What does a technical project manager do?
The role of technical project managers is to oversee the planning and management of projects within a company. They are considered as the lead subject matter expert in terms of technology concerns. They have varied duties that include ensuring the completion of projects within an established budget and time frame, hiring and training support members, and improving resource management and project planning. They also communicate with stakeholders and collaborate with other departments, all to attain a common goal.
Technical project manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real technical project manager resumes:
- Develop and manage project plan with PeopleSoft support team.
- Manage development through launch of first-ever Microsoft OS touchscreen and keyboard smartphone.
- Lead the complete system re-write of the mission critical enterprise POS retail system.
- Manage the daily operations and support of the legacy systems while PeopleSoft are implemented.
- Help manage the project to install a new Cisco VOIP solution for the entire district.
- Manage, analyze, and enhance pricing program operational control processes and develop SOX controls and documentation over this process.
- Direct cross-functional teams including vendors to lead and support technological software and infrastructure solutions in a PMO centered environment.
- Used UNIX utilities, syncsort on the back end.
- Obtain IP addresses and assign to necessary nodes.
- Instrument web analytics through Omniture and internal platforms.
- Develop Unix Linux shell scripts for easy debugging the issues.
- Leverage GUI dynamic SQL interface for writing new strategy waterfalls.
- Create functional application design and document the process flow using VISIO.
- Negotiate assignment of cloud computing team SME to ensure project success.
- Relocate IP phones throughout the office by port reconfiguration as needed.
Technical project manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Technical Project Managers are proficient in Project Management, Technical Project, and Scrum. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Business skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Technical Project Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 15%
Project Management responsibilities for numerous implementation initiatives simultaneously.
- Technical Project, 10%
Served as Technical Project Manager leading launch of new Platinum MVNO website and development of interactive Customer Portal utilizing Sprint methodology.
- Scrum, 7%
Manage software development efforts including system re-designing from legacy to SOA architecture utilizing Agile - SCRUM software development methodology.
- Infrastructure, 5%
Project managed infrastructure projects in support of efforts to improve overall resiliency and availability of contact center voice and desktop applications.
- Jira, 5%
Supervised projects and prioritized work requests across 6 business departments for diversified engineering team using JIRA technologies.
- Software Development, 4%
Perform project management responsibilities in a large and geographically dispersed enterprise software development environment using Six Sigma's DMAIC methodology.
Common skills that a technical project manager uses to do their job include "project management," "technical project," and "scrum." You can find details on the most important technical project manager responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a technical project manager to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "it managers must analyze problems and consider and select the best ways to solve them." Technical project managers often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "managed the sharepoint profile data build (authoritative source of employee data for the entire firm within sharepoint 2010). "
Business skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling technical project manager duties is business skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "it managers must develop and implement strategic plans to reach the goals of their organizations." According to a technical project manager resume, here's how technical project managers can utilize business skills in their job responsibilities: "defined business and technical requirements * managed sharepoint sites for document management, project risk and issues resolution. "
Communication skills. This is an important skill for technical project managers to perform their duties. For an example of how technical project manager responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "it managers must explain their work to top executives and give clear instructions to their subordinates." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a technical project manager: "managed a microsoft sharepoint proof-of-concept, creating a plant level portal site to improve communications and management. ".
Leadership skills. A big part of what technical project managers do relies on "leadership skills." You can see how essential it is to technical project manager responsibilities because "it managers must lead and motivate it teams or departments so that workers are efficient and effective." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical technical project manager tasks: "ensured project status is properly documented on sharepoint website and communicated to upper leadership. "
Organizational skills. Another crucial skill for a technical project manager to carry out their responsibilities is "organizational skills." A big part of what technical project managers relies on this skill, since "some it managers must coordinate the work of several different it departments to make the organization run efficiently." How this skill relates to technical project manager duties can be seen in an example from a technical project manager resume snippet: "developed organizational impact analysis evaluating 500 business processes in 65 functional areas -drove process standardization and redundancy elimination. "
The three companies that hire the most technical project managers are:
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Compare different technical project managers
Technical project manager vs. Release manager
A release manager is responsible for supervising project releases across various platforms by closely coordinating with technology and project teams, ensuring the stability and efficiency of outputs according to clients' specifications and business needs. Release managers handle the delivery management procedures from conceptualization to production, maintaining budget requirements and adherence to timetables. They also perform quality check processes to identify possible defects and inconsistencies with the deliverables and adjusting initial project plans as needed.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, technical project manager responsibilities require skills like "technical project," "architecture," "project scope," and "risk management." Meanwhile a typical release manager has skills in areas such as "release management," "release process," "configuration management," and "release scope." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Release managers really shine in the retail industry with an average salary of $109,385. Comparatively, technical project managers tend to make the most money in the finance industry with an average salary of $107,505.The education levels that release managers earn slightly differ from technical project managers. In particular, release managers are 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a technical project manager. Additionally, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Technical project manager vs. Project leader
A project leader is responsible for supervising the team and managing the distribution of tasks to ensure the project's success with the highest efficiency and accuracy. Duties of a project leader include motivating the team, managing the team's needs and concerns, providing effective strategies to improve the team's performance, creating reports, monitoring the team's progress, and maintaining the coordination between team members. A project leader should have exceptional leadership skills to handle the team's operation and identify areas of improvement to deliver excellent results.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that technical project manager responsibilities requires skills like "technical project," "infrastructure," "jira," and "software development." But a project leader might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "c++," "project plan," "process improvement," and "data analysis."
On average, project leaders earn a lower salary than technical project managers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, project leaders earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $118,370. Whereas technical project managers have higher pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $107,505.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Project leaders tend to reach similar levels of education than technical project managers. In fact, they're 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Technical project manager vs. Project manager/scrum master
Project Managers or scrum masters are experienced employees who lead an agile team. They are in charge of managing a specific project in terms of the agile model. They lead the team throughout the planning session, the designing of the project parameters, the development of the processes, the implementation of the project, and the evaluation. They represent the team in meetings with stakeholders. They ensure that the working relationship among all the departments involved is harmonious. They also guide their team members throughout the project.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a technical project manager is likely to be skilled in "project management," "technical project," "scrum," and "architecture," while a typical project manager/scrum master is skilled in "sprint planning," "scrum meetings," "agile scrum," and "user stories."
Project managers/scrum master earn the best pay in the media industry, where they command an average salary of $99,469. Technical project managers earn the highest pay from the finance industry, with an average salary of $107,505.When it comes to education, project managers/scrum master tend to earn higher degree levels compared to technical project managers. In fact, they're 7.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Technical project manager vs. Project management lead
A project management lead is in charge of overseeing all processes involved in the planning and delivery of projects in an organization. Their responsibilities typically revolve around coordinating departments and personnel involved in every project to ensure accuracy and timeliness, managing budget and expenditures, producing progress reports and presentations, assessing risks, and delivering optimal quality results. Furthermore, as a management lead, it is crucial to lead and encourage team members, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Types of technical project manager
Updated January 8, 2025
