Data Annotation Program Manager Jobs in Austin, TX

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We are a team within Apple’s Worldwide Sales organization, Data Solutions & Initiatives (DSI) - we are experts in product design, engineering, and portfolio management and seeking a highly technical, execution-focused Engineering Program Manager to drive delivery of large-scale, strategic business programs. This role is critical to translating product and technical strategy into executable plans while remaining deeply engaged in the technical realities of what is being built.
The ideal candidate brings a strong technical background and leverages that expertise daily-understanding architectures, data flows, development lifecycles, and technical constraints at a system level. You are comfortable facilitating design and architecture discussions, evaluating trade-offs, and working hands-on with delivery teams to remove blockers. You excel at aligning cross-functional partners, creating structure in ambiguous environments, and ensuring high-quality delivery of complex programs that span multiple teams and domains.
Description
In this role you will own the planning, coordination, and execution of complex engineering programs from concept through launch and post-launch stabilization. You will partner closely with engineering, product, design, and other stakeholders to define scope, outcomes, technical roadmaps, and delivery plans, while driving execution across the full software development lifecycle. This role requires a blend of strategic thinking, program management rigor, and deep technical understanding. You will actively participate in requirements definition, design and architecture reviews, Agile ceremonies, and delivery forums, while ensuring teams remain aligned, risks are proactively managed, and outcomes meet both technical and business objectives.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Own end-to-end delivery of complex engineering programs from concept through launch and post-launch stabilization, ensuring alignment with product, technical, and business objectives.
- Partner with our engineering, product, and design teams to define program scope, roadmaps, milestones, timelines, dependencies, and success metrics.
- Drive execution rigor across the SDLC, including planning, tracking, and measuring progress against key milestones, deliverables, and quality standards.
- Facilitate cross-team delivery and Agile execution, leading forums such as Scrum of Scrums, sprint planning, sprint reviews, and stand-ups to maintain momentum and alignment.
- Actively engage in technical discussions, including requirements definition, design, and architecture reviews, to understand system dependencies, evaluate trade-offs, and surface risks early.
- Identify, assess, and mitigate delivery risks and bottlenecks, proactively removing roadblocks and driving resolution across teams.
- Influence technical and operational decisions by understanding architectures, data flows, infrastructure, and (where applicable) ML workflows and their impacts.
- Contribute hands-on technical expertise when needed, including analyzing, designing, debugging, and modifying software or systems to unblock teams, validate approaches, or de-risk delivery.
- Apply working knowledge of modern programming languages and technologies to review, prototype, test, and debug code as appropriate to support program execution and technical decision-making.
- Ensure functional validation and delivery quality, confirming features meet business goals, user needs, and defined requirements in partnership with product and QA teams.
- Manage program resources and financials, including capacity planning, budget tracking, and trade-off analysis.
- Communicate program health and outcomes through clear, data-driven updates to technical teams, leadership, and stakeholders.
- Drive continuous improvement of delivery processes, tooling, and operating models to improve predictability, quality, and time-to-market.
Some international travel may be required.","responsibilities":"Program Management: Lead the end-to-end management of engineering programs, ensuring projects are completed on time, within scope, and in accordance with product roadmaps. Drive program execution from initial planning to launch.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with engineers, product managers, and other stakeholders to define project/program scope, milestones, and timelines. Ensure effective communication across teams and ensure all parties are aligned on priorities.
Project Scheduling & Resource Allocation: Create and maintain detailed project plans, timelines, and resource allocation. Ensure that all resources are being used efficiently and that potential bottlenecks are identified and resolved proactively.
Risk Management: Identify potential risks and issues that may impact project deadlines, scope, or quality. Develop and implement mitigation plans to address these risks, and ensure the program stays on track.
Performance Tracking: Monitor and report on key project metrics and deliverables. Provide regular updates to leadership on progress, potential risks, and opportunities for improvement
Process Improvement: Continuously evaluate and improve internal processes to enhance team efficiency, reduce time-to-market, and improve overall program success.
Stakeholder Communication: Serve as the primary point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, ensuring all parties are informed of project status, changes, and issues.
Technical Proficiency: Analyze business requirements (including data analysis) and translate them into actionable technical requirements.
Functional Validation: Ensure the feature/s developed by engineering team meet the intended business goals and user needs. This includes confirming that the feature fulfills the customer or user stories as expected. Work with product managers to ensure that the feature behaves in a way that is intuitive for end users and solves the problem it was designed to address.
Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement: Ensure the delivery of high-quality products/features by working with engineering and QA teams to establish testing protocols and quality standards.
Post-Launch Monitoring and Feedback: Ensure post-launch monitoring and performance evaluations are in place to track the success of the project after it’s deployed. Work with engineering and product teams to address any post-launch issues and gather feedback for future iterations.
Preferred Qualifications
PMP or equivalent program management certification.
Experience supporting AI/ML-driven products, including familiarity with ML development lifecycles, data pipelines, and model deployment workflows.
Hands-on experience with modern data platforms (e.g., Snowflake, Trino, Dremio).
Experience with large-scale platform/infrastructure programs.
Background in high-performance or product-led organizations where delivery speed, quality, and scale are critical.
Strong analytical mindset with the ability to use data to inform trade-offs, prioritization, and execution decisions.
Minimum Qualifications
7+ years of experience in engineering program management, or equivalent technical delivery roles.
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience.
Proven experience owning end-to-end delivery of complex engineering programs across the full SDLC.
Strong hands-on technical background, with the ability to understand and engage in system architecture, data flows, APIs, and development lifecycles.
Applied SQL, Python or visualization tool experience (e.g. Tableau) to write basic queries/scripts supporting analysis, QA validation, debugging, and engineering collaboration.
Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional engineering efforts across software, platform, data, infrastructure, and quality domains.
Ability to actively engage in technical problem-solving, including reviewing designs, debugging issues, and contributing code or prototypes when needed to unblock delivery.
Deep experience with Agile delivery and program management tools (e.g. Jira) and execution frameworks.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage ambiguity, dependencies, and competing priorities in fast-paced environments.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly communicate technical and program status to diverse audiences.
Experience with capacity planning, milestone tracking, and delivery risk management.
Ability to travel internationally if needed.
Pay & Benefits
At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $166,600 and $250,700, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.
Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple's discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple's Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You'll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses - including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits
Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.