Director, Platform Operations & Program Management

Job Description:

Director, Platform Operations & Program Management, Global Infrastructure Services

We are seeking a strategic platform leader to drive the execution and business operations of a next-generation AI-powered enterprise platform from beta through general availability and market scale. This is a high-visibility, mission-critical role requiring someone who can operate as a mini-COO for the platform—combining program execution rigor with commercial acumen to manage FinOps, pricing strategy, and go-to-market support alongside traditional program management disciplines.

This role requires an entrepreneurial leader who thrives in building something from the ground up, establishing program discipline in ambiguous environments, and driving both technical execution and business outcomes in a matrixed organization.

Responsibilities

Strategic Program Leadership

Own the integrated program plan, connecting dependencies across product, engineering, user experience design, sales/commercial, legal, and finance workstreams

Synthesize complex program data into strategic insights for executive decision-making—not just status compilation, but analysis of program health, trajectory, business implications, and financial impact

Proactively identify and escalate risks, dependencies, and blockers before they impact delivery

Translate technical progress into business language for presentations, executive reviews and customer engagements

Build and maintain strong working relationships with workstream leads, technical leads, commercial teams, and executive sponsors

Manage expectations and maintain alignment across diverse stakeholders 

Platform Operations & Business Management

• Support go-to-market activities including lighthouse customer engagements, competitive positioning, and market messaging
• Drive FinOps discipline—track platform costs, optimize resource utilization, and connect technical decisions to financial outcomes
• Contribute to business case development, ROI analysis, and financial modeling for platform investments
• Support contract negotiations and SOW development with vendors
• Monitor platform metrics that matter to the business: customer adoption, utilization, retention, and commercial performance
• Build business operations muscle as the platform scales from startup mode to enterprise-scale operations

Program Discipline & Execution Rigor

• Establish and enforce program and technical project management operating rhythms: status reporting, risk reviews, decision forums, and escalation protocols
• Create executive-quality deliverables (status reports, program reviews, risk assessments, business reviews) that provide actionable insights, not just data aggregation
• Drive accountability across teams without direct reporting relationships
• Ensure SDLC compliance, milestone tracking, and quality gates are met across all workstreams
• Track resource utilization, capacity planning, and budget alignment
• Manage cross-team dependencies and ensure workstreams aren't blocked waiting on each other

Team Building & Organizational Development

• Build and scale the platform operations team over the next two years as we move from beta to general availability
• Support hiring, onboarding, and team structure decisions that impact program delivery
• Establish organizational processes and operating models for a growing platform organization
• Develop talent and create career pathways for team members

Qualifications

Education & Experience

• MBA or 5+ years of demonstrated P&L ownership, commercial responsibility, or platform GM experience
• 15+ years in program and/or project management leadership roles, with at least 7 years leading complex, multi-million-dollar technology programs
• Software development background—not just managing developers, but having built software products or platforms themselves earlier in career
• Proven experience managing SaaS platform development through full lifecycle from concept to market scale

Platform & Product Experience

• Track record of building something from the ground up—0-to-1 platform launches, new product development, or program establishment
• Understanding of platform economics: unit costs, pricing tiers, consumption models, and path to profitability
• Familiarity with enterprise managed services, infrastructure, or cloud platforms preferred
• Some experience with AI/ML platform development is a strong plus

Leadership & Execution Capabilities

• Track record of establishing program discipline in ambiguous, fast-mo