Project Manager

About Us:

At Cognition Digital we develop advertising technology to unleash the power of the full suite of solutions available through Amazon Advertising. Our mission is to create a simple interface to allow novice users to deploy advertising campaigns that they never before dreamed were possible. We facilitate omni-channel media (display, streaming video, and audio) ad placement, dynamic creative offerings (DCO), and create a unique ability to measure the return on ad spend for our clientele.

Job Summary:

We are seeking a versatile and experienced Software Development Project Manager to lead our software projects from conception through deployment. This role requires a unique blend of project management discipline, business analysis acumen, and quality assurance understanding. The ideal candidate will be adept at managing project scope, timelines, and resources, utilizing Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket extensively. You will be responsible for translating business needs into actionable requirements, ensuring the development team is aligned and productive, and facilitating clear communication across all stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

Project Planning & Execution:

Develop, maintain, and manage detailed project plans, timelines, and milestones using Jira, breaking down work into epics, user stories, and tasks.

Forecast project completion timelines based on scope, resources, and team velocity.

Proactively identify, track, and mitigate project risks, issues, and dependencies.

Requirements Management & Business Analysis:

Collaborate with product owners, stakeholders, and users to gather, analyze, review, and document clear, concise, and testable requirements and user stories in Confluence and Jira.

Research and develop a deep understanding of the product functionality and user needs to inform requirement definition and prioritization.

Ensure requirements accurately reflect business objectives and are well-understood by the development team.

Team Leadership & Coordination:

Organize, prioritize, and assign tasks to development team members within Jira, ensuring efficient resource allocation based on project needs and timelines.

Lead daily stand-up meetings (scrums) to monitor progress, identify blockers, and facilitate quick resolutions.

Coordinate and facilitate necessary meetings between developers, product owners, QA, and other stakeholders to ensure alignment and clear communication.

Stakeholder Communication & Reporting:

Serve as the primary point of contact for project status, updates, and timelines.

Communicate project progress, potential delays, and key decisions effectively to all relevant stakeholders, tailoring communication style as needed.

Utilize Jira dashboards and reports to provide visibility into project health and team performance.

Process & Tool Management:

Champion and enforce the effective use of Jira for backlog management, sprint planning, task tracking, and reporting.

Utilize Confluence for project documentation, requirements, meeting notes, and knowledge sharing.

Leverage Bitbucket to understand code repository structure, branching strategies, and pull requests relevant to project tracking and release management.

Quality Assurance Oversight:

Apply understanding of QA principles to review test plans and ensure requirements have clear acceptance criteria.

Facilitate discussions between development and QA to ensure quality is built into the development process.

Required Qualifications & Skills:

Proven experience (typically 3-5+ years) as a Project Manager specifically in a software development environment.

Demonstrable hands-on experience and proficiency with Jira (backlog grooming, sprint planning, task tracking, reporting), Confluence (documentation, requirements), and Bitbucket (understanding workflows).

Verifiable experience working as a Business Analyst, including requirements gathering, documentation (user stories, use cases), and process mapping.

Verifiable experience working as a QA Tester or in a role requiring deep understanding of QA methodologies, test planning, and execution.

Strong understanding of Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban).

Experience in forecasting, managing timelines, and resource allocation for software projects.

Excellent communication (written and verbal), interpersonal, and stakeholder management skills.

Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.

Solid understanding of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).

Ability to lead and facilitate meetings effectively (stand-ups, planning sessions, retrospectives).

Preferred Qualifications:

Relevant certifications (e.g., PMP, CSM, CSPO, CBAP).

Basic technical understanding of software architecture, databases, or APIs.

Experience with automated testing concepts.