Staff Program Manager - Product and Engineering (Samsung Ads)

Position Summary

We are seeking a Staff Program Manager to report directly to the Head of Product Operations. In this role, you will collaborate closely with Engineering Leadership and various cross-functional Product Operations teams. Your primary focus will be to support the global engineering organization's success by driving strategic initiatives, enhancing operational efficiency, and ensuring that engineering priorities align with the broader organizational goals.

The ideal candidate possesses strong technical acumen, a bias for action, and a passion for operational excellence, automation, and data-driven decision-making. This individual thrives in complex, fast-paced environments and plays a pivotal role in helping the engineering organization operate with focus, scale, and clarity.

Role and Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Enablement

• Serve as a trusted advisor to engineering and product operations leadership, providing data-driven insights and recommendations

• Connect long-term strategy to execution by translating product and technology direction into actionable plans

• Coordinate strategic reviews, postmortems and budget discussions that shape priorities and drive accountability

2. Operational Efficiency and Scalability

• Standardize and automate processes to enable consistent execution across development centers

• Partner with finance and site operations to manage budgets - including travel, infrastructure, and headcount - and product variance reports that provide visibility into spending and forecasts

• Oversee talent management and hiring processes in close partnership with HR and Talent Acquisition teams

• Identify and implement tooling, automation, and workflow improvements that enable teams to scale effectively and improve productivity 

3. Operational orchestration

• Lead the rhythm of engineering operations - driving leadership forums, off-sites, workshops, and quarterly business reviews

• Manage planning and review cycles for OKRs, MBO, and KPIs, and ensure alignment with divisional goals

• Implement efficient operational processes that enhance team velocity and reduce friction in global sites

4. Voice of Engineering Organization

• Lead the Voice of Engineering programs - Pulse surveys, All Hands Q&A, and engagement forums - to gather and synthesize feedback

• Surface insights and develop action plans that strengthen team engagement and organizational health

• Facilitate roundtables and skip-level discussions to amplify the employee voice and deepen leadership connection

5. Data, Insights and Business Intelligence

• Maintain and interpret key operational datasets - talent rosters, OKR dashboards, program trackers, and budget summaries

• Deliver concise weekly updates and executive-level summaries highlighting progress, risks, and trends

• Use insights to anticipate challenges and inform resource, cost, and productivity decisions

Skills and Qualifications

Qualifications

• 8 to 12 years of experience in program management or operational leadership within engineering or product organizations

• Strong technical aptitude and familiarity with software development, data, testing, and product management

• Hands-on experience with automation tools and frameworks to drive operational efficiency.

• Expertise in AI/GenAI technologies and their application in product and engineering environments.

• Demonstrated operational excellence mindset - High attention to detail, strong follow-through, and accountability

• High agency and perseverance - able to anticipate needs, navigate ambiguity, and drive results independently