This position will act as a Lean Portfolio Manager, bridging the strategic vision and execution by applying Lean and Agile principles to portfolio governance, investment funding, and delivery oversight. The role is pivotal in aligning technology initiatives with business goals, optimizing value flow, and fostering cross-functional collaboration. We are looking for a Director-level portfolio manager who can partner with legacy application team and an agile project team that is delivery new system functions in support of content licensing business capabilities.

Job Responsibilities / Typical Day in the Role

Strategic Leadership & Vision

• Aligns technology strategy with organizational standards to drive execution and value delivery.

• Translates strategic vision into actionable outcomes using OKRs to guide investments and resource allocation.

• Partners with Enterprise and Solution Architects to ensure technical solutions meet business goals and architectural standards.

Lean Portfolio Leadership

• Brings expertise in Lean principles, strategic alignment, and portfolio management.

• Acts as an enabler focused on outcomes, not outputs.

• Connects vision to execution, removes system blockers, and champions Lean governance and architectural standards.

Lean-Agile Enablement

• Acts as a Lean-Agile leader for Content Sales Planning, empowering teams to make decisions and deliver solutions.

• Promotes decentralized decision-making through mentorship and adherence to organizational standards.

• Champions Lean and Agile principles, fostering iterative development and continuous feedback.

Delivery Oversight & Governance

• Ensures delivery of high-quality technology by monitoring POD progress via PI Objectives, OKRs, and dashboards.

• Balances innovation, technical debt, and risk across workstreams.

• Guides design governance and ensures cross-initiative consistency.

Collaboration & Risk Management

• Facilitates cross-functional collaboration to remove delivery bottlenecks and impediments.

• Mitigates risks and resolves issues, escalating to the Tech Sponsor when necessary.

Continuous Improvement & Design Thinking

• Fosters a Design Thinking culture focused on understanding business needs and delivering value.

• Drives continuous improvement through PI Planning, Inspect & Adapt sessions, system demos, and feedback loops.

Agile Participation & Governance

• Actively engages in Agile ceremonies including Sprint Planning, Sprint Reviews, PI Planning,

• ART Syncs, Retrospectives, and Program Governance (e.g., OSC).

• Participates in Architecture Syncs, Tech Huddles, Data Hub sessions, and problem-solving check-ins.

• Regularly reviews system demos to ensure delivery aligns with planned value.

Architecture & Collaboration

• Collaborates with Enterprise and Solution Architects, Tech Sponsors, Product Managers, and other key stakeholders to guide architectural decisions.

• Supports high-level decision-making with Tech Leads and Points of Contact to ensure program success.

• Deep understanding of system integration, data architecture, platform interoperability.

• Tech enablers such as APIs, data ingestion pipelines, microservices, and reporting layers.

Decision-Making & Technical Integrity

• Ensures technical designs align with enterprise architecture standards.

• Maintains product integrity across reliability, scalability, extensibility, resiliency, and security.

• Resolves escalations that impact technical readiness and product outcomes.

Must Have Skills / Requirements

1) Proven track record in Lean-Agile frameworks such as SAFe, Scrum, and Kanban

a. 8+ years of experience

2) Proven experience driving continuous improvement through PI Planning, Inspect & Adapt sessions, system demos, and feedback loops.

a. 8+ years of experience

3) Demonstrated expertise in leading Architecture Reviews

a. 8+ years of experience; Collaborating with Enterprise and Solution Architects, Tech Sponsors, Product Managers, and other key stakeholders to guide architectural decisions.

Nice to Have Skills / Preferred Requirements

1) Experience with Design Research (UX/UI).

Soft Skills/Background:

1) Strategic & Operational Leadership

a. Demonstrated ability to align strategy with execution using OKRs, KPIs, and value stream mapping.

b. Experience in investment funding, roadmapping, and governance across multiple portfolios.

c. Familiarity with participatory budgeting and portfolio-level prioritization techniques.

2) Collaboration & Change Management

a. Experience working with cross-functional teams including Enterprise Architects, Product Managers, Tech Sponsors, and Program Managers

b. Strong background in change management, stakeholder engagement, and executive coaching.

3) Knowledge of Media and Entertainment – Content Licensing

Technology Requirements:

1) Experience leading Agile Release Trains (ARTs) and facilitating PI Planning, Inspect & Adapt, and System Demos.

2) Proven track record in Lean-Agile frameworks such as SAFe, Scrum, and Kanban.

3) Proven understanding of system integration, data architecture, platform interoperability.

4) Proven understanding of tech enablers such as APIs, data ingestion pipelines, microservices, and reporting layers.

5) Technical & Tool Proficiency

a. Hands-on experience with tools like JIRA, Confluence, Azure DevOps, VersionOne, Trello, PowerBI, and Miro1.

b. Understanding of software development methodologies including CI/CD, Agile Scrum, and Waterfall

c. Highly capable of developing executive presentations (high-level PowerPoint expertise).

Education / Certifications

1) Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., Business, Technology, Engineering); Master’s preferred for senior roles.

2) Certifications:

3) Preferred certifications include:

a. SAFe Agilist (SA) or SAFe Program Consultant (SPC)

b. Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

c. Certified Scrum Master (CSM)

Interview Process / Next Steps

1) 1st round with HM

2) 2nd round panel with HM, SVP and VP

Additional Notes

• Sourcing in CA – Burbank

• Hybrid – 3 days on-site a week.

“Mindlance is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in employment on the basis of – Minority/Gender/Disability/Religion/LGBTQI/Age/Veterans.”

If you are inclined, I would be happy to set up some time to chat more about your background and career interests to see if there could be a possible match. Please feel free to call me on 732-806-7467 or send me email on [email protected]

Regards

Niraj kumar