Technical Project Manager - Temporary Worker

Job Description

TEMP Role – W2 on Dentsu Payroll Only ASAP – 12/31/2026 Approximately 40 Hours/Week Progressive Project Management Experience at a Digital Agency IN-OFFICE REQUIREMENT 3 DAYS/WEEK – MUST BE WITHIN A 90 MINUTE COMMUTE TO PLAINSBORO, NJ CLIENT OFFICE

Company Description

Merkle, a dentsu company, powers the experience economy. For more than 35 years, the company has put people at the heart of its approach to digital business transformation. As the only integrated experience consultancy in the world with a heritage in data science and business performance, Merkle delivers holistic, end‑to‑end experiences that drive growth, engagement, and loyalty. Merkle's expertise has earned recognition as a "Leader" by top industry analyst firms, in categories such as digital transformation and commerce, experience design, engineering and technology integration, digital marketing, data science, CRM and loyalty, and customer data management. With more than 16,000 employees, Merkle operates in 30+ countries throughout the Americas, EMEA, and APAC.

Role Purpose

The TEMPORARY Technical Project Manager is the operational execution leader for Adobe Experience Cloud implementation workstreams for our Healthcare client - serving as the bridge between solution architecture, delivery teams, and engagement leadership. This role owns day-to-day delivery coordination, sprint planning and execution, dependency management, and risk mitigation for assigned technical workstreams—ensuring that architectural designs are built as intended, on time, on budget, and to quality standards. This role requires in-office presence 3x per week at client offices in Plainsboro, NJ. This role combines deep technical fluency with hands‑on project management discipline. You manage teams of 5‑15 technical professionals (engineers, data engineers, architects, QA), coordinate across distributed teams and time zones, remove blockers, and drive measurable progress against sprint commitments. You translate technical complexity into clear status communication for stakeholders while maintaining the trust and engagement of your delivery team. Essentially, this role operates at the intersection of technical execution and stakeholder clarity—converting solution designs into built, tested, deployed capabilities while keeping teams coordinated, risks visible, and stakeholders informed.

Responsibility Areas

Sprint Planning & Execution

• Own sprint planning for assigned workstream(s); break down solution architecture and epics into well‑defined stories and tasks with clear acceptance criteria
• Conduct rigorous story estimation with the delivery team; flag scope concerns and dependencies early
• Maintain backlog discipline: prioritize work, manage scope changes, track velocity, and adapt plans based on delivery reality
• Drive daily standups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives; ensure ceremonies are efficient and action-oriented
• Track sprint metrics: velocity, on‑time delivery, defect escape rate, rework; identify trends and coaching opportunities
• Manage sprint‑to‑sprint continuity: document decisions, carry forward blockers, and maintain momentum across sprints

Technical Team Leadership & Coordination

• Lead matrixed technical teams spanning engineers, data engineers, architects, QA, and other specialists; foster collaboration and accountability
• Clarify technical requirements and design intent for the team; reduce ambiguity and unnecessary back‑and‑forth with architects or clients
• Conduct regular 1:1s with team members; understand capacity, concerns, and growth opportunities; provide coaching and feedback
• Coordinate across geographies and time zones; ensure synchronization and clear handoff protocols for distributed work

Dependency & Blocker Management

• Maintain a comprehensive view of workstream dependencies: cross‑team, cross‑engagement, vendor, and client‑side
• Identify and elevate blockers early; propose workarounds or mitigation strategies; drive resolution with urgency
• Coordinate dependencies across parallel workstreams; align timing and handoffs to prevent downstream delays
• Facilitate cross‑team sync meetings when dependencies require real‑time coordination or decision‑making
• Track high‑risk dependencies; flag to engagement leadership for escalation if resolution is stalled

Quality & Technical Standards

• Define and enforce acceptance criteria for all deliverables; ensure quality is non‑negotiable
• Conduct or facilitate code/design reviews; ensure work aligns with architectural intent and technical standards
• Partner with QA to ensure comprehensive test coverage; identify and track defects; manage rework efficiently
• Maintain visibility into technical debt and architectural risks; elevate issues that threaten delivery or future maintainability
• Track and report on quality metrics: defect rates, escape rate, rework percentage; identify systemic issues

Delivery Progress & Risk Management

• Maintain clear visibility into workstream health: track deliverables, timeline, budget, and team capacity
• Report progress to engagement leadership weekly; flag risks, issues, and decisions requiring escalation