By: Nivethaa Nesarajah and Samantha Colbert-Neal

As a Technical Program Manager Intern at Lyft you will deliver complex programs from idea to execution, empower teams and seek new ways to connect people to transportation. TPMs are problem solvers, risk managers and tactically deliver results. This post will examine best practices, insight and study tips to better prepare internship applicants for the Technical Program Manager (TPM) role at Lyft. The goal is to provide prospective candidates a better understanding of what a TPM is, what the TPM internship experience encompasses, and the skills you will gain from the program. This 12 week internship allows interns to lead programs similar to the ones mentioned later in this post.

Technical Program Manager Internship 101

Technical Program Management is a complex and multifunctional role within Lyft. Lyft TPM interns possess strong interdisciplinary skills ranging from technical aptitude in hardware, software or systems engineering to business acumen. A TPM should have a passion for continuous learning and self-development because technology and businesses are constantly developing thus your programs must be cognizant. In this role, interns have the opportunity to extensively develop the skills and experiences they have already accumulated in school and previous internships while adding countless more that will shape their careers. Lyft TPMs take full ownership of the entire program scope from conception to launch and post-release. During the internship, TPMs will communicate, facilitate meetings across multiple teams to aggregate requirements and information, break down and organize specifications, and evangelize summarized and concise conclusions for other team members. For example, it may fall to the TPM to translate an engineering team’s technical domain design into product features to drive buy-in from leadership. In addition, TPM Interns will drive decisions that impact the organization, monitor all aspects of the program and ensure smooth program delivery for end users.

Ramp Up and General Interview Structure*

The general Technical Program Manager interview process is applicable for all TPM Intern roles. To prepare, interview candidates should ensure that they have a solid understanding of the TPM role at Lyft. This can be through deep diving into online resources focused on Technical Program Management, reaching out to their connections and honing into skills practiced by Technical Program Managers on a daily basis. As a candidate learns more about TPM, they should cautiously monitor their resume to evaluate how their past experience aligns with the qualifications and skills outlined in the job description.

There will be 3–4 rounds of interviews. Interviews focus heavily on technical skills, problem solving skills and past experiences. Early rounds of interviews focus on evaluating the candidate’s core skills required for any Technical Program Manager role at Lyft such as problem solving, communication and leadership. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their background and interest in becoming a Technical Program Manager at Lyft. One may be asked to walk through past projects completed in school or previous work experiences. For each experience discussed, the candidate should walk through how they gathered requirements, developed long-term strategic plans and effectively executed on a roadmap. It is vital to align each experience to the skills and qualities required for the TPM role.

During the following rounds of interviews a candidate may be asked specific questions about projects and experiences on their resumé, technical skills, and their understanding of Lyft’s business. One may also be asked to discuss in-depth and high-level examples of technical projects they completed, walk through a technical problem breakdown, provide insight into tradeoffs made when pursuing a business solution and specific TPM best practices.

During the interview process, if a candidate has any questions, they should feel free to let the recruiter know. Lyft wants to ensure a great experience for all!

The Internship Experience

During this 12 week long internship, TPM Interns will be assigned to a specific program. They will be set with a manager and a mentor that will give regular support. In the program, participants, will learn to lead cross functional meetings working with other teams such as software engineers, product managers, operations, legal, and more. Along with running meetings, they will also have ownership over the program documentation. Throughout the internship the TPM will be responsible for helping to make impactful decisions about the program to make sure it stays on track.

Deep-Dive Into Program Into Radio Frequency Identification Asset Tracking Program

My name is Nivethaa and I am a senior Management Engineering student at the University of Waterloo. Prior to working as a TPM intern at Lyft, I had the opportunity to intern as a developer, product manager and data scientist in tech, FinTech and manufacturing industries. Currently, I am a Technical Program Manager intern working in the Transit, Bikes and Scooters line of business. I spearheaded an end-to-end program focused on implementing an Ultra High Radio Frequency Identification Asset Tracking Program Pilot that spans Operations, Engineering, Data Science and Product teams. During the first two weeks of my internship, I allocated time to meet with stakeholders, deep-dive into the technical domain and validate the overall program vision and strategy alignment. I started to drive cross-functional initiatives, run weekly meetings and define baseline program success metrics from the get-go. I worked with internal and external cross-functional teams to identify risks, dependencies and constraints as well as manage transparency, accountability and clarity to drive program delivery.

