IT Merger and Acquisition Program Manager

Job Title: IT Merger and Acquisition Program Manager


Palo Alto CA (4 Days Onsite)
Job Type: Long Term Contract

About the Role:


This role owns the end-to-end IT M&A lifecycle for software products-from due diligence and deal shaping through integration planning, execution, go-live, and post-merger optimization-working closely with Product, Engineering, Corporate Development, and the broader CIO organization.


About the Role


The IT M&A Program Manager - Software Products will:
• Serve as the primary IT owner for software-focused M&A and divestiture initiatives.
• Lead rigorous technology due diligence on targets' software stacks, development practices, and operations.
• Define and drive execution of integration strategies across applications, platforms, data, and ways of working.
• Build and maintain a repeatable IT M&A playbook/runbook purpose-built for software products.
• Partner with senior leaders to ensure technology decisions maximize deal value while managing risk.


You will operate at the intersection of software engineering, cloud platforms, data, security, and program management-translating business strategy and deal objectives into pragmatic, well-governed technical programs.


What You'll Do


Software & Technology Due Diligence
• Lead in-depth IT due diligence for software company and product targets, assessing:
• Application and platform architecture, tech stack, and deployment model (on-prem, SaaS, cloud-native).
• SDLC, DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, testing, and release management.
• Data models, data flows, integrations, and data quality.
• Security posture, identity and access controls, and compliance with relevant standards.
• Technical debt, scalability constraints, and resiliency.
• Use of third-party components, OSS libraries, and key vendor dependencies.
• Identify technical risks, integration complexity, synergies, and implications for End client's product and IT roadmaps.
• Summarize findings into clear, decision-ready recommendations for Corporate Development, Product, and IT leadership.


Integration Strategy & Roadmap
• Define an end-to-end IT integration strategy for software product deals, aligned with overall deal thesis, value drivers, and End client's product and platform strategy.
• Develop detailed integration roadmaps and plans covering:
• Codebase and repository strategy (e.g., consolidation, coexistence, or federation).
• Platform and environment consolidation (build, test, staging, production, observability).
• Data migration and harmonization across customer, subscription, telemetry, and operational data.
• API, service, and workflow integrations with End client platforms and enterprise systems.
• Cloud environment alignment (e.g., AWS/Azure/GCP tenancy, landing zones, security baselines).
• Identity, access, and security alignment (SSO, RBAC, secrets management, logging).
• Define clear milestones, dependencies, success criteria, and change-management plans for internal teams and customers.


Execution & Delivery
• Lead cross-functional execution of IT and technical integration plans across IT, Product, Engineering, Security, Enterprise Apps, and external partners.
• Coordinate technical workstreams such as: • Migration of code repositories, build and release pipelines, and developer tools.
• Integration or migration of production environments, infrastructure, and services.
• Data migration, reconciliation, and validation while maintaining integrity, privacy, and regulatory compliance.
• Integration of customer-facing workflows (support, billing, entitlements, telemetry, operations).
• Run disciplined program governance-status, RAID management, decision logs, and steering forums-with clear, transparent communication to stakeholders.
• Ensure operational readiness for go-live, including runbooks, playbooks, monitoring, and incident response alignment.


IT M&A Runbook & Process Improvement
• Create, maintain, and continuously refine a specialized IT M&A runbook for software product deals, including:
• Standard checklists, templates, and due diligence questionnaires.
• Reference architectures and integration patterns.
• Standard timelines, stage gates, and decision criteria.
• Lessons learned and best practices from prior transactions.
• Drive continuous improvement of IT M&A processes, tools, and metrics to improve speed, quality, and repeatability of integrations.


Risk, Budget, & Stakeholder Management
• Proactively identify, quantify, and mitigate technology and integration risks across architecture, security, data, and operations.
• Manage IT integration budgets, resource plans, vendor SOWs, and overall financial tracking for M&A programs.
• Act as a key liaison between IT, Product Management, Engineering, Corporate Development, Finance, Legal, and other business stakeholders.
• Communicate complex technical topics and tradeoffs in clear, concise language for executive and non-technical audiences.


Team Leadership
• Provide matrixed leadership to cross-functional integration teams (IT, engineers, architects, QA, operations, vendors).
• Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and collaboration across geographies and time zones.


Experience You'll Need
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related technical field; or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of experience in technical program management or IT program management within software product or platform environments.
• Significant hands-on experience leading IT or technology workstreams for M&A and/or large-scale integrations involving software companies or products.
• Deep technical understanding of: • Modern software architectures (microservices, APIs, event-driven, SaaS).
• Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and infrastructure-as-code practices.
• Databases, data integration, ETL/ELT, and data governance.
• CI/CD, DevOps tooling, and agile software delivery.
• Proven track record of delivering multi-workstream, complex programs with cross-functional dependencies and tight timelines.
• Strong risk assessment and mitigation skills for complex technology landscapes.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with experience presenting to senior leadership and translating technical topics for non-technical stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments while managing