecycles, data platforms, or technology operations.
Key Skills & Competencies • Executive communication and stakeholder management • Program governance and delivery excellence • Strategic thinking with operational execution • Risk management and dependency resolution • Infrastructure procurement and logistics lifecycle awareness • Ability to translate operational and logistics data into decision-ready insights
What Success Looks Like • A strong, engaged TPM organization delivering consistent, predictable outcomes. • Strategic initiatives executed with clarity and discipline. • Improved transparency and predictability across complex programs, including infrastructure readiness. • Leaders view the TPM function as a force multiplier, not just a delivery role.
Mastercard is a merit-based, inclusive, equal opportunity employer that considers applicants without regard to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We hire the most qualified candidate for the role. In the US or Canada, if you require accommodations or assistance to complete the online application process or during the recruitment process, please contact reasonable_accommodation@mastercard.com and identify the type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. Do not include any medical or health information in this email. The Reasonable Accommodations team will respond to your email promptly.
Corporate Security Responsibility
All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:
- Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;
- Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;
- Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and
- Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.
In line with Mastercard’s total compensation philosophy and assuming that the job will be performed in the US, the successful candidate will be offered a competitive base salary and may be eligible for an annual bonus or commissions depending on the role. The base salary offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including but not limited to location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Mastercard benefits for full time (and certain part time) employees generally include: insurance (including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life insurance); flexible spending account and health savings account; paid leaves (including 16 weeks of new parent leave and up to 20 days of bereavement leave); 80 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time, 25 days of vacation time and 5 personal days, pro-rated based on date of hire; 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays; 401k with a best-in-class company match; deferred compensation for eligible roles; fitness reimbursement or on-site fitness facilities; eligibility for tuition reimbursement; and many more. Mastercard benefits for interns generally include: 56 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time; jury duty leave; and on-site fitness facilities in some locations.
Pay Ranges
O'Fallon, Missouri: $152,000 - $258,000 USD