Our client is a Palo Alto–based AI infrastructure and talent platform founded in 2018. It helps companies connect with remote software developers using AI-powered vetting and matching technology. Originally branded as the “Intelligent Talent Cloud,”enabled companies to “spin up their engineering dream team in the cloud” by sourcing and managing vetted global talent.

In recent years, they have evolved to support AI infrastructure and AGI workflows, offering services in model training, fine-tuning, and deployment—powered by their internal AI platform, ALAN, and backed by a vast talent network. They reported $300 million in revenue and reached profitability. Their growth is driven by demand for annotated training data from AI labs, including major clients like OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and Meta.

Job Title: Program Manager

Location: Hyderabad

Experience: 12 yrs

Employment Type: Contract to hire

Work Mode: Hybrid

Notice Period: Immediate joiners

Roles & Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

Technology Effort & Estimate Challenge

Independently review and challenge technology effort estimates, resource requirements, delivery timelines and cost assumptions.

Assess whether proposed estimates are reasonable based on scope, complexity, architecture, dependencies, team composition and delivery approach.

Challenge assumptions from CIO/CTO organizations and technology partners where estimates appear overstated, understated or insufficiently substantiated.

Develop fact-based should-cost / should-effort perspectives using historical data, productivity benchmarks and comparable programs.

Identify opportunities for effort optimization, productivity improvement, role rationalization and cost avoidance.

Ensure estimates appropriately consider automation, reuse, engineering productivity and alternative delivery approaches.

Executive Stakeholder Management

Engage directly with CIO, CTO and senior technology leadership on complex and potentially contentious topics.

Demonstrate the executive presence and confidence to constructively challenge senior stakeholders rather than simply accept submitted estimates or plans.

Ask probing questions, test assumptions and bring alternative perspectives while maintaining strong stakeholder relationships.

Translate detailed technology discussions into concise, fact-based recommendations for executive decision-making.

Facilitate discussions across Procurement, Technology, Finance, Business and vendor organizations to drive alignment.

Commercial & Procurement Support

Partner closely with Procurement leadership in evaluating major technology initiatives, sourcing decisions and vendor proposals.

Provide an independent perspective on effort, staffing, rate cards,



commercials and overall value for money.

Evaluate proposed delivery models including onshore/offshore mix, pyramid structures, specialist roles and vendor staffing.

Support negotiations by identifying areas where scope, effort, staffing or commercials can be challenged and optimized.

Help establish stronger governance and transparency around technology investment decisions.

Program & Transformation Governance

Provide senior-level oversight across large and complex technology programs.

Establish clear governance around scope, estimates, milestones, dependencies, risks, financials and outcomes.

Identify early warning indicators related to cost escalation, schedule slippage, resource over-allocation or scope expansion.

Drive resolution of cross-functional issues involving Technology, Business, Procurement and external partners.

Ensure that investment and delivery decisions remain aligned with expected business outcomes.

Financial Services / Capital Markets Experience (Good to have)

The candidate should have strong working experience within Financial Services, preferably Capital Markets, and understand how technology supports complex financial-market businesses.

Relevant Exposure May Include Areas Such As

Capital Markets / Investment Banking

Market Data and Financial Information Services

Trading platforms and front-to-back trade lifecycle

Risk, pricing and analytics platforms

Reference and market data

Clearing, settlement and post-trade processing

Regulatory and compliance platforms

Data platforms and cloud modernization

Enterprise technology transformation within large financial institutions The candidate does not need to be a hands-on technologist but should possess sufficient technology and domain depth to credibly challenge engineering and technology leadership.

Required Experience & Skills

12–15 years of professional experience, preferably across technology transformation, program management, technology strategy, consulting, procurement advisory or commercial governance.

Strong experience working within Banking, Financial Services and/or Capital Markets organizations.

Demonstrated experience managing or governing large-scale, complex technology programs.

Strong understanding of technology delivery estimation, including effort, resource pyramid, productivity,



timelines and cost drivers.

Ability to evaluate estimates across application development, modernization, data, cloud, infrastructure and transformation programs.

Strong commercial orientation with the ability to connect technology effort to cost and business value.

Experience reviewing vendor proposals, SOWs, staffing models and technology commercials is highly desirable.

Strong analytical skills with the ability to build a defensible, quantitative rationale for challenging estimates.

Experience working with geographically distributed teams and global technology organizations.

Critical Leadership Attributes

Executive Presence: Comfortable engaging directly with CIOs, CTOs and other senior executives and capable of holding an independent position in challenging discussions.

Constructive Challenger: Willing to question established thinking and push back when assumptions are not sufficiently supported, while remaining objective and cooperative.

Fact-Based Influencer: Does not challenge for the sake of challenging. Uses data, benchmarks, comparable programs and structured reasoning to explain why an estimate should be reconsidered and what a more realistic alternative looks like.

Technology Commercial Mindset: Understands both how technology programs are delivered and how delivery choices translate into effort, cost and commercial outcomes.

Domain Credibility: Can understand discussions in a Capital Markets / Financial Services context and connect technology decisions with business processes and outcomes.

Outcome Oriented: Focuses beyond project reporting and governance to determine whether the organization is getting the appropriate business value for the effort and investment being proposed.

Ideal Candidate Profile The ideal candidate is likely to have worked in a senior technology transformation, consulting, program leadership, technology strategy or commercial advisory role within a major financial institution or consulting organization.

They Should Be Someone Who Can Walk Into a Discussion With The CIO/CTO Organization, Understand a Proposed $10M–$50M Technology Initiative, Interrogate How The Estimate Was Constructed, Identify Questionable Assumptions, And Confidently Articulate

“What is driving this effort, what evidence supports it, what alternatives have been considered, and what should the appropriate effort and cost actually be?”

The successful candidate will therefore bring the combination of Capital Markets knowledge, technology understanding, commercial acumen, analytical rigor and senior executive presence required to serve as an effective independent challenge function for major technology investments.

📌 Contract Position : Program Manager (Hyderabad)
🏢 People Prime Worldwide
📍 Hyderabad