Program Manager, Data Center Design Engineering

AWS Infrastructure Services owns the design, planning, delivery, and operation of all AWS global infrastructure. In other words, we're the people who keep the cloud running. We support all AWS data centers and all of the servers, storage, networking, power, and cooling equipment that ensure our customers have continual access to the innovation they rely on. We work on the most challenging problems, with thousands of variables impacting the supply chain — and we're looking for talented people who want to help.

You'll join a diverse team of software, hardware, and network engineers, supply chain specialists, security experts, operations managers, and other vital roles. You'll collaborate with people across AWS to help us deliver the highest standards for safety and security while providing seemingly infinite capacity at the lowest possible cost for our customers. And you'll experience an inclusive culture that welcomes bold ideas and empowers you to own them to completion.

Amazon Web Services is seeking a Program Manager to join the Design Engineering organization, serving as the central point of accountability for tracking, reporting, and communicating the status of all work efforts across the team. This role gives leadership and stakeholders clear visibility into project health, team performance, and resource allocation — enabling data-driven decision-making and proactive risk management.

As a Program Manager, you will operate as a cross-functional role spanning all project phases and non-project work streams. You will maintain portfolio-level situational awareness and serve as the single source of truth for portfolio-level questions, bringing structure, clarity, and accountability to a fast-moving engineering organization. You will be responsible for maintaining visibility across a portfolio of multi-million dollar data center design projects, building reporting frameworks and dashboards, and enabling leadership to make informed decisions quickly.

We are looking for a Program Manager with experience in project/portfolio management within design, construction, or infrastructure environments. You should be comfortable building reporting systems and dashboards from scratch, defining/tracking/and reporting on project and administrative KPIs, forecasting capacity, and translating complex data into actionable insights for diverse audiences. As we grow, the ability to create scalable, self-service solutions and drive continuous improvement will be critical.

Teamwork is essential to how we accomplish our goals. You must be able to work across teams and influence without authority — building trust with engineers, managers, and stakeholders alike. In this role you will partner closely with the Sr. Design Engineering Manager, Design Engineers across all campuses, Project and Program Managers, Construction Administration and Commissioning teams, and external design partners.

This position is based in Virginia, with travel up to 20% of your time — including in-person collaboration, team gatherings outside your assigned office, and support of distributed teams across multiple campuses.

Key job responsibilities
Project Life Cycle Oversight

- Maintain active oversight of all projects across the full design lifecycle (Due Diligence/Predesign, Formal Design, and Construction Administration phases)

- Maintain a registry of all active projects in the predesign pipeline; track key milestones including site access approvals, stakeholder sign-off, vendor engagement, and design kick-off readiness

- Track all projects in active design against schedule milestones (SD, DD, CD); maintain issue and risk logs per project

- Monitor design review outcomes, RFI volumes, change order trends, and design deliverable completion rates

- Track CA-phase status including submittal reviews, RFI response times, field issue resolution, and closeout progress

- Identify blockers, escalate risks that threaten schedule/scope/quality, and coordinate cross-project dependencies


Non-Project Portfolio Management

- Maintain a centralized tracker of team goals aligned to organizational objectives (annual, quarterly, sprint-level); track progress using quantifiable metrics

- Define, measure, and report on Key Performance Indicators including delivery KPIs (on-time completion, milestone hit rate, cycle time), quality KPIs (RFI rates, rework frequency, design review pass rates), and engagement KPIs (goal completion, development progress)

- Collect and consolidate utilization data; track individual and aggregate utilization rates against target thresholds

- Identify over-allocated and under-utilized team members; provide load-balancing recommendations and forecast capacity needs

- Flag utilization risks early (burnout indicators, single-point-of-failure assignments, unplanned absences)

- Partner with hiring and resource management to inform headcount and contractor decisions

Reporting & Communication

- Deliver weekly project status roll-ups, bi-weekly/monthly portfolio health dashboards, and quarterly comprehensive portfolio reviews

- Tailor communication depth and format to audience; maintain standard reporting templates

- Facilitate portfolio review meetings with prepared materials and clear action items

- Define escalation criteria and thresholds; ensure timely escalation of schedule risks, resource conflicts, and quality concerns

Dashboards & Metrics Development

- Design and build dashboards providing at-a-glance portfolio health visibility using available tooling (QuickSight, Tableau, Excel, internal platforms)

- Identify gaps where new metrics are needed; define methodology, data sources, collection cadence, and ownership

- Ensure dashboard data integrity through automated data feeds and validation checks

- Regularly review effectiveness with stakeholders; retire or refine metrics that no longer drive action


About the team
*Why AWS*
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and never stopped innovating — that’s why customers from the most successful startups to Global 500 companies trust our robust suite of products and services to power their businesses.

*Diverse Experiences*
Amazon values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the preferred qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn’t followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don’t let it stop you from applying.

*Work/Life Balance*
We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why we strive for flexibility as part of our working culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there’s nothing we can’t achieve in the cloud.

*Inclusive Team Culture*
Here at AWS, it’s in our nature to learn and be curious. Our employee-led affinity groups foster a culture of inclusion that empower us to be proud of our differences. Ongoing events and learning experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon (gender diversity) conferences, inspire us to never stop embracing our uniqueness.

*Mentorship and Career Growth*
We’re continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth’s Best Employer. That’s why you’ll find endless knowledge-sharing, mentorship and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.

Basic Qualifications

- 3+ years of program or project management experience
- 3+ years of defining and implementing process improvement initiatives using data and metrics experience
- Knowledge of Excel (Pivot Tables, VLookUps) at an advanced level and SQL
- Experience using data and metrics to determine and drive improvements
- Experience working cross functionally with tech and non-tech teams

Preferred Qualifications

- 3+ years of driving end to end delivery, and communicating results to senior leadership experience
- 3+ years of driving process improvements experience
- Experience in stakeholder management, dealing with multiple stakeholders at varied levels of the organization
- Experience building processes, project management, and schedules
- Bachelor's degree

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, OH, COLUMBUS - 74,200.00 - 129,800.00 USD annually
USA, VA, Herndon - 74,200.00 - 129,800.00 USD annually