Leading global proptech companies you'll love to work for

Senior Technical Program Manager

Kin Insurance

Kin Insurance

IT, Operations
Chicago, IL, USA · Remote
Posted on Monday, February 5, 2024

The world has changed. Why hasn’t insurance?

Kin’s mission is to reimagine home insurance For Every New Normal. While other insurers struggle to handle a fast-changing world, Kin is built for the future and is prepared to meet its challenges head on while helping our customers do the same.

Kin is proud to be one of BuiltIn Chicago’s 2021 and 2022 Best Mid Sized Companies to work for, and Forbes 2021 Best Startup Employers in North America. Simply put, our people are what make us great, and we need forward-thinking, inspired game-changers like you to join us in our mission.

So, what’s the role?

As a Sr. Technical Program Manager at Kin, you will be responsible for managing mission critical technology programs, being a people manager, and working on Tech PMO initiatives for the Technology Department. You will demonstrate initiative, accountability, personal agility, lean thinking, and have the ability to influence and inspire team members.

You will be a master of facilitation and will facilitate the domain program level events. You will foster collaborative relationships across product and technology, and demonstrate leadership. You will promote and demonstrate psychological safety in the workplace such that people and teams can thrive.

Kin is scaling and you will support customer growth and customer experience initiatives. With a passion for team building, you will help with the formation of new teams, providing guidance and putting in place the events and role clarity necessary for getting Scrum or projects started. You will apply your experience in providing agile coaching to teams and individuals, and train developers, product owners, and stakeholders as needed.

Your advanced experienced in Jira will come in handy for editing Jira settings and configurations. Having JSM or JWM experience is a plus.

In this role, you will seek to continuously improve our Agile maturity over time by adhering to the Scrum values, and welcome the challenge of working with complexity in a scaled and fast paced environment.

A day in the life could include:

  • Managing mission critical programs at kin that may involve multiple internal departments as we scale
  • Owning end to end program management, including scope definition, following up on progress on a regular basis, reporting on progress to teams and stakeholders, identifying risks, and providing mitigation plans
  • Coaching the Scrum team in self-management, forecasting, and planning--including the use of Jira
  • Exercising expert Scrum knowledge and experience to team members
  • Identifying and working in collaboration to remove blockers, which may include cross-team dependencies mitigation
  • Gathering team level metrics for forecasting, planning and continuous improvement
  • Helping product managers in effective product backlog creation, management, and refinement--including techniques for defining valuable product goals, how to prepare and run effective sprint planning, sprint reviews, release planning, and various roadmap formats
  • Facilitating stakeholder collaboration and facilitating release planning efforts as requested or needed
  • Participation in our Scrum Guild (community of practice) which focuses on improving agile maturity by providing mentoring, learning opportunities, disseminating best practices, and developing useful resources
  • Reviewing configuration change request in Jira and making updates if needed
  • Managing projects that span multiple time zones
  • Managing to ensure domain level priorities, projects, and associated milestones are delivered on a predictable timeline
  • Partnering with the product and engineering directors to align capacity with the portfolio and resolve capacity shortfalls
  • Following up to ensure proper SDLC processes are being followed and work on fixing the areas if needed
  • Ensure the proper next steps are being planned and taken when projects go off track
  • Managing a technical PMO team member within the domain
  • Managing stakeholder communications at all levels across the technology organization and maintaining a project communications plan

I’ve got the skills… but do I have the necessary ones?

  • Proactive self-starter with excellent time-management, communication, documentation and organizational skills with high EQ
  • 4+ years of experience as a Program Manager or Senior Project Manager for software development projects
  • 3+ years of experience as a Scrum Master in a software environment
  • Expert in Agile principles and methodologies with ability to scale frameworks
  • Experience facilitating workshops, coaching and mentoring across multiple teams and at various levels of the organization
  • Ability to communicate, influence, engage and inspire others to drive collaboration and alignment at all levels of the organization
  • Deep knowledge of software engineering practices for the full software development life cycle, including build processes, testing, and operations.
  • Knowledge of industry-wide practices and technologies
  • Experience building Scrum Teams
  • Strong at strategic thinking and execution to solve problem efficiently
  • Experience as a people manager, leading with empathy and the willingness to go extra mile to coach and mentor

Oh, and don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

  • Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability and Life Insurance
  • Flexible PTO policy
  • Remote work
  • Generous equity package
  • 401K with company match
  • Parental leave
  • Continuing education and professional development
  • The excitement of joining a high-growth Insurtech company and seeing your work make an impact

About Kin

In an industry that hasn't budged in more than 100 years, our technology transforms the user experience, cuts inefficiencies that waste billions of consumer dollars, and customizes coverage homeowners want. We believe insurance was always meant to be a digital product – we’re making that a reality.

Our approach to the industry makes us unique, and the people at Kin help us excel. We’re a team of problem solvers, collaborators, builders, and dreamers who are passionate about creating positive change in the lives of our customers and in our industry. Kin is more than just our name – it’s how we treat each other. That’s one of the many reasons we’ve been recognized as a great place to work by Built In, Forbes, and Fast Company.

EEOC Statement

Kin is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. We don't just accept difference – we honor it, nurture it, and celebrate it. We don’t discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

Kin encourages applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries, and are committed to having a team that is made up of diverse skills, experiences and abilities.

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