Principal Project Manager

About the Company: Stable Kernel is a technology services firm and custom software developer building scalable software solutions for cutting-edge, innovative enterprises to move their business forward. We are headquartered in Atlanta, GA. We’re a privately held, Great Place to Work Certified Company™ with a multi-award-winning culture and impressive 10+ year trajectory of sustainable growth. At Stable Kernel, we support our employees in ways that help them do some of the best work of their lives. About the Role: As a Stable Kernel Principal Project Manager , you play an essential role in setting our portfolio of world-class clients up for success through the on-time and on-budget development and delivery of their most innovative, transformational initiatives. You are equal parts delivery expert and trusted advisor to internal and external project stakeholders. Your positivity, candor, and effectiveness make you the Project Manager that clients request to have assigned to their projects time and again. You are a true partner to our sales, strategy, technical, and client services professionals and collaborate with them throughout the client life cycle to ensure outstanding work, documentation, and customer experiences. Principal Project Managers report directly to our Director of Project Management. You may be classified as individual contributors or as people managers with individual contributor responsibilities. Core Responsibilities Include: Technical Impact: Establishes scalable delivery solutions and defines the approach, phasing, and sequencing across complex, multi-project programs, making strategic trade-offs that account for cross-functional dependencies and evolving client needs. Establishes scope governance and change control discipline across the program, coaching project managers on managing scope creep and change requests. Sets standards for engagement health and quality benchmarks across multiple project teams; mentors project managers on interpreting delivery health indicators. Evaluates tool effectiveness at program scale, identifying gaps and making recommendations for procurement, integration, or retirement. Designs AI-enabled delivery workflows and leads responsible AI adoption across program teams. Serves as the bridge between technical, design, product, and business teams across enterprise-level programs, establishing cross-departmental coordination norms. Business Alignment: Clarifies strategic outcomes and defines integrated roadmaps across multiple projects; translates high-level client goals into actionable program-level objectives and anticipates shifts in client priorities. Establishes project planning standards across the program, coaching project managers on plan development, baselining, and tracking discipline. Supports statement of work (SOW) development and RFP and paid discovery engagements. Identifies and pursues opportunities to expand service offerings within existing programs. Helps lead estimation and financial calibration across the program; oversees burn tracking and forecasting and works with finance and account leadership to translate estimates into business forecasts. Interacting with Others: Leads coordination across the full program, orchestrating collaboration between multiple project teams, account leadership, technical leads, and senior business stakeholders. Leads program-level status reporting with governance cadences tailored to different stakeholder audiences. Influences the program and broader organization to drive adoption of new methodologies, tools, or practices across multiple teams through demonstration and consensus-building. Advises teams across the company, including executive leadership, on complex program challenges and strategic decisions. Mentors junior project managers on handling difficult stakeholder situations and advancing their delivery practice. Leads communication during critical situations, including escalations, major milestones, and strategic decision…