Principal Technical & Systems Delivery Lead

We are seeking a senior, hands-on Principal Technical & Systems Delivery Lead to help bring an existing data, inventory, replenishment and purchasing automation programme through final validation, stabilization, documentation and operational acceptance. This is not a greenfield build. A substantial amount is complete: core architecture, databases, business logic, automation, reporting and integrations are in place, and significant portions are already operating. Substantial project documentation and history also exist to accelerate review. We are not looking for a predetermined redesign. We want an independent senior leader who can determine what is sufficiently proven, identify remaining risks, simplify where appropriate, strengthen controls and testing, and help the team reach a finite completion point. Please self-filter before applying This role is probably not a fit if your background is mainly project management without deep technical capability, high-level architecture consulting without hands-on implementation experience, frontend development, pure data science/AI-agent work, or greenfield builds without experience inheriting production systems. It is also unlikely to fit if your default response to an imperfect process is to automate, rebuild or add another platform. We need someone experienced enough to say both: “This is a material risk and must be addressed.” and “The current control is sufficient. Document it, backlog the enhancement and move on.” The role 1. Technical integrity Review architecture, code, databases, pipelines, integrations and controls for reliability, security, data integrity, maintainability and supportability. 2. Proactive risk discovery Look beyond known defects for assumptions, data conflicts, dependencies and failure modes that may not yet have surfaced. 3. Solution and acceptance design Determine the simplest reliable response to remaining requirements. Sometimes code is appropriate; sometimes documentation or a manual control is better. Establish objective evidence for what “done” means. 4. Programme leadership Own the Monday.com board, sprint, backlog discipline, blockers/dependencies, acceptance status and Gantt/completion roadmap. We want lightweight, accurate delivery discipline — not a new PM methodology. Technical environment Microsoft Azure, Azure SQL / SQL Server, Python, Git/GitHub, Amazon APIs, Finale Inventory, Monday.com, Excel/Power Query, API integrations and AI/LLM-assisted workflows. Experience with every product is not required. Deep production data/software engineering and technical acceptance experience matter more. Working with the team You will work with a team with considerable technical and business knowledge, including a full-time internal employee with deep knowledge of requirements, exceptions and the existing system. Your role is not to replace that expertise. You are expected to independently challenge technical assumptions, proposed solutions, unnecessary process complexity, assumptions about completion and proposed new work. You will report directly to the management sponsor. Material new initiatives, major architecture changes, new automation workstreams or significant scope additions require executive approval. Initial paid review We expect to begin with approximately 12–15 paid hours. During that review, establish: what is built, deployed and operating successfully; what remains incomplete or insufficiently proven; material technical, data, security, documentation or operational risks; additional failure modes worth investigating; what blocks acceptance versus what can be controlled or deferred; and the shortest responsible path to completion. We expect review of the actual system, code, schemas, controls and evidence — not just interviews and a presentation. The initial paid review will conclude with a concise written Current-State & Completion Assessment and management readout. The assessment should identify what is sufficiently complete, material remaining risks, hidden failure modes worth investigating, acceptance gaps, the prioritized critical path, and what should be fixed now versus controlled or deferred. Expected background Strong candidates will show evidence of: Principal/Staff/Lead-level hands-on technical leadership; inheriting and stabilizing systems built by others; Azure SQL / SQL Server and relational/dimensional modelling; ETL/ELT, APIs and production data pipelines; SQL and Python review/debugging; data quality, observability, failure handling and regression testing; Git/version control and controlled change practices; technical documentation and handoff; technical programme leadership and roadmap management; and leading distributed technical contributors. Inventory/ERP/supply-chain, Amazon SP-API, Finale, Monday.com, Power Query/Power BI or LLM experience is helpful but not mandatory. Success and engagement Success means independently validated confidence, effective controls around important failure modes, clear acceptance evidence, reliable production processes, strong documentation/company ownership, and a controlled backlog. Initial review: ~12–15 hours Expected engagement: ~4–6 weeks Typical commitment: 15–25 hours/week Contract: Hourly with agreed weekly limit More detailed technical information will be shared during selection under appropriate confidentiality arrangements.