AboutCase StudiesCapabilitiesResume

Richard Couch

Technical Program Manager | Data Platforms & Internal Systems

Contact

Location: Berkeley, CA (Bay Area hybrid / remote)
Email: organizewithrich@gmail.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richcouch

Summary

Technical Program Manager with 9+ years delivering internal platforms, governance, KPI frameworks, and data-heavy decision tooling. Led cross-functional delivery that supported ~$10M in annual prioritization decisions, contributed to ~17% risk reduction, and shipped a global enablement platform serving 70K+ users.

Core strengths

  • Cross-functional program leadership (Eng / DS / Analytics / Ops)
  • Requirements management + acceptance criteria
  • Governance + KPI frameworks (definitions, stewardship, quality rules)
  • Executive reporting and operating cadences
  • Platform migration, release readiness, incident response, adoption enablement

Tools

Jira • Confluence • GitHub • SQL • Tableau • Power BI • Collibra • Palantir Foundry • Skilljar • Zoho People • Oracle EBS

Experience

ERP Modernization Program Lead (Finance & Procurement)

Chelan County PUD | Aug 2025 – Nov 2025
Official title: Lead Business Analyst (Contract via Dexian)

  • Led Finance & Procurement discovery for an ERP modernization program; delivered 25+ current-state process maps with same/next-day turnaround.
  • Created demo readiness + vendor evaluation tooling (scoring sheets, scripts, question logs) to improve consistency and defensibility.
  • Facilitated stakeholder sessions; translated ambiguous feedback into clear outcomes, owners, and timelines.
  • Recognized by sponsor for high-velocity delivery and creating clarity during an intense program phase.

Technical Program Manager, Data & Analytics

Pacific Gas and Electric Company | Dec 2023 – Mar 2025
Official title: Business Analyst (Contract)

  • Led cross-functional delivery of forecasting + analytics (54 models) supporting ~$10M in prioritization decisions and contributing to ~17% risk reduction.
  • Delivered a single-source executive dashboard integrating incident data and external risk signals; adopted for leadership briefings.
  • Implemented governance (stewards, critical data elements, automated quality rules) and compliance-aligned scorecards.
  • Orchestrated an API pipeline into a data platform (Palantir Foundry), reducing manual prep ~60% and improving analyst throughput.
  • Built a KPI framework that became a shared language for recurring “what changed / what to do next” leadership reviews.

Technical Program Manager, Customer Education Platform (Skilljar)

LinkedIn | Feb 2020 – Aug 2022
Official title: Learning Experience Application Manager (Full-time)

  • Consolidated legacy learning assets into a single Skilljar platform; led implementation, migration, and post-launch support for 70K+ users.
  • Ran a 10-person cross-functional squad (UX/Eng/CS) to define requirements, shape roadmap, clear blockers, and ship MVP in 6 weeks.
  • Avoided $300K+ in planned vendor spend; maintained 99.9% uptime through incident/release playbooks.
  • Built self-service admin tooling and role-based flows; reduced content-management effort ~40% and lowered engineering tickets.
  • Implemented localization (7 languages) and improved reporting for usage visibility.

Program Manager, Oracle EBS Enablement & QA

DENSO (via Flex, LLC) | Apr 2019 – Sep 2019
Official title: IT Project Manager (Contract)

  • Built an interactive Oracle EBS Order Management training suite for 300+ end users; reduced classroom hours ~40%.
  • Delivered ~10% ahead of schedule; improved adoption with ~80% proficiency gains and ~30% fewer helpdesk tickets within 60 days.
  • Led QA with UPK test scripts and defect logging in Jira/TestRail, improving transaction accuracy ~15%.

Program Manager, HR Systems & Learning Technology

FibroGen Inc | Jun 2016 – Mar 2018
Official title: HR Systems Project Manager (Contract)

  • Delivered rollout of Zoho People, TINYpulse, and LinkedIn Learning, replacing three legacy tools on time and budget.
  • Improved performance review workflows ~10% through automation and dashboards.
  • Drove ~95% adoption within 90 days; reduced HR support tickets 25% through enablement and self-service.

Product Consultant (Independent)

RichCouch.com | Feb 2015 – Jul 2016

  • Implemented cloud POS/inventory/document systems for SMB clients; improved process efficiency ~40%.
  • Built analytics-driven marketing/loyalty programs; increased revenue ~50% and retention ~90% for key clients.
  • Managed $900K annual budget; negotiated vendor contracts cutting procurement costs 12%.

Education

University of California, Berkeley
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Interdisciplinary Studies