At F5, we strive to bring a better digital world to life. Our teams empower organizations across the globe to create, secure, and run applications that enhance how we experience our evolving digital world. We are passionate about cybersecurity, from protecting consumers from fraud to enabling companies to focus on innovation.
Everything we do centers around people. That means we obsess over how to make the lives of our customers, and their customers, better. And it means we prioritize a diverse F5 community where each individual can thrive.
Principal IT Project Manager
Job Family Doc for Reference: Principal Project Manager
About the Role
We are seeking a Principal Project Manager to drive our Technology Rationalization & Renewals program. This is a critical workstream focused on optimizing our technology ecosystem across F5. This role will drive enterprise-wide efforts to evaluate, rationalize, and govern application and vendor choices to ensure our technology investments are aligned with business priorities, scalable, cost-effective, and secure.
This is a highly visible, cross-functional leadership role that sits at the intersection of technology strategy, procurement, finance, security, and business operations. You will act as the orchestrator across multi-stakeholders that directly impact cost efficiency, operational effectiveness, and long-term digital strategy.
This role will also support Digital Business Operations to ensure the various rhythms of business needs are met ensuring that Digital operates as a high-performance organization.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Program Ownership
Own the enterprise application rationalization program, including roadmap, operating model, and success metrics in partnership with the Architecture team
Lead end-to-end program to assess existing applications, identify redundancies, risks, and opportunities for consolidation or modernization.
Partner with executive stakeholders to align technology investments with business strategy and operating priorities.
Serve as a trusted advisor on technology portfolio decisions, trade-offs, and long-term implications.
Application Rationalization & Vendor Strategy
Partner with stakeholders to develop and maintain a framework for evaluating applications across value, cost, usage, risk, and strategic fit.
Facilitate cross-functional reviews of application portfolios (IT, Security, Finance, Legal, Procurement, Business).
Establish governance processes for net-new software intake and exceptions.
Partner closely with Procurement, Finance, and Legal to optimize vendor selection, contract structures, and renewal strategies.
Support in partnership with Procurement, complex technology sourcing initiatives, including RFPs, renewals, and vendor negotiations.
Drive cost optimization and value realization, including identifying savings opportunities and tracking realized benefits in partnership with Finance.
Governance & Operating Model
Design and operationalize the Technology Standards Committee, and any additional governance forums required to drive decisions.
Define escalation paths, and intake processes for technology requests.
Ensure compliance with security, privacy, financial, and architectural standards when supporting new buying choices.
Define and maintain KPIs and dashboards to track health, cost savings and risk.
Report regularly to senior leadership on program outcomes, financial impact, and strategic insights.
Build business cases and executive-ready materials to support investment and decommissioning decisions.
Business Operations
Develops business insights and dashboards to inform leadership decisions on resource allocation and service delivery.
Design and implement scalable operating models and workflows.
Partner with Chief of Staff & Business Managers to deliver org-wide initiatives
Support communications and change management efforts across the organization
Partner on org planning, resource allocation, and capacity management as needed.
Supports operational planning, process optimization, and performance
monitoring for a business unit or cross-functional area.
Partners with finance, HR, and other operational functions to align execution
with strategic goals.
Facilitates integration of common management tools, processes, and services
across departments
What you bring
Required
12+ years of experience in program management, consulting, business operations, technology strategy, or IT portfolio management.
Proven experience leading large-scale, cross-functional programs in complex enterprise environments.
Proven track record developing long term project strategies and roadmaps
Deep understanding of enterprise applications, SaaS ecosystems, and technology procurement models.
Strong financial acumen, including experience building business cases and tracking ROI/cost savings.
Exceptional stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence at the executive level.
Advocate for best practices in project management, driving continuous
improvement within the IT project management function.
Represent the organization in external vendor engagement conversations and industry forums, sharing knowledge and expertise in IT project management & about F5
Preferred
Experience in application rationalization, IT governance, sourcing, or vendor management programs.
Familiarity with frameworks such as TOGAF, ITIL, COBIT, or FinOps.
Experience working in high-growth tech, financial services, or large-scale digital organizations.
What Success Looks Like in This Role
A clear, trusted enterprise technology portfolio view exists and is actively used for decision-making.
Redundant and low-value applications are systematically reduced year over year.
Measurable cost savings and risk reductions are realized and reported quarterly.
Technology procurement is standardized, transparent, and aligned with business strategy.
Executives view this role as strategic partners in shaping the company’s digital future.
*LI-Y
The Job Description is intended to be a general representation of the responsibilities and requirements of the job. However, the description may not be all-inclusive, and responsibilities and requirements are subject to change.
The annual base pay for this position is: $170,400.00 - $256,800.00F5 maintains broad salary ranges for its roles in order to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience, geographic locations, and market conditions, as well as to reflect F5’s differing products, industries, and lines of business. The pay range referenced is as of the time of the job posting and is subject to change.
You may also be offered incentive compensation, bonus, restricted stock units, and benefits. More details about F5’s benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.f5.com/company/careers/benefits. F5 reserves the right to change or terminate any benefit plan without notice.
Please note that F5 only contacts candidates through F5 email address (ending with @f5.com) or auto email notification from Workday (ending with f5.com or @myworkday.com).
Equal Employment Opportunity
It is the policy of F5 to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants without regard to unlawful considerations of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, sensory, physical, or mental disability, marital status, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, discipline, and termination. F5 offers a variety of reasonable accommodations for candidates. Requesting an accommodation is completely voluntary. F5 will assess the need for accommodations in the application process separately from those that may be needed to perform the job. Request by contacting accommodations@f5.com.