Principal Program Manager

Principal Program Manager

Sinclair Digital is seeking a highly experienced Principal Program Manager to lead complex, high-impact initiatives across digital product, technology, and business teams. Programs may include new product or business launches, platform initiatives, operational changes, and complex or first-of-kind station transitions that require an experienced, accountable program owner.

This role combines two closely connected mandates: leading ambiguous, enterprise-scale programs and strengthening the program-management practices and AI-enabled tools that help those programs succeed. An early priority will be improving planning, governance, visibility, decision tracking, and follow-through. As that foundation matures, the role will continue to lead major program delivery while applying lessons from real programs to improve how teams plan and execute work across Sinclair Digital.

This is not a status-reporting role. The right person creates clarity where the path is still forming, brings strong business-analysis and systems-thinking skills, and introduces practical structure that improves outcomes without slowing teams down. They will create leverage beyond their own programs through reusable approaches, coaching, and scalable improvements to how work is planned and delivered.

Lead major programs

• Independently lead ambiguous, high-impact initiatives across Product, Engineering, Data, Support, station teams, and other business stakeholders.
• Translate strategic goals into clear outcomes, decision points, milestones, owners, dependencies, success measures, and integrated delivery plans.
• Frame choices, surface tradeoffs, and bring leaders clear recommendations so decisions are made at the right time.
• Identify and manage program risks and cross-team dependencies early, with practical mitigation and escalation plans.
• Drive programs through launch readiness, adoption, and operational handoff with clear ownership and follow-through.
• Provide decision-ready visibility for working teams and senior leaders without creating unnecessary reporting overhead.

Improve program-management practices and tools

• Shape a more connected, AI-enabled approach to program planning and visibility by bringing roadmaps, milestones, risks, decisions, and follow-up into clearer workflows while reducing duplicated reporting.
• Turn lessons from complex programs into reusable practices that improve execution across multiple teams.
• Partner with the Director of Program Management and leaders across Product, Engineering, and the business to turn agreed improvements into working practices, workflows, tools, and automation.
• Evaluate and improve the program-management tool ecosystem by connecting and extending existing platforms and introducing new capabilities where they add clear value.
• Define, prototype, or implement AI-assisted workflows that synthesize updates, identify missing information, surface risks and dependencies, monitor follow-ups, and prepare decision-ready communications.

Lead through influence

• Build trusted partnerships across a matrixed organization and align teams with competing priorities without relying on formal authority.
• Lead focused program reviews that help teams resolve issues, make decisions, and maintain accountability for shared commitments.
• Mentor Program Managers and Software Development Managers who provide program coverage within their teams.
• Raise the quality of planning, decision-making, and delivery beyond a single assigned program through practical coaching and scalable operating improvements.
• Solve systemic problems through influence, build alignment across functions, and turn agreed direction into lasting improvements.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of program management, technical program management, product operations, business systems, or related experience.
• Sustained success independently leading complex, high-visibility digital or software programs across multiple teams, from early definition through launch and operational adoption.
• Strong working knowledge of digital product development and the software delivery lifecycle, including experience partnering with developers to define requirements, workflows, acceptance criteria, dependencies, and implementation plans.
• Strong business-analysis and process-design skills, including the ability to understand current workflows, identify root problems, and distinguish valuable governance from unnecessary process.
• Demonstrated experience improving program-management practices, governance, tools, or operating workflows across multiple teams.
• Proven ability to influence across functions and levels without direct authority, including regular work with Director- and VP-level stakeholders.
• Experience using AI-assisted tools, workflow automation, rapid prototyping, or similar approaches to improve how work is understood, coordinated, or delivered.
• Hands-on experience with enterprise work-management and collaboration platforms such as Jira and Confluence, or comparable tools.
• Excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills, with the judgment to turn complex information into clear choices and recommendations.
• Ability to operate independently, move between strategy and detail, and deliver results with limited oversight.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in digital media, local news, sports, streaming, content platforms, or another multi-brand consumer environment.
• Experience improving program-management systems, governance practices, internal platforms, or operating workflows at scale.
• Experience working with developers to translate business and operating needs into requirements, workflows, prototypes, and delivery plans.
• Experience with AI agents, no-code or low-code tools, analytics, and workflow automation.
• Experience with Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet, dashboarding tools, or comparable work-management platforms.

Please note that this position is not eligible for visa sponsorship, including employer sponsorship for an H-1B visa, OPT-STEM employment, etc.

Sinclair is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and a drug free workplace. Employment practices will not be influenced or affected by virtue of an applicant's or employee's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.