Senior Manager - Program Management

Company Description

Organizations everywhere struggle under the crushing costs and complexities of “solutions” that promise to simplify their lives. To create a better experience for their customers and employees. To help them grow. Software is a choice that can make or break a business. Create better or worse experiences. Propel or throttle growth. Business software has become a blocker instead of ways to get work done. There’s another option. Freshworks. With a fresh vision for how the world works. At Freshworks, we build uncomplicated service software that delivers exceptional customer and employee experiences. Our enterprise-grade solutions are powerful, yet easy to use, and quick to deliver results. Our people-first approach to AI eliminates friction, making employees more effective and organizations more productive. Over 72,000 companies, including Bridgestone, New Balance, Nucor, S&P Global, and Sony Music, trust Freshworks’ customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) software to fuel customer loyalty and service efficiency. And, over 4,500 Freshworks employees make this possible, all around the world. Fresh vision. Real impact. Come build it with us.

Job Description

The role:

• As part of the R&D Ops team, the Sr. Manager, Launch Readiness be partnering with Product, Engineering, and GTM teams to ensure a consistent, scalable framework for taking products from readiness through launch. This role will lead a team and report to the Sr. Director, R&D and Ops.
• The biggest impact will come from someone who can build a process from the ground up, not just operate within an existing one — someone with a strong understanding of operational readiness and has worked closely with GTM functions such as Marketing, Sales, Technical Resources, Professional Services, and Support.
• The ideal candidate can fearlessly jump into ambiguity, quickly assess business needs, identify gaps in process or content, and turn problem statements into prioritized, well-executed plans.
• Prior experience operating in global, cross-functional, collaborative environments — ideally within a product organization — will provide the foundation to succeed in this dynamic, high-impact position, which also carries direct people leadership responsibility.
• This is a hybrid role, based in office 3 days per week, with quarterly travel to India (optional).

What you’ll do:

• Design, build, and own the Launch Readiness process end-to-end — establishing the framework, milestones, and governance that don’t yet exist today, and scaling it into a durable, org-wide operating model.
• Lead and develop a team, setting direction and building out the function’s structure and responsibilities.
• Work with functional business owners to rapidly assess business needs, define options, and translate requirements into deliverables and timelines.
• Develop and manage detailed plans that account for requirements, constraints, dependencies, and resources across cross-functional readiness efforts.
• Drive successful execution of deliverables against milestones and objectives while managing scope, schedule, and quality.
• Provide structure and process without compromising execution speed.
• Work within a matrixed organization across cross-functional teams at Freshworks to execute and deliver against the plan.
• Aggregate, organize, and communicate program and project status to internal stakeholders and leadership, up to executive and board level.
• Leverage change management best practices to drive adoption of the launch process org-wide, embedding it as the standard operating model across teams.
• Leverage AI and automation to scale the process and streamline reporting, reducing manual overhead across cross-functional teams.
• Manage risk proactively, partnering with colleagues to ensure the right decisions happen at the right time and plans adjust intelligently as goals and requirements shift.

Qualifications

What you’ll need to succeed:

• 8-10 years of operations and program/project management experience, with the readiness to build, lead, and develop a team.
• Proven experience standing up a new process or program from scratch, plus business change management experience.
• Self-starter who thrives on ambiguity and is relentless about clearing obstacles with a resourceful, creative approach to problem-solving.
• Proven ability to operate effectively and autonomously with only high-level direction.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills — able to flex between individual contributors and executives, technical and non-technical audiences.
• Sharp attention to detail balanced with the ability to distill large amounts of information into the essentials.
• Strong people skills, with a distinctive ability to motivate and align both direct reports and cross-functional partners, including those outside a formal reporting line.
• Excellent negotiation, conflict management, and resolution skills; able to diplomatically drive teams to resolution.
• High energy, positive attitude, and adaptability to the changing needs of the business.
• Bachelor’s or equivalent required; MBA or equivalent strongly preferred.

Additional Information

Please note this is a hybrid role with onsite expectations of 3x/week (Tues - Thurs) from our San Mateo, CA headquarters. The annual base salary range for this position is $203,000 - $251,000. This role is also eligible for a target bonus. Compensation is based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to location, experience, job-related skills, and level. Freshworks offers multiple options for dental, medical, vision, disability, and life insurance. Equity + ESPP, flexible PTO, flexible spending, commuter benefits, and wellness benefits are also offered. Freshworks also offers adoption and parental leave benefits.

At Freshworks, we have fostered an environment that enables everyone to find their true potential, purpose, and passion, welcoming colleagues of all backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, religions, and ethnicities. We are committed to providing equal opportunity and believe that diversity in the workplace creates a more vibrant, richer environment that boosts the goals of our employees, communities, and business. Fresh vision. Real impact. Come build it with us.