Program Manager, Certification

About Bluefin Payment Systems LLC

At Bluefin, we thrive in a dynamic and fast-paced environment where innovation and leadership are at the forefront of everything we do. Join us in revolutionizing data security within the integrated payments industry, as we protect over 35,000 companies across 59 countries with our cutting-edge encryption and tokenization technologies. Our collaborative culture empowers you to take initiative and make impactful contributions, while our commitment to professional growth ensures you have the tools and opportunities to excel. Embrace the challenge of working in a vibrant atmosphere that values agility and leadership, and be part of our mission to create secure, frictionless experiences for businesses and their customers. If you’re ready to drive change and make a difference, we invite you to embark on this exciting journey with us!

About the role

We are seeking a Program Manager, Certification to lead and deliver complex, cross-functional initiatives across Bluefin’s secure payment technology portfolio, with primary ownership of EMV and payment-related certifications. This role serves as the end-to-end project owner, responsible for coordinating all stakeholders from initial request and scoping through execution, certification approval, and successful implementation.

The Program Manager partners closely with Product, Engineering, QA, Security, and external partners to define scope, establish timelines, manage dependencies, and drive execution across multiple concurrent initiatives. This role ensures alignment between business objectives, technical readiness, and external certification requirements while proactively identifying risks and driving mitigation to keep initiatives on track.

In addition to certification delivery, this role provides structured program leadership, clear stakeholder communication, and executive-level visibility into initiative status, risks, and outcomes. This is a hands-on, senior-level role requiring strong technical fluency, disciplined project management, and the ability to lead complex efforts in a fast-paced, partner-driven environment. This role reports to the VP, Product.

What you'll do

Program & Initiative Management

• Own end-to-end delivery of certification and certification-adjacent initiatives from initial request and scoping through execution, approval, and implementation.
• Define initiative scope, milestones, dependencies, and success criteria in partnership with Product and Engineering.
• Actively manage risks, assumptions, dependencies, and tradeoffs across multiple concurrent initiatives.
• Drive accountability across internal teams and external partners to ensure on-time delivery.
  Certification Strategy & Planning

• Develop and own the long-term certification roadmap for Bluefin’s products, platforms, and features.
• Prioritize certification efforts based on business needs, product launches, and regulatory requirements.
• Track industry trends and changes in certification requirements to inform planning and ensure ongoing compliance.
• Manage certification work as part of a broader initiative portfolio, balancing capacity, priority, and business impact.

Partner Engagement

• Act as the primary point of contact for external certification partners, including device vendors, payment processors, acquirers, and compliance bodies.
• Manage communications, timelines, and deliverables with partners to keep certification projects on track.
• Represent Bluefin in certification working groups or industry initiatives, as appropriate.

Test Execution & Tooling

• Oversee the execution of certification scripts across environments and platforms.
• Coordinate test efforts with QA and engineering teams to validate functionality and compliance.
• Drive improvements to test tooling, automation, and scripting best practices to streamline certification activities.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Product, Engineering, QA, Security, and other stakeholders to ensure initiative timelines are aligned with product development schedules.
  Provide input during the product lifecycle to ensure features are designed and built with certification in mind.
• Communicate certification status, risks, and requirements clearly across teams.
• Provide regular status reporting and executive-level visibility into initiative health, risks, and timelines.
• Escalate issues with clear impact assessment and recommended paths forward.
• Support leadership decision-making by translating technical and certification constraints into business impact.

Process Improvement & Documentation

• Maintain up-to-date certification documentation, test plans, and technical requirements.
• Own the upkeep and continuous improvement of sandbox environments used for testing and validation.
• Identify process bottlenecks and implement workflow enhancements to improve efficiency and scalability.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, the individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions:

• 7+ years’ experience in certification testing, quality assurance, or technical program management
• In-depth knowledge of EMV, P2PE, and payment industry certification standards
• Experience managing certifications for POS, eCommerce, and mobile platforms
• Strong understanding of certification testing, scripting, and automation practices
• Excellent organizational and project management skills
• Strong communication skills for interfacing with partners and internal stakeholders
• Familiarity with web-based platforms and testing frameworks
  Proven experience leading complex, cross-functional technical initiatives
• Strong dependency, risk, and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, partner-driven environment with competing priorities

Equal Employment Opportunity 

Bluefin provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religious creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, citizenship or immigration status, pregnancy, physical disability, mental disability, age, military or veteran status, marital status, registered domestic partner status, gender, gender identity or expression, sex stereotyping, medical condition, genetic information, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.