Senior Manager, Localization Program Management

Job Requisition ID # 26WD95571 As part of Autodesk’s global Localization organization, the Senior Manager of Localization Program Management leads program strategy, operational execution, cross-functional governance, and financial management of localization across Autodesk’s product and platform ecosystem. This role partners closely—but distinctly with the Senior Manager of Localization Engineering, who owns technology, automation, and platforms. This role owns planning, delivery, stakeholder alignment, operational scale, budget ownership, and business outcomes for localization across Autodesk. You will lead a team of localization program managers responsible for orchestrating AI-enabled, multimodal, scalable localization workflows. Your team ensures predictable delivery, clear communication, data-driven decisions, and seamless execution across Autodesk for global market-readiness. You report directly to the Head of Localization, alongside your partner leader in Localization Engineering. Strategic Program Leadership • Own Autodesk’s enterprise localization program strategy, ensuring alignment with the Design & Make Platform and all functional organizations. • Partner closely with the Localization Engineering team to ensure program needs (capacity, tooling, quality insights, LQA signals, automation priorities) are met. • Drive readiness for global expansion, including market entry sequencing, linguistic quality governance, and compliance requirements. • Introduce program frameworks supporting forecasting, planning, prioritization, and scalable execution. • Anticipate program needs tied to AI-native features, generative content workflows, internationalization dependencies, and evolving market regulations. Program Management Excellence • Provide strategic oversight (not tactical execution) of complex, multi-product localization programs. • Translate global product and platform roadmaps into customized localization program plans, ensuring alignment with internationalization readiness. • Operationalize predictive quality systems using LQA results, MT/LLM scoring, telemetry, and customer insights. • Own and evolve central dashboards, program KPIs, OKRs, and release governance. AI-Driven Localization Operations • Partner with Localization Engineering to influence MT/LLM strategy, ensuring program requirements drive model selection, guardrails, and quality standards. • Define how agentic AI workflows integrate with PM processes (content triage, metadata enrichment, linguistic quality signals, workflow automation). • Reinforce Autodesk’s Responsible AI, privacy, and compliance standards. • Ensure internationalization requirements (locale behavior, formatting, UX patterns, cultural adaptation, linguistic rules) are incorporated into program planning. Cross-Functional Leadership • Serve as the senior PM interface across all functional organizations, and regional leaders. • Ensure that global experiences meet criteria for cultural correctness, inclusion, safety, regulatory compliance, and market relevance. • Represent Localization in portfolio, roadmap, and go‑to‑market planning. Team Leadership • Lead and develop a high-performing team of localization program managers. • Refine career architecture, talent pathways, and operating models optimized for an AI-first organization. • Foster a culture of accountability, clarity, operational rigor, market empathy, and continuous learning. Operational Governance & Supplier Strategy • Drive evolution of processes, KPIs, SLAs, and workflows to improve quality, predictability, and efficiency. • Partner with suppliers on operational performance, capacity readiness, and AI capabilities. • Embed governance standards—Responsible AI, privacy, security, compliance, traceability—into all programs. Localization Financial Management • Own enterprise-level localization budgeting, forecasting, cost optimization, and financial governance. • Partner with Finance, Procurement, Supplier Management, and Localization Engineering to ensure sustainable investment planning. • Establish visibility through standardized financial dashboards tied to business impact and operational KPIs. • Ensure localization and globalization investments have clear ROI and support enterprise priorities. Minimum Qualifications • 10+ years of program or project management, including 5+ years leading teams. • Proven success driving enterprise-scale localization and globalization programs. • Strong experience collaborating with internationalization engineering teams and integrating internationalization readiness into program planning. • Understanding of AI-en