Director Localization Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

The Opportunity

The role is responsible for leading a team of Program Managers across complex, cross-functional localization programs that enable international release of Adobe products, Help content, and Marketing assets. This role is accountable for program delivery from definition and planning through execution and launch, operating across product engineering, content teams, marketing and regional teams, in addition to a large external vendor ecosystem.

The position requires strong strategic leadership, technical judgment, and the ability to influence outcomes across teams. Besides international releases, the role includes running a complex worldwide network of agencies. It also involves coordinating a significant outsourcing budget of $30-35M, improving efficiency and governance with AI-enabled program management practices.

Further, this role needs strong technical expertise to lead a team of Technical Program Managers driving the company's transition toward AI-first, agentic workflows. This role now sits at the center of engineering execution, AI platform strategy, and operational transformation.

This role will own delivery of complex, multi-year programs focused on embedding AI into core products and internal workflows, evolving traditional systems into AI-enabled, autonomous, and scalable architectures. Beyond execution, this role shapes how the organization thinks about programs in an AI-native world.

This role will enable the group to operate as technical leaders with an AI-first approach where traditional workflows are successfully re-imagined as intelligent, AI-enabled systems and AI programs are delivered with technical rigor, speed, and measurable business impact.

This role will enable senior leadership to have high confidence in execution, trade-offs, and AI strategy alignment.

What you'll Do

Program Leadership & Execution

• Drive multi-product localization programs for flagship Adobe products and marketing launches, in collaboration with engineering, content, marketing, regional, and external partners

• Anticipate, assess, track, and mitigate risks related to scope, quality, cