Technical Program Manager (API Platform )

My client is seeking a Technical Program Manager (Contractor) to help drive execution, alignment, and production readiness across a set of interconnected API Platform and Ads API initiatives that are critical to the broader API Unification program.

This role is focused on bringing structure and momentum to several foundational technical workstreams, including:

TypeSpec Pants pipeline

Alloy emitter framework

Pydantic support

TypeSpec Mutation Pipeline

GraphQL Emitter

COI / Component Interfaces

The ideal TPM will help connect these technical efforts into a coherent, outcome-driven program plan with clear milestones, ownership, dependencies, risks, and production launch criteria. This is not a “status tracking” role — we are looking for someone who can help teams define what success looks like, drive cross-functional alignment, and accelerate delivery toward meaningful production outcomes.

What You’ll Do

Program Leadership and Roadmap Integration

Integrate API Platform workstreams into the broader API Unification roadmap

Build and maintain a unified view of milestones, dependencies, decision points, ownership, and success criteria across API Platform and Ads API

Ensure workstreams are represented as part of a broader product/program outcome, not isolated technical efforts

Help teams align on near-term milestones and longer-term production goals

Outcome and Milestone Definition

Partner with engineering and technical leads to define:

desired outcomes

success criteria

“definition of done”

launch and readiness gates

first meaningful production/adoption milestones

Convert technical plans into outcome-based milestone plans, rather than task-based tracking

Clarify what is experimental versus production-supported for each workstream

Cross-Team Dependency and Risk Management

Surface and manage dependencies across API Platform, Ads API, and API Unification partner teams

Track technical, organizational, and resourcing risks

Create lightweight mechanisms for escalating blockers and driving decisions to closure

Ensure risks and blockers are visible early and consistently reviewed

Production Readiness and Launch Planning

Help define what “production ready” means for key initiatives, especially:

TypeSpec Pants pipeline

Alloy emitter framework + Pydantic support

TypeSpec Mutation Pipeline + GraphQL Emitter

COI / Component Interfaces

Establish readiness criteria including documentation, support model, ownership, operational expectations, pilot scope, and adoption path

Drive a structured path to production launch, especially for COI

Operating Cadence and Alignment

Create a pragmatic cross-team operating model that improves visibility and alignment without adding unnecessary process

Lead regular program reviews, milestone check-ins, and decision/risk tracking

Ensure engineering owners, decision-makers, and partner teams remain aligned on scope, tradeoffs, and timing

Key Areas of Focus

1) API Unification Program Integration

Drive incorporation of API Platform workstreams into the broader API Unification roadmap with shared milestones, dependencies, decision points, and success criteria.

2) TypeSpec Pants Pipeline

Help establish a clear path for the TypeSpec Pants pipeline to become a dependable, documented, production-ready foundation for TypeSpec-based API workflows.

3) Alloy Emitter Framework + Pydantic Support

Drive clarity around the intended role, acceptance criteria, adoption path, and readiness model for generating Python/Pydantic models from TypeSpec.

4) TypeSpec Mutation Pipeline + GraphQL Emitter

Help align teams on the customer/problem being solved, scope of use cases, delivery milestones, and dependencies required to turn this into a usable capability for API Unification and Ads API.

5) COI / Component Interfaces

Bring structure, urgency, and accountability to the COI effort so it can move from architectural development to a clearly scoped and supported production launch.

Expected Deliverables

This contractor TPM will be expected to help produce and maintain outputs such as:

Integrated Workstream Map

ownership

dependencies

status

target outcomes

Outcome-Based Milestone Plan

shipped capabilities

readiness gates

key decisions

Decision and Risk Register

open decisions

blockers

risks

cross-team dependencies

COI Production Launch Plan

launch definition

pilot scope

readiness checklist

ownership

timeline

adoption expectations

API Unification Integration Plan

clear mapping of how API Platform efforts support broader API Unification goals

What Success Looks Like

A successful TPM in this role will help ensure that:

API Platform workstreams are clearly represented in the API Unification roadmap

Milestones are tied to outcomes, not just engineering activity

Dependencies between API Platform, Ads API, and partner teams are explicit

Engineering owners and decision-makers are clear

Risks and blockers are surfaced early and tracked consistently

Teams can clearly answer:

What outcome are we trying to achieve?

Who benefits from it?

What does “done” mean?

What is the first meaningful production milestone?

COI has a credible, actionable path to production launch

Teams have shared clarity on what is production-supported versus experimental

Qualifications

Required

8+ years of experience in Technical Program Management, preferably supporting platform, infrastructure, developer tooling, or API-related programs

Proven ability to drive execution across complex, ambiguous, highly technical cross-team initiatives

Experience building milestone plans, managing dependencies, and driving risk/decision tracking across multiple engineering teams

Strong ability to translate technical work into clear business/program outcomes

Experience driving production readiness, launch planning, and operational alignment

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to work effectively with senior engineers, tech leads, and engineering managers

Strong organizational skills with a bias toward clarity, accountability, and execution

Preferred

Experience working with API platforms, developer infrastructure, schema/code generation systems, or platform architecture programs

Familiarity with concepts such as:

API lifecycle/tooling

GraphQL

code generation pipelines

build systems

production launch readiness

Experience supporting open-ended architectural efforts and helping shape them into concrete, phased delivery plans

Comfort operating in environments where technical direction is still evolving and outcomes need to be sharpened through collaboration

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal contractor TPM is:

highly structured but lightweight in process

comfortable working with deeply technical engineering teams

able to identify ambiguity and turn it into clear plans and decisions

strong at cross-team coordination without becoming purely administrative

focused on outcomes, launch readiness, and visible execution

skilled at creating a single operating view across multiple related workstreams