Technical Program Manager- Network Migrations

Key Responsibilities

Migration Portfolio Ownership

Own end-to-end execution of a large migration portfolio spanning data center, backbone, and edge network domains — hundreds of activities per half

Manage the full migration lifecycle: scoping → dependency mapping → sequencing → hardware readiness → cutover execution → validation → decommission → close-out

Maintain a single source of truth for portfolio health: site-by-site status, schedule confidence, material readiness, and risk posture

Drive migration programs to completion on committed timelines while maintaining network availability throughout transitions

Cutover Planning & Execution

Design cutover plans for live network infrastructure with zero tolerance for unplanned downtime

Define go/no-go criteria, rollback triggers, and validation checkpoints for each migration window

Sequence migrations in risk-ordered waves — lower-risk sites first, building confidence before high-complexity cutovers

Coordinate execution windows across engineering (who designs the target state), operations (who executes), and vendor teams on compressed timelines

Dependency & Risk Management

Map complex cross-layer dependencies — migrations often require prerequisite work before the primary activity can proceed

Identify upstream blockers early: material shortages, design approvals, infrastructure prerequisites, and vendor deliverables

Maintain dependency matrices that connect activities across domains — backbone migrations may depend on optical planarization, which depends on cage moves

Proactively surface risks and mitigation plans; adjust schedules and sequences to absorb delays without cascading impact

Cross-Functional Coordination

Drive alignment across Network Engineering (backbone, fabric, edge, optical), Network Operations, Construction, Overlay Services, and external vendors

Serve as the bridge between upstream engineering (who defines what gets migrated and the target architecture) and downstream execution (who physically does the work)

Coordinate with hardware supply teams on material forecasting, procurement, and delivery timing for replacement platforms

Run weekly program cadences, site-level execution calls, and cross-domain coordination forums

Executive Communication & Reporting

Produce clear, actionable portfolio status reporting for senior leadership — schedule progress, risk posture, material status, and decisions needed

Synthesize hundreds of activities into executive-ready narratives: what's on track, what's at risk, what needs leadership attention

Present migration health to leadership forums with confidence and clarity

Communicate schedule changes, trade-offs, and scope adjustments to stakeholders with appropriate context

Continuous Improvement

Drive process automation and tooling adoption — transform manual tracking and reporting into scalable, repeatable systems that improve migration velocity and cross-functional transparency

Conduct retrospectives to capture lessons learned and improve execution playbooks

Identify opportunities to standardize migration patterns that can be repeated across sites at scale

Migration Scope: Network Domains

The migration portfolio spans three network domains. You don't need deep expertise in all three, but you need to understand how they interact and depend on each other:

Data Center Network: Platform swaps (spine and fabric switches to next-gen hardware), link speed upgrades, architecture retrofits, rack uplink restriping, facility network switch replacements (end-of-life to next-gen platforms), and management network headend builds.

Backbone Network: Architecture migrations (topology standardization across sites), backbone router forklifts to next-gen platforms, optical planarization, transponder conversions (legacy to modern platforms), terminal equipment migrations, and optical cage moves that enable downstream work.

Edge Network: Aggregation layer consolidation (merging switch roles), hardware forklifts retiring end-of-life equipment for next-gen platforms, next-generation backbone deployments at POPs, and IP cage migrations across multiple sites.

Required Skills & Qualifications

Program Leadership

Proven track record managing large, complex migration programs on live production infrastructure — you've moved or replaced systems where failure = outage, and delivered successfully

Cutover planning expertise — you think in sequences, rollback points, validation gates, and blast radius; you know when to proceed and when to abort

Portfolio management at scale — experience managing concurrent activities across multiple sites/regions, maintaining visibility and control

Strong dependency management — ability to map complex cross-domain relationships and sequence work to avoid cascading failures

Executive presence and communication — ability to distill hundreds of activities into clear, compelling status, risk, and decision narratives for senior leadership; confident and credible in high-stakes conversations

Cross-functional influence without authority — coordination across engineering, operations, vendors, and construction teams

Evidence-driven and metrics-oriented — you establish KPIs, build automated reporting, and use data to drive portfolio decisions rather than relying on status theater

Risk calibration — you know what to own vs. what to escalate, and you act fast on both

Technical Baseline

Foundational understanding of data center and backbone network architecture — enough to understand why migrations have dependencies and how network layers interact

Familiarity with network migration patterns: platform swaps, hardware forklifts, link speed upgrades, optical conversions, traffic re-routing

Understanding of migration risk: what can go wrong when you touch live production infrastructure, and what validation confirms success

Experience with project management and portfolio tracking tools

Industry Experience

10+ years of program management in network infrastructure, cloud infrastructure, data center, or hyperscale environments

Direct experience with network migrations, platform replacements, or large-scale infrastructure modernization on live production systems

Experience in hyperscale, carrier, or large enterprise environments with high-availability requirements strongly preferred

Education & Certifications

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, Business, or related field (or equivalent experience)

PMP, PgMP, or equivalent project management certification preferred

Network certifications a plus, but not required

Additional Requirements

Must be US-based

Ability to travel up to 15% for site visits and migration support

Flexibility to support migration windows across time zones (some cutovers happen during maintenance windows off-hours)