Mingwei Ma | Senior Project Manager

The thread that holds everything together.

Six years leading cross-functional, client-facing delivery at award-winning creative agencies and startups. I build the systems, roadmaps, and relationships that turn tangled work into shipped work. When things get sticky, I figure out why it's stuck, not just how to unstick it.

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Program management·Intake & process design·Roadmap & backlog·Risk & escalation·Budgets & SOWs
6+
Years leading delivery
$2.6M+
In project budgets managed
68%
Client retention & growth
What I do

Where I create leverage for a team.

01Program & delivery managementI've led end-to-end delivery in waterfall, hybrid, and agile environments, choosing the structure based on what the team and project actually need, not just process for the sake of it. From kickoff to gate reviews, I build the cadence a team will keep so leadership always knows what's shipping and when.
02Intake, roadmap & backlogI design intake systems that give every request a clear path, whether that means building structure from scratch or untangling a system that's grown past its limits. Once requests are in, I prioritize by real business impact, not who asks loudest.
03Client & stakeholder relationshipsFor my team, that means tight feedback loops, clear acceptance criteria, and requests routed through the right channel, so nobody's guessing what's actually being asked. For the client, it means staying ahead of their questions, communicating early when something's off track, and showing up like a long-term partner instead of a vendor they hired for one project.
04Risk, escalation & reportingI build reporting that's easy to self-serve, so people aren't waiting on me for status. When our tools couldn't get me the visibility I needed, I taught myself SQL and started pulling my own Metabase reports instead of waiting on someone else to do it. In standups, I listen for the early signals that something's starting to drift, and I always escalate with a recommendation already attached.
05Resourcing & capacity planningI balance workload across concurrent projects by working directly with design and engineering leads, and flex up or down with freelance staffing when a project needs it. To keep burn and capacity numbers accurate, I built custom spreadsheet reporting that tracked hours against budget in real time.
How I work

Trust first, then throughput.

Every engagement is really one thing: getting a project from where it is to where it needs to land.

POINT Aday onePOINT Bdelivered, on time & in budget
Step 01Listen & map

I meet the people and the project where they are before I touch the plan, learning the goals, the constraints, and where trust needs to be built.

Step 02Create & execute the plan

A plan the team helped shape and actually believes in with clear owners, honest dates, visible risks & mitigations.

Step 03Unblock daily

I chase down answers and clear the path, protecting my team's time so they can do what they do best.

Step 04Land & learn

Ship it, close it cleanly, leaving the team with practices that outlast the project and leaving the client excited to start a new engagement.

In their words
Mingwei was absolutely amazing to work with...all of the organizational systems she put into place meant we were able to survive after she left.
Lead Developer · Design Agency
Top-tier when it came to project management. We never had any confusion about where we were in the process. [Mingwei] stuck to the plan and did it without making us feel overwhelmed.
Director of Communications · Henry Luce Foundation
Mingwei was a joy to work with — a great facilitator and note-taker, so nothing ever got dropped, with immediate follow-up after every meeting and a weekly digest that kept everything clear.
Director of Comms · Natural Areas Conservancy
Mingwei was fantastic. I wish she could manage all my projects and my whole life. I couldn't have worked with a better team.
Communications Consultant · Girl Be Heard
What's next

What I'm looking for next.

The roleSenior project manager

Owning delivery end to end across strategy, creative, and technology, as the steady point of contact that clients and teams both trust to keep things moving.

The teamDesign & technology agencies

Strategy, creative, and technology teams pushing toward what's next, new formats and platforms, who need a PM who can turn that ambition into something real.

The setupFull-time, remote-first

Based in New York, remote-first with on-site when it counts. Open to contract or fractional for the right fit.

Currently pursuing PMP certification, with completion expected by the end of Q3.

Questions

Good to know.

What kind of teams fit you best?

Strategic and creative tech organizations where I get to work with talented doers from multiple disciplines. Teams that push each other to new limits to create unique experiences that delight.

Which tools and methods do you use?

Asana, Jira, Linear, Notion, Airtable, and Confluence, among others. I'm methodology-agnostic (Agile and Scrum where they fit, something lighter where they don't) and I shape process to the work, not the other way around.

Do you hold any certifications (PMP, CSM)?

My PMP is in progress, with completion expected by the end of Q3. I hold six years of hands-on project management behind it.

How does AI fit into how you work?

I'm actively building my technical and AI fluency, including prototyping tools with Claude Code and Design so I can speak my engineers' language and put AI to work sensibly on planning, reporting, and the busywork around delivery. Check out what I'm building here!

Let's talk

Hiring for a role I'd fit?

I'd love to hear about the team and the work. Send a note, or take my résumé with you.

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