Omer Abdullah

Senior Information Technology Program Manager @ Social Security Administration

About

I have spent 20 years helping government agencies untangle complex IT challenges and turn them into systems that actually work for people. Currently leading a $128M IT portfolio at the Maryland Department of Information Technology, managing application platforms that serve 2M+ residents across the state's Medicaid and HHS systems. At FDA, I led a $380 million digital budgeting transformation, unifying systems across 7 agency centers that had never been connected before. We built real-time dashboards that gave executives visibility they didn't have before and managed 90+ person cross-functional teams. Before that, 15 years at SSA modernizing disability systems that millions of Americans depend on. My work sits at the intersection of technology, governance, and people, making sure large-scale IT programs don't just get delivered, but actually drive mission impact. Certified PMP and CISA. Passionate about digital transformation, enterprise architecture, and building the kind of IT infrastructure that holds up under real pressure.

Country

United States

City

Laurel

Industry

Computer Software

Skill

Program Management Professional, ICT Project Management, Agile Project Management, Scrum, Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Team Leadership, IT Audit, IT Governance , Information Security Management, Risk Management , Compliance, IT Project & Program Management, Large-scale Projects, IT Strategy, Enterprise Architecture, Project Portfolio Management, IT Governance, Project Management Office (PMO), Portfolio Management, Banking

Experience

Senior Information Technology Program Manager

Social Security Administration

2026-5 - Present · 5 mos

Woodlawn, Maryland, United States

IT Portfolio Manager

Maryland Department of Information Technology

2025-9 - 2026-5 · 9 mos

Linthicum, MD

Managing a $128M IT investment portfolio supporting the Maryland Benefits system, a statewide Medicaid and HHS platform serving 2M+ residents, with a team of 36 across development, QA, and deployment. Supported TRB and CCB governance processes, coordinating release readiness and change management across application platforms. Coordinated with federal partners including CMS, ACF, and USDA to maintain compliance and funding alignment.

Senior Program Manager

FDA

2023-10 - 2025-8 · 1 yr 11 mos

Maryland, United States

Directed a $380M enterprise IT modernization program across 7 FDA centers, managing 90+ cross-functional staff through full application lifecycle from requirements through deployment. Led the Office of Digital Transformation (ODT) budget system modernization, consolidating legacy systems onto a unified digital platform, reducing manual processing by 40% and cutting executive reporting turnaround by 60%. Ensured FISMA and Zero Trust compliance across all releases and integrations.

Lead IT Specialist/Project Manager

Social Security Administration

2008-8 - 2023-10 · 15 yrs 3 mos

Maryland, United States

Led a large-scale modernization of the disability case processing system, managing 40+ developers, analysts, and testers across full Agile delivery cycles. Increased case processing speed by 50%, reduced backlogs by tens of thousands, and delivered ahead of schedule and under budget. Presented program milestones, risks, and delivery outcomes to executive leadership.

Advisory IT Specialist

IBM

2006-7 - 2008-8 · 2 yrs 2 mos

Maryland, United States

Managed the implementation of Oracle databases and ETL processes for enterprise applications, directed SOA architecture migration, and created interactive dashboards to improve data visualization capabilities.

Computer System Analyst

Lockheed Martin

2004-8 - 2006-7 · 2 yrs

Maryland, United States

Created PL/SQL programs for complex data management solutions, contributing to all phases of the software development lifecycle from requirements gathering to testing and deployment.