Cognizant

Data Modernization Program Manager( Hybrid)

Cognizant • $90K — $160K *
West Des Moines, IA 50265Hybrid
Enterprise Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Today
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Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of experience as a program director in data modernization projects, preferably in insurance.
  • Expertise in Databricks data lake platform for data architecture design.
  • Hands-on experience with data engineering and modernization in regulated environments.
  • Strong familiarity with program management methodologies such as PMP, PgMP, or SAFe.
  • Experience in managing stakeholder engagement and aligning cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

  • Oversee all aspects of the Data Modernization Program, managing the scope, schedule, budget, risk, and quality.
  • Develop and articulate a program vision and roadmap to align with business strategies.
  • Serve as the primary escalation point for issues, leveraging prior experiences to resolve blockers efficiently.
  • Establish governance structures for program oversight, including committees and decision frameworks.
  • Share insights from past projects to instruct stakeholders and enhance decision-making processes.
  • Advise on data strategy and platform choices to the CIO and other leaders.
  • Collaborate with engineering leads to maintain data management standards and practices.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance coverage.
  • Generous paid holidays and PTO.
  • 401(k) plan with company contributions.
  • Long-term and short-term disability coverage.
  • Paid parental leave.
  • Participation in the Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
Full Job Description
Role Summary -

We are seeking a seasoned Program manager to lead a large-scale enterprise Data Modernization Program. This role will serve as the strategic center for transforming Insurance's data landscape from legacy systems and siloed data stores to a modern, cloud-native, scalable data platform built on medallion architecture principles. The Program Manager will bring deep, hands-on experience delivering complex data transformation programs in regulated financial services or insurance environments. Beyond program execution, this leader will actively shape how the organization thinks about data sharing thought leadership with executives, guiding architecture decisions, resolving ambiguity from prior experience across business, technology, and vendor communities.

Key Responsibilities

Program Leadership & Strategic Direction
  • Own end-to-end accountability for the Data Modernization Program: scope, schedule, budget, risk, and quality across all workstreams.
  • Define and communicate a clear program vision and roadmap, translating business strategy into executable data transformation plans.
  • Serve as the primary escalation point for program-level issues, applying pattern recognition from prior modernization programs to rapidly resolve blockers.
  • Establish program governance structures including steering committees, operating rhythms, decision frameworks, and RACI models.

Thought Leadership & Architecture Guidance
  • Proactively share insights and lessons learned from prior data modernization programs to educate stakeholders, pre-empt common failure modes, and accelerate decision-making.
  • Act as a trusted advisor to the CIO and business leadership on data strategy, platform selection, and modernization sequencing.

Medallion Architecture Implementation
  • Partner with data engineering leads to enforce standards for data contracts, schema versioning, partition strategies, and metadata management across all layers.

Vendor & Partner Management
  • Lead RFP processes, vendor selection, and contract negotiations for cloud platforms, data integration tools, and systems integrators.
  • Evaluate vendor roadmaps against customers Insurance's long-term data strategy and provide recommendations on build vs. buy vs. partner decisions.
  • Drive effective governance of third-party delivery teams embedded within the program, ensuring alignment with internal standards and culture.

Cross-Functional Stakeholder Alignment
  • Partner with Change Management and Communications to ensure organizational readiness, training, and adoption of modernized data capabilities.

Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience in Data modernization projects preferably with Insurance customers
  • Expertise in Databricks data lake platform
  • Min 5 yrs of experience in a program director role in similar programs
  • Experience with data architecture and data engineering
  • PMP, PgMP, SAFe, or equivalent program management certification will be a plus

*Please note this role is not able to offer visa transfer or sponsorship now or in the future*

We're excited to meet people who share our mission and who can make an impact in a variety of ways. Don't hesitate to apply-even if you only meet the minimum requirements. Think about your transferable experiences and unique skills that make you stand out.

Salary and Other Compensation:

Applications will be accepted until Aug 06, 2026,

The annual salary for this position is between $ 90,000 - $ 160,000 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant's discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant's applicable plans.

Benefits: Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:
  • Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
  • Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
  • 401(k) plan and contributions
  • Long-term/Short-term Disability
  • Paid Parental Leave
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.

About Cognizant

TriZetto is Powering Integrated Healthcare Management. With technology solutions touching more than half the U.S. population today, TriZetto is uniquely positioned to drive the convergence of core benefit administration, care management and constituent engagement. TriZetto provides premier information technology solutions that enable payers and other constituents in the healthcare supply chain to improve the coordination of benefits and care for healthcare consumers.

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Learn more about Cognizant
Size
340,400 employees
Market Cap
$28.7 billion
Industry
Information Technology
Net Income
$1.3 billion
Founded
1994
5 Year Trend
+6.5%
Revenue
$16.6 billion
NASDAQ
CTSH
* Ladders Estimates

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