Senior Project Manager (12 months FTC: maternity leave cover)

Overview

We have an excellent new opportunity at Pragmatic Semiconductor within the PMO department, part of our Engineering function, for an exceptional Senior Project Manager to join our thriving team to provide maternity leave cover on a fixed term contract of up to 12 months.

We are looking to speak with experienced Senior Project Managers who can lead complex, cross-functional programmes and projects, influencing stakeholders at all levels to define, plan and deliver strategic business outcomes. The successful candidate will bring strong leadership, governance and delivery expertise, ensuring projects are executed effectively while balancing business priorities, technical requirements and organisational objectives.

Supporting both internal and external clients, you will have responsibility for leading key strategic initiatives across the business, playing a critical role within the team that is driving the future direction of the company at a global level.

This position is based at our vibrant Cambridge office; please note, we are not able to offer Visa sponsorship or relocation support for this role. We are targeting a start date of ideally August (or September) 2026 for this position, so candidates will ideally be able to start within this timescale.

Key tasks

• Full programme or project lifecycle ownership: successful delivery will include leading complex initiatives from business case through to implementation, transition and benefits realisation.

• Lead multiple projects and workstreams simultaneously, ensuring alignment to strategic business objectives and organisational priorities.

• Partner with Technical Leads, Domain Leads and senior stakeholders to define project scope, delivery strategy, resource requirements and success criteria.

• Provide leadership and direction to cross-functional project teams, ensuring effective collaboration, accountability and delivery performance.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT & DELIVERY

• Partner with Technical Leads and business stakeholders to lead the end-to-end delivery of complex technical and business-critical projects, ensuring agreed timelines, quality standards and strategic outcomes are achieved.

• Define project scope, objectives, deliverables and success measures in partnership with technical and business stakeholders.

• Develop and maintain integrated project plans, schedules, resource forecasts and delivery roadmaps across multiple workstreams.

• Manage project budgets, forecasts, risks, dependencies, assumptions and change requests to ensure successful project delivery.

• Drive accountability across delivery teams to ensure milestones and commitments are achieved.

• Monitor project performance and implement corrective actions where required to maintain delivery objectives.

TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP

• Translate complex technical and business requirements into clear project objectives, delivery plans and actionable workstreams.

• Work closely with engineering teams to understand system architecture, technical constraints, manufacturing considerations and implementation risks.

• Facilitate solution design and delivery discussions to ensure technical feasibility and alignment to business priorities.

• Challenge assumptions and support informed decision-making through data-driven analysis and project insight.

STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT

• Serve as the primary point of contact for project governance, progress, risks, issues and overall delivery status.

• Engage and influence senior stakeholders, executive sponsors and external partners to secure alignment and delivery support.

• Facilitate effective communication between cross-functional teams including engineering, product, operations, manufacturing and leadership.

• Prepare and deliver high-quality project updates, governance reports, dashboards and presentations for leadership teams and steering groups.

• Proactively manage stakeholder expectations and resolve complex project challenges through effective collaboration and negotiation.

PROCESS & GOVERNANCE

• Champion best-practice delivery methodologies, selecting appropriate approaches including Agile, Waterfall, Success Based Scheduling and hybrid models depending on project requirements.

• Lead project governance activities including stage gates, steering committees, reviews and escalation processes.

• Promote continuous improvement across project delivery, governance, planning, reporting and communication processes.

• Ensure compliance with internal governance frameworks, security standards, quality requirements and regulatory obligations.

• Support the ongoing development and maturity of project management practices across the organisation.

RISK MANAGEMENT

• Proactively identify, assess and manage project risks, issues, assumptions, constraints, opportunities and dependencies, maintaining comprehensive project controls.

• Develop and implement mitigation, recovery and contingency plans to ensure delivery objectives remain achievable.

• Monitor emerging risks and trends, escalating critical issues appropriately and supporting leadership decision-making.

• Drive a proactive risk management culture across project teams and stakeholders.

Qualifications and training

Candidates will ideally have PMP, APM PMQ and/or PRINCE2 Practitioner qualifications (or possess equivalent experience). MSP, Agile Practitioner or equivalent programme management qualifications would be advantageous.

Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Project is essential, including experience developing and maintaining integrated project plans, managing schedules, dependencies, critical paths and resource forecasts.

Experience of additional project management tools (e.g. ProChain, Smartsheet or equivalent) would be beneficial.

Skills and experience

• Proven experience leading complex projects and programmes within technology, engineering, manufacturing or related industries.

• Strong leadership and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence at all organisational levels.

• Demonstrable experience managing multiple concurrent projects, competing priorities and cross-functional delivery teams.

• Strong project planning, governance, budgeting, risk and dependency management expertise.

• Experience operating within structured project governance and reporting environments.

• Advanced Microsoft Project skills, including schedule development, critical path management, resource planning and reporting.

• Ability to communicate effectively with technical teams, business stakeholders and senior leadership audiences.

• Strong analytical, problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.

• Passionate about delivering world-class project and programme outcomes.

• Driven to excel in a fast-paced environment, balancing strategic priorities with operational delivery requirements.

• Innovative, proactive and committed to continuous improvement.

• Experience from a technology, semiconductor, manufacturing or engineering background.

Candidates who do not meet every requirement but feel their skills are a good fit for the role the role are encouraged to apply.

Pragmatic Semiconductor is committed to equity, equality, diversity, and inclusion; we strive to welcome everyone and create inclusive teams. We celebrate difference and encourage everyone to be themselves at work. Please let us know if you would like any adjustments to our application and interview process.