Lead Delivery Manager

Ciklum is looking for a Lead Delivery Manager to join our team full-time in Bulgaria.

We are a custom product engineering company that supports both multinational organizations and scaling startups to solve their most complex business challenges. With a global team of over 4,000 highly skilled developers, consultants, analysts and product owners, we engineer technology that redefines industries and shapes the way people live.

About the role:

As a Lead Delivery Manager, become a part of a cross-functional development team engineering experiences of tomorrow. We are looking for a proactive, analytical and technically minded leader who enjoys solving complex problems, working across multiple teams, and driving initiatives forward. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in ambiguity, is comfortable diving into technical and operational topics, and can quickly identify bottlenecks, dependencies and risks before they impact business outcomes.

Unlike a traditional Delivery Manager role, the Program Manager will not own delivery plans or day-to- day project execution. Instead, this person will partner closely with Technology Team Leads and business stakeholders to unblock teams, facilitate decision-making and ensure complex initiatives progress smoothly.

Responsibilities:

• Partner with Technology Team Leads, Heads of Tech, Product Management function and business stakeholders to drive complex cross-team initiatives
• Identify, analyse and remove delivery, technical and organisational bottlenecks that prevent teams from achieving business objectives
• Dive into technical, operational and process-related topics to understand root causes and facilitate informed decision-making
• Coordinate dependencies across multiple teams, ensuring alignment and timely resolution of cross-functional issues
• Challenge assumptions, identify risks and propose pragmatic solutions to improve programme execution
• Facilitate communication between business and engineering teams, ensuring transparency and alignment on priorities
• Support Technology Team Leads in resolving escalations, navigating complex dependencies and removing impediments
• Monitor programme health by identifying emerging risks, tracking critical actions and ensuring issues are addressed before they impact delivery
• Drive continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to simplify processes, improve collaboration and increase delivery effectiveness
• Provide clear updates to senior stakeholders on key risks, blockers, dependencies and mitigation plans
• Act as a trusted partner to client leadership, fostering collaboration and helping teams achieve business outcomes
• Desired Outcomes:• Cross-team initiatives progress smoothly with dependencies identified and resolved proactively
• Technology Team Leads receive timely support in overcoming technical, operational and organisational challenges
• Risks and bottlenecks are identified early and addressed before impacting business commitments
• Engineering and business teams remain aligned on priorities, decisions and expected outcomes
• Stakeholders have confidence that complex issues are investigated thoroughly and driven to resolution
• Teams spend less time navigating organisational complexity and more time delivering value
• Continuous improvements in collaboration, communication and execution are embedded across the programme

Requirements:

• 8+ years of experience in Program Management, Delivery Management, Technical Project Management or similar leadership roles within Software Engineering or IT Services
• Experience coordinating multiple teams working on interconnected products or platforms
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to quickly understand complex technical and organisational challenges
• Sufficient technical background to effectively communicate with engineering teams, understand technical concepts, challenge assumptions and facilitate discussions
• Experience identifying dependencies, risks and bottlenecks across multiple teams and driving them to resolution
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence without direct authority
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills across both technical and business audiences
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, prioritise effectively and maintain focus on business outcomes
• Experience working within Agile environments and collaborating with cross-functional engineering teams
• Customer-oriented mindset with a strong focus on enabling teams to succeed
• Advanced spoken and written English

Desirable:

• Previous experience as a Technology Team Lead, Engineering Manager or Technical Delivery Manager
• Background in software development, QA, DevOps, Business Analysis or Solution Architecture
• Experience working with enterprise-scale distributed systems and multiple engineering teams
• Experience supporting large transformation or platform modernisation initiatives
• SAFe, Scrum, PMI or other Agile certifications
• Experience working within large international organisations and distributed teams
• Knowledge of modern software engineering practices, CI/CD, cloud platforms and software delivery lifecycle

What’s in it for you?

• Regular salary reviews based on performance
• Corporate events: webinars, offline parties, and meetups
• Internal Mobility Program
• Tailored education path (including full access to Udemy, certifications, etc.)
• 25 paid days off: 20 business days of vacation per calendar year + 5 undocumented sick leave days
• Additional health insurance
• 100% company-covered Multisport card, with discounts available for family members

About us:

At Ciklum, we are always exploring innovations, empowering each other to achieve more, and engineering solutions that matter. With us, you’ll work with cutting-edge technologies, contribute to impactful projects, and be part of a One Team culture that values collaboration and progress.

Since expanding to Bulgaria in 2022, we’ve been building a fast-growing team that thrives on learning, collaboration, and innovation. Join us on this exciting journey and help shape the future of our delivery center.

Explore, empower, engineer with Ciklum!

Interested already? We would love to get to know you! Submit your application. We can’t wait to see you at Ciklum.

#LI-MH1