Senior Program Manager – Innovation & Incubation (Cyber Safety)

Role Summary

We’re looking for a Senior Program Manager – Innovation & Incubation to lead Gen’s most strategic and high‑ambiguity programs across cyber safety (Norton, Avast, and new offerings).

You will own a small portfolio of 0→1 and 1→N programs that cut across products, platforms, and functions—new business models, AI‑powered experiences, cross‑brand journeys, and select inorganic bets. This is a senior individual‑contributor role: you will personally drive programs from idea and incubation through launch and scale, working closely with Product, Engineering, Data/ML, Security, UX/Research, Competitive Intelligence, Corporate Development, Brand, and GTM.

Key Responsibilities

1. Lead innovation & incubation programs end‑to‑end

• Own high‑impact, high‑ambiguity programs (e.g., new products/features, AI/ML initiatives, cross‑brand experiences, new monetization models).
   
• Partner with Product, Strategy, Research, and Competitive Intelligence to frame opportunities: target segments, customer problems, market/competitor signals, scope, success metrics, and major risks.
   
• Design and run incubation phases (discovery, experiments, pilots, alpha/beta) to validate direction before full investment.

2. Turn strategy and insight into an executable plan

• Translate strategy, user research, and market/competitor insight into integrated program plans spanning discovery, build, launch, and scale.
   
• Define milestones, decision gates, and exit criteria for each phase, including when to pivot, pause, or stop.
   
• Continuously adapt plans based on new data, technical constraints, and evolving threat/market dynamics.

3. Drive cross‑functional execution

• Coordinate work across Product, Engineering, Data/ML, Security, Privacy/Legal, UX/Research, Brand/Marketing, GTM, and Support.
   
• Run efficient cadences (working sessions, stand‑ups, steering reviews) that focus on decisions and unblockers, not just status.
   
• Proactively manage risks, dependencies, and trade‑offs, escalating with clear options and recommendations.

4. Launch, measure, and scale

• Orchestrate launch readiness:
  • Internal enablement (Support, Sales, CS, Marketing),
     
  • Customer messaging and positioning (with Brand/GTM),
     
  • Safety, privacy, and incident plans (with Security/Privacy).
     
• Define and track success metrics and leading indicators (e.g., protection impact, engagement, trust, adoption, revenue).
   
• Lead post‑launch reviews; drive follow‑on iterations, hardening, or scale‑up plans based on results and customer feedback.

5. Insights, competitor analysis & M&A support

• Work with user/UX research, customer insights, and competitive intelligence to:
  • Identify unmet needs, emerging threats, and whitespace for innovation.
     
  • Ground program decisions in evidence from users and markets, not just internal ideas.
     
  • Provide competitor analysis (product capabilities, roadmaps, GTM, pricing, partnerships) to shape strategy and differentiation.
     
• Partner with Strategy and Corporate Development on M&A‑related work when relevant to big bets:
  • Inform target identification based on product gaps, technology, and market positioning.
     
  • Support product/technology due diligence and early integration planning.
     
  • Help design and, where appropriate, run integration programs to realize the intended strategic value.

6. Champion innovation practices

• Help evolve Gen’s innovation & incubation playbook: how we source, assess, and run 0→1 programs (build, partner, buy).
   
• Share patterns and learnings across PSE and Product on what works, what doesn’t, and where to invest next.

Qualifications

Required

• 8+ years in Program Management / Technical Program Management / Product Delivery, with a strong track record leading complex, cross‑functional initiatives in software/SaaS.
   
• Demonstrated experience owning 0→1 or highly innovative programs (e.g., new products/features, AI/ML initiatives, new business models).
   
• Experience collaborating closely with user/market research and competitive intelligence and using insight to steer program scope and positioning.
   
• Exposure to M&A work (e.g., supporting Corp Dev or Strategy on product/tech due diligence, integration planning, or post‑close execution).
   
• Strong strategic thinking: connects customer and market insight, competitor moves, technical possibili