Full-Time

Senior Technical Program Manager

Rewards Network

Rewards Network

501-1,000 employees

Pay-for-performance loyalty marketing for restaurants

Compensation Overview

$140k - $160k/yr

+ 15% annual bonus target

Chicago, IL, USA

Hybrid

Three days on-site per week, Tuesday through Thursday, required in Chicago.

Bachelor's

Category
Project & Program Management
Required Skills
Claude
Agile
Data Visualization
Tableau
JIRA
Risk Management
Asana
SCRUM
Confluence
Data Analysis

Get referred to Rewards Network

See people who can refer or advise you

Requirements
  • A Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
  • 7-10 years of technical program or project management experience delivering software or technology initiatives in a SaaS, B2B, B2C, or B2B2C environment, including experience managing a portfolio of related, concurrent programs.
  • Demonstrated experience leading a portfolio of multiple concurrent, related programs from inception to launch, with enough technical fluency to engage credibly with Engineering on architecture, sequencing, and risk.
  • Experience working with Agile delivery teams using Scrum, Kanban, or hybrid methodologies.
  • Experience presenting program-level status to executives and senior leaders.
  • Demonstrated ability to ramp quickly into ambiguous, in-flight programs and operate independently within days or weeks.
  • Strong program and project management fundamentals, including scope definition, scheduling, cross-program dependency management, identifying and managing risks, and change control.
  • Excellent ability to translate ambiguous business goals into structured, actionable plans with clear milestones and accountability.
  • Proven experience leading cross-functional programs involving engineering, design, product, marketing, partner management, and operations without direct authority.
  • Ability to operate as an embedded owner who brings a point of view on risk and sequencing rather than simply relaying status.
  • Ability to partner with Product Marketing and Marketing on go-to-market execution by translating positioning and messaging into a coordinated cross-functional launch plan, timeline, and readiness checklist.
  • Proficiency with JIRA, Confluence, Asana, Miro, and reporting tools or dashboards such as advanced JIRA or Tableau.
  • Experience designing and running a program governance model with steering committees, working-team cadences, and demo or review rhythms that scales with program complexity.
  • Strong analytical skills and ability to use data to inform planning, identify bottlenecks, and measure delivery health.
  • Ability to communicate in writing and verbally and tailor messaging from individual contributors through executive leadership.
  • Stakeholder management, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.
  • Proficiency with modern AI tools such as ChatGPT, Glean, and Claude to accelerate program management activities and adopt AI-enabled workflows.
  • Ability to manage multiple complex, competing priorities in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment.
Responsibilities
  • Own end-to-end program management for complex, cross-functional strategic initiatives, including platform transformations, product modernization efforts, partner and merchant onboarding, partner and payments integrations, and payments infrastructure upgrades.
  • Define and maintain program plans, timelines, milestones, and cross-program dependency maps, and drive accountability against committed dates and quality standards.
  • Identify, track, and mitigate risks and issues; escalate appropriately and recommend trade-offs when scope, schedule, or resources require rebalancing.
  • Work with Product leadership to sequence work against available resources and establish and run the governance operating model, including steering committees, working-team cadences, and review rhythms.
  • Own program-level reporting and status communication to executives, senior leadership, and key stakeholders, translating complex delivery details into clear, decision-ready summaries.
  • Manage cross-program dependencies with internal partners and external integrations, ensuring alignment on requirements, timelines, and acceptance criteria.
  • Own the cross-functional execution of product launches and go-to-market plans by coordinating readiness, dependencies, timing, and stakeholder alignment across Product, Engineering, Marketing, Sales, Legal, Finance, and Partner Management.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for cross-functional programs and apply pressure or escalate to other leaders as needed to keep programs on track.
  • Continuously improve program management practices, tools, templates, and governance processes, including eliciting feedback on improvements.
  • Leverage AI tools and workflows to increase program management velocity and quality by accelerating status synthesis, risk analysis, and plan generation, and model AI-native practices for the broader cross-functional team.
  • Champion clear ownership, transparent communication, and continuous improvement across the organization.
Desired Qualifications
  • PMP, PgMP, CSM, PMI-ACP, or an equivalent program or project management certification.
  • Experience in FinTech, MarTech, restaurant, dining, hospitality, or loyalty and rewards industries.
  • Experience coordinating with external partners such as loyalty programs, integration partners, and vendors on joint roadmaps and delivery commitments.
  • Experience coordinating product launches or go-to-market execution with Product Marketing or Marketing teams.
  • Experience managing data, analytics, or AI/ML-driven product initiatives.

Rewards Network partners with major loyalty programs to drive full-price dining by offering points or rewards to guests who dine at participating restaurants. Restaurants join and pay on a pay-for-performance basis, with Rewards Network earning fees tied to actual sales generated by loyalty-driven diners, plus optional flexible funding. The platform provides live sales reports, guest survey analytics, and verified reviews to help operators optimize marketing and operations. Its goal is to increase monthly restaurant sales, fill more seats, and use data and financing options to support growth.

Company Size

501-1,000

Company Stage

Acquired

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Los Angeles, California

Founded

1984

Get referred to Rewards Network

See people who can refer or advise you

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Rewards Network announced CEO succession January 13, 2026 without operational disruption.
  • Built In named Rewards Network a 2026 Best Place to Work in Chicago.
  • Craveworthy Brands expanded on March 31, 2025, showing sticky multi-location restaurant adoption.

What critics are saying

  • BBB logged 15 complaints in three years, signaling persistent customer service friction.
  • Dining-rewards economics depend on partner brands like Fetch and Wyndham, increasing concentration risk.
  • Restaurants can cut Rewards Network programs during downturns, breaking receivables and killing volume.

What makes Rewards Network unique

  • Rewards Network ties restaurant demand to loyalty programs and receivables funding, unlike ad agencies.
  • The Fetch partnership launched May 6, 2025 across nearly 18,000 restaurants nationwide.
  • Stephen Fusco became CEO on January 1, 2026, preserving the product-led strategy.

Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?

Benefits

Paid Vacation

401(k) Company Match

401(k) Retirement Plan

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Health Savings Account/Flexible Spending Account

Disability Insurance

Life Insurance

Hybrid Work Options

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

2%

1 year growth

2%

2 year growth

2%
PYMNTS
Dec 19th, 2024
Darden Restaurant Sales Grow Despite Fine Dining Pullback

Darden Restaurants’ sales climbed this quarter despite diners shying away from its fine-dining establishments. The company, owner of chains such as Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, released earnings Thursday (Dec. 19) that showed total sales increasing 6% to $2.9 billion. While sales were up 7.5% at LongHorn and 2% for Olive Garden, sales for the company’s fine dining restaurants — Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and The Capital Grille — fell by nearly 6% for the quarter

PYMNTS
Dec 5th, 2024
Restaurant Bankruptcies Reportedly At Highest Level Since Pandemic

Chain restaurant bankruptcies are reportedly at their highest level since the pandemic.Among the most recent examples is the casual dining franchise TGI Friday’s, one of more than a dozen high-profile eateries to seek bankruptcy protection between January and October of this year, Bloomberg News reported Thursday (Dec. 5), citing BankruptcyData.According to the report, that’s the most through that date since 2020, and next year could bring more turmoil, with restaurant prices jumping due to increased labor costs, supply chain issues and steeper interest expenses, lessening consumer demand for meals away from home.Bloomberg cited data from Black Box Intelligence showing that restaurant prices rose 44% between 2015 and March of this year, compared to a 26% uptick in grocery prices during the same timeframe.“It’s really hard for somebody to go to a restaurant at the same pace as we did before,” Victor Fernandez, vice president of insights at Black Box Intelligence, said. “That’s putting a lot of pressure on brands.”In addition to TGI Friday’s, the Italian chain Buca di Beppo, fish taco restaurant Rubio’s Coastal Grill, owner of burger and pizza chains BurgerFi and Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza, and Red Lobster are all among companies seeking reorganization via bankruptcy in a year that has not been easy on the dining industry.“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready for ‘24 to be behind us, and I think ‘25 is going to be a great year,” Kate Jaspon, chief financial officer of Dunkin’ parent company Inspire Brands, said at an industry conference in Las Vegas last month.Her comments were reported by CNBC, which included its own statistic from Black Box Intelligence: Restaurant traffic for eateries open at least a year had fallen year over year in each month through September.Meanwhile, high-profile chains such as McDonald’s and Starbucks have reported declines in quarterly sales, disappointing their investors.And while global names like these are seeing sales fall, smaller restaurants are dealing with challenges of their own, like scaring up capital, Mitchell Hipp, divisional vice president at Rewards Network, said in an interview with PYMNTS posted earlier this week.“Most restaurants are undercapitalized to begin with, and it’s the No. 1 business that fails in the U.S.,” he said.Most small-to-mid-sized restaurants only have enough funding to remain open for six months, though they should — ideally — have the capital to keep running for a few years.“Six months goes by quickly when you open up a smaller restaurant. Unless people are flocking through the doors, it almost immediately becomes a situation where [owners] are chasing their tails from day one,” Hipp said

PYMNTS
Dec 5th, 2024
Uber And Toast Team To Offer Commission-Free Delivery

Uber is expanding its partnership with restaurant technology platform Toast. The new integration between Toast Delivery Services and Uber Direct lets U.S. restaurants save on delivery fees and expand their delivery radius, while using Uber’s delivery network to provide local delivery on phone orders and ones made via Toast digital ordering channels, the companies said in a Thursday (Dec. 5) news release,. This effort builds on the partnership formed by two companies in 2021, and comes at a time when restaurants are struggling to attract diners and find funding

PYMNTS
Dec 3rd, 2024
Data-Driven Funding Fuels Restaurant Growth And Fills Tables

For restaurants, there’s a funding gap, a chasm between gaining access to the capital they need to thrive and grow and the traditional channels offering that capital. Mitchell Hipp, divisional vice president at Rewards Network, told PYMNTS the gap can present itself as the pain points of setting up operations and progressing to become mainstays of the local economy. His insight comes from personal experience. He recounted how he put himself through college by working in the industry. He started as a dishwasher and eventually became an owner-operator

PYMNTS
Sep 22nd, 2024
Ai Phone Hosts Become Increasing Part Of Dining Experience

The next time you call your favorite restaurant, it may be AI that answers. That’s according to a report Sunday (Sept. 22) by Ars Technica on the popularity of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered hosts used by eateries. As the report noted, there are many companies specializing in the service, offering 24-hour responses to questions about things like menus, dress codes and seating arrangements, or making, changing, or canceling reservations