Note - to be considered for this role you must have a minimum of 5–8+ years of project-based management experience leading cross-functional software development teams.
About Breakthrough Technologies
Founded in 1998 by software engineers, Breakthrough Technologies (BT) builds custom web and mobile applications that address a wide variety of complex problems in the education, association, nonprofit, and public health spaces. When an out-of-the-box product doesn't offer what a client truly needs or wants, we develop custom solutions instead. We won't redirect clients toward mainstream, costly technology to solve a problem; we work closely with them to develop smart, creative solutions, often built on proven open-source platforms. We also deliver hosting, maintenance, support, and other end-to-end services. We are 100% U.S.-based, with offices north of Chicago, right next to Northwestern University.
You'd be joining a professional services team that values collaboration and communication, pays close attention to detail, and brings a consultative mindset to every engagement. We're proud of two things in particular: the caliber of our team and the stability of our business. We're a team of about 40 people who are genuinely good at what we do. We've stayed independent and steady through every kind of market, and the outlook is bright. The work is interesting, and the people make it even better.
The Role
We're looking for a Senior Project Manager / Director to own delivery across several concurrent software engagements for our association and nonprofit clients. You'll be the person clients trust to keep their projects on scope, on budget, and on schedule, and the person your internal teams rely on to clear obstacles, sharpen plans, and keep everyone moving forward. This is a hands-on leadership role: you'll run projects day to day while helping shape how our Project Management Office operates. Depending on your experience, the title and scope can flex from Senior Project Manager to Director.
What You'll Do
- Own client relationships: be the trusted primary point of contact, set clear expectations, and communicate honestly and directly, even when the news is hard.
- Run full-lifecycle project management for engagements that run from a few months to multiple years, with budgets ranging from $50K to $2M.
- Shape and estimate new work: partner with our sales and proposal team to scope smart, creative solutions for prospective clients, estimating the timeline, budget, and resource needs for each request.
- Track cost-to-date and P&L: project spend, invoicing, and time audits, with accurate status reporting delivered on time.
- Define and manage deliverables: scope, requirements, and deliverables, driven through to client sign-off.
- Craft agendas and run meetings: schedule and facilitate client and internal meetings, and keep communication flowing across departments.
- Plan resources: match the right people to the right work and keep teams appropriately loaded.
- Lead change management: negotiate and document scope changes, including schedule and budget impacts, and obtain sign-off.
- Mentor cross-functional teams: coordinate product owners, scrum masters, developers, business analysts, UX and visual designers, architects, and QA, down to the task level.
- Strengthen our PMO: contribute to (and help lead) the continuous improvement of our project-management processes, tools, and standards.
What You Bring
- 5–8+ years of project-based management experience leading cross-functional software development teams.
- A track record of owning budgets and P&L: estimation, cost-to-date tracking, scope and change control, and invoice approval.
- Hands-on Agile/Scrum delivery experience.
- Excellent written and verbal communication and meeting-facilitation skills; you can translate technical ideas for non-technical audiences.
- Strong prioritization, problem-solving, and negotiation skills, and genuine comfort running several projects at once.
- Self-direction: you organize and document your own work, escalate when it matters, and deliver quality on a deadline.
Bonus Points
- AI in the delivery process: practical experience using AI to predict delivery risk, build sprint-health dashboards, or generate documentation.
- PMP certification or a comparable project-management credential such as PMI-ACP or CSM; a plus, not a requirement.
- Associations and nonprofits background, with hands-on experience serving membership organizations or mission-driven nonprofits and a feel for how they plan, budget, and make decisions.
- Experience delivering CMS- and mobile-based solutions, from content-managed websites and member portals to responsive applications that work across devices.
- External client experience: managing projects working with clients outside of your organization.
- Familiarity with our toolset: Atlassian (Jira, Confluence), Microsoft Excel / SharePoint, and Slack or Teams.
What We Offer
- Competitive salary: $95,000–$125,000, depending on experience and level (Senior PM through Director).
- Fully remote, within the United States.
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
- Life insurance, short-term and long-term disability insurance.
- Paid maternity/paternity leave.
- 401(k) retirement plan.
- Generous paid time off and holidays.
- A collaborative, low-ego team and a stable, established company with a genuinely bright future.
Equal Opportunity
Breakthrough is an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to promoting equal employment opportunity. No employee or candidate will be discriminated against based on: age, race, color, physical or mental disability, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, order of protection status, pregnancy, religion, sex or gender, sexual orientation, marital status, arrest record, military status, or unfavorable discharge from military service.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $95,000.00 - $125,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Disability insurance
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Professional development assistance
- Vision insurance
Work Location: Remote