Deep-Dive Into Payments Program

I am Samantha Colbert-Neal, a senior Cybersecurity major at Hampton University. My educational background is in security, however my internship background is in software engineering. I have worked in the tech and defense industries on projects such as frontend UI development and tool automation. I was able to apply my technical knowledge to my current position which is a Technical Program Management Intern. I am in the Rideshare line of business working on the Pay team, which enables the full stack and life cycle of payment preferences as well as transaction/credential management and security for riders and drivers. Throughout the 12 week internship I was able to lead a program from the initial stages to a public rollout. This program focused on Driver Payouts, where I got to deep dive into the Payments domain. Learning about the impact and expenses of transaction fees and meeting volume requirements with 3rd party vendors gave me a new perspective on how business meets technology. This role gave me the flexibility to be in a code debugging session with software engineers to meetings with 3rd party vendors and PayOps working on negotiations. Being a TPM intern allowed me to get a high level understanding of what the role that each of the key stakeholders played in producing a successful program.

Advice for TPM Intern candidates from Nivethaa and Samantha: What To Expect From The Program

Although the scope of responsibilities of a Lyft TPM is very broad, we identified three core skills that we have developed during our internship.

Cross-functional leadership skills

As a Lyft TPM intern you will work collaboratively with cross functional teams to drive high impact programs from conception to ship. You will be the voice of action and clarify questions, resolve problems and evaluate ideas with internal and external stakeholders. Lyft TPM Interns have full autonomy of the program from the get-go. As a cross-functional team leader, you will maintain consistent communication by running meetings, sharing status updates and creating and continuously developing artifacts. As the program’s successful delivery is dependent on your ability to cross functionally manage you need to ensure clarity, transparency and visibility by operating effectively and autonomously. Example tools and artifacts Lyft TPM interns build and actively manage are Jira for task management, Confluence and Google Docs for document management, Slack for communication and Smartsheet for program schedules.

Setting quantifiable goals and plans to achieve them

Lyft TPMs are very strategic and focus on big picture initiatives that align with company goals and mission. TPMs must continuously monitor the program scope and ensure that the team shares the same vision for the program. We want to avoid allocating time, budget and resources to develop programs that will not yield a return on investment. During each phase of the program development, TPMs must be able to identify, measure and develop risk mitigation plans, maintain artifacts and manage tasks. At Lyft, TPMs focus on success and impact and this growth mindset fosters the development of successful strategy and execution.

Technical depth

A core skill of TPMs is to become a technical domain expert and gain deep understanding of the program focus area. Technical aptitude will be invaluable when understanding constraints and developing execution strategies. Lyft TPM interns spend the first 1–2 weeks to understand the problem space, confirm requirements and technical specifications are confirmed, deep-dive into dashboards and clarify questions with cross-functional teams. It is important to pressure test your understanding and ask the right questions to enforce clarity and transparency within the teams. As Lyft TPM interns we had first hand experience developing dashboards, creating program specifications, looking into code and thinking through technical domains.

General Interview Tips

Please note that our interview process is subject to change, so candidates may experience interviews that slightly differ from the ones as described in this article.

Don’t Hold Back — Communication is the foundation of a Technical Program Manager. Lyft TPMs must be able to communicate plans, problems and progress with cross-functional teams including Engineering, Product, Design, Marketing and Operations both internally and externally. TPMs must be comfortable with sharing their opinions and being the voice of each team member involved to achieve a successful program delivery. During your interview display your ability to communicate business and technical experiences and how you interacted with stakeholders to achieve mutual agreement.

It is Okay to Pivot — During your internship, your program will experience unforeseen delays, issues and risk that will impact your program schedule and delivery. At this time, you must be ready to pivot, restructure your timeframe and adjust your program scope if required. It is important to understand the cause of issues and develop mitigation plans. Your ability to change direction and get the program back on track is what will make you a strong TPM.

Join Lyft’s TPM Internship Program

If you find this role interesting develop some awesome skills along the way, join Lyft’s TPM internship Program!

Lyft is hiring. We are always looking for great talent to join our teams. Take a look at our openings and feel free to apply!

*Note that interview processes are subject to change over time and specifics may vary.