Staff Technical Program Manager, Core Experience

Instacart is transforming the grocery industry by providing essential services that customers rely on for groceries and household goods. As a Staff Technical Program Manager, you will lead complex, cross-company programs, driving strategy and execution while collaborating with various teams to deliver impactful results. This role offers the opportunity to influence company strategy and enhance operational excellence in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the strategy, definition, and end-to-end execution of complex, cross-company programs with high ambiguity, risk, and executive visibility; drive urgency, clarity, and ownership from kickoff to launch and iteration
• Turn poorly understood problems into well-structured programs by architecting execution plans, success metrics, and governance that set a high standard for quality and maintainability
• Create cross-program roadmaps that span multiple engineering organizations and partner functions; proactively manage dependencies, trade-offs, and risks to deliver scalable outcomes
• Demonstrate deep technical acumen to propose, vet, and derisk solutions; facilitate architecture discussions and align technical decisions with business objectives
• Partner with VPs and executive leadership to align program goals with company strategy; craft clear, decision-oriented narratives and run effective executive forums
• Drive operational excellence through data-driven program management, establishing KPIs/OKRs, reporting cadences, and mechanisms for continuous improvement
• Unblock teams by resolving resource gaps, negotiating priorities, and de-escalating conflicts with tact; elevate team efficiency, morale, and capability
• Define and scale foundational frameworks, processes, and evaluation criteria that are adopted broadly across TPM, Engineering, and Product teams
• Mentor and onboard TPMs across experience levels; model best practices and help the best ideas win—regardless of where they originate
• Proactively identify new problem areas with sizable business impact and ensure they have clear ownership and execution paths

Requirements:

• 10+ years of post-graduation experience in technology, including experience as a technical program manager, engineering manager, product manager, or related technical role
• Proven track record leading end-to-end, company-wide programs of high complexity and ambiguity across multiple engineering organizations and cross-functional partners
• Expert ability to design program structures, execution plans, and cross-program roadmaps tailored to the problem space and organizational context
• Deep technical domain knowledge enabling you to influence architectural decisions, derisk complex solutions, and tailor approaches to diverse technical audiences
• Exceptional communicator with demonstrated experience presenting to and influencing VP and executive audiences; able to tailor message and medium to audience and situation
• Data-oriented decision maker with experience defining KPIs/OKRs and building mechanisms to track and drive outcomes
• Demonstrated ability to drive a culture of continuous improvement, elevating quality, efficiency, and collaboration across teams
• History of mentoring and developing TPMs, fostering inclusive, high-performing team environments
• Strong relationship builder who can navigate competing priorities and resolve organizational friction with tact
• Bachelor's degree in a technology or engineering discipline
• Master's degree in a technology or engineering discipline
• Experience leading programs with active VP and executive-team engagement that directly impact company strategy and outcomes
• Proven ability to design and scale reusable program management frameworks, tools, and processes adopted across organizations
• Experience with AI/ML programs or demonstrated fluency in applying AI to program management and engineering workflows
• Background in marketplace, e-commerce, or logistics technology and awareness of relevant industry trends and competitive dynamics