Technical Project Manager - Pharma R&D

About the role
Location: Remote, UK/CAN/Central Europe/Poland preferred
Time Zone Availability: Must be available for UK/US East Coast business hours
Experience: 5+ Years of Technical Project Management Experience
We are seeking a Technical Project Manager to support R&D delivery initiatives for a leading pharmaceutical company's life sciences platform and application development programs. This mid-level role focuses on tactical execution excellence, sprint orchestration, and dependency coordination across engineering teams while building strong technical literacy in cloud platforms and scientific computing environments.
As a Technical Project Manager, you will coordinate multiple tactical projects simultaneously, or support focused delivery streams within larger strategic initiatives. You'll work within a hybrid delivery model combining waterfall-style governance with agile/Scrum execution, ensuring smooth sprint operations and dependency management across interconnected R&D systems.
This role emphasizes delivery fundamentals: robust sprint planning, clear communication, comprehensive reporting, and proactive risk escalation. You'll report under client Program Managers and work closely with Product Managers to ensure delivery alignment with business value and strategic priorities.
What You'll Do
Sprint Delivery & Execution
Manage bi-weekly sprint planning, retrospectives, and delivery reviews for assigned projects
Own sprint health, burndown accuracy, and velocity tracking in Jira
Facilitate daily stand-ups and ensure team alignment on sprint goals
Track story point completion and identify blockers proactively
Coordinate with engineering teams to maintain delivery momentum
Dependency Management & Coordination
Track dependencies across teams with clear visibility in Jira and dashboards
Coordinate with other vendors and cross-functional teams on integration points
Proactively map dependencies and critical paths for delivery streams
Facilitate coordination meetings and resolve tactical blockers
Escalate dependency conflicts through Program Managers when needed
Planning & Reporting
Define clear Product Delivery Plans with sprint schedules, resource allocation, and risk registers
Maintain comprehensive sprint dashboards and milestone tracking
Provide weekly status reporting to stakeholders and Program Managers
Prepare Shiproom materials with clear status, risks, and decision needs
Generate executive-ready reports for governance checkpoints
Risk Management & Escalation
Identify delivery risks and blockers with clear escalation pathways
Document risk registers and mitigation strategies
Escalate critical issues to Program Managers within 48 hours
Implement contingency plans for schedule or resource risks
Track risk resolution and communicate status updates
Technical Coordination
Develop working knowledge of cloud platforms (GCP) and technical architectures
Understand project technical components to facilitate meaningful discussions with engineers
Navigate ticketing systems and support workflows
Support technical dependency resolution between teams
Learn and apply technical terminology relevant to R&D systems
Stakeholder Communication
Provide transparent updates with timely escalations
Facilitate sprint reviews and demo sessions
Communicate blockers, risks, and status clearly to all stakeholders
Manage expectations on delivery timelines and scope changes
Build trusted relationships with engineering teams and Product Managers
Knowledge Management
Maintain current Confluence documentation for all assigned projects
Document sprint outcomes, decisions, and action items
Ensure knowledge capture is integrated into daily workflows
Support runbook creation for operational handoffs
Contribute to continuous improvement through retrospective insights
AI-Powered Project Management (Learning & Application)
Learn to leverage Gemini Pro and Atlassian AI for project management tasks
Apply AI tools for sprint summaries and automated Jira hygiene
Use intelligent forecasting tools for burndown and velocity predictions
Participate in AI use case development initiatives
Requirements
Essential Qualifications
Core Project Management Skills
5+ years of experience in technical project management or software delivery
Strong understanding of agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban)
Proven experience managing sprints and coordinating engineering teams
Demonstrated ability in dependency tracking and multi-team coordination
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
Proficient user of Jira for sprint management and reporting
Experience with ticketing systems and support workflows
Technical Skills
Working understanding of cloud platforms (GCP experience highly valued)
Basic knowledge of Google Cloud services: BigQuery, Workflows, Cloud Run, GCS
Ability to learn technical concepts and communicate with engineering teams
Familiarity with software development lifecycle and DevOps practices
Understanding of technical dependencies and integration points
Capacity to read technical documentation and participate in technical discussions
Communication & Collaboration
Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities
Strong analytical skills with ability to interpret delivery metrics and identify improvements
Proven ability to facilitate meetings and drive decision-making
Self-motivated with excellent problem-solving abilities
Demonstrated leadership in coordinating technical teams across time zones (UK/US)
Recommended Qualifications
Certifications & Training
Project Management certification (PMP, PRINCE2, CSM, or equivalent) or comparable experience
Cloud certification (Google Cloud, AWS, Azure) or equivalent experience
Agile/Scrum certifications (CSM, CSPO, SAFe)
ITIL or service management framework knowledge
Life Sciences & Domain Knowledge
Experience in pharmaceutical or life sciences industries
Understanding of scientific research workflows and R&D environments
Familiarity with GxP and compliance requirements
Knowledge of scientific computing and high-performance computing (HPC) concepts
Advanced Technical Skills
Understanding of HPC in cloud environments, particularly GCP offerings
Knowledge of containerized workloads and orchestration
Experience with infrastructure as code and automation principles
Familiarity with data engineering concepts and pipelines
Understanding of AI/ML platform operations and MLOps
Process & Improvement
Experience with continuous improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma) or on-the-job application
Background in implementing or following ITIL service management practices
Knowledge of ServiceNow administration and workflow configuration
Experience with data analysis and metrics-driven decision making
Domain Specializations
Background in data science, machine learning, or computational science environments
Experience supporting scientific computing software stacks
Knowledge of batch processing systems for large-scale workloads
Understanding of data movement challenges for large scientific datasets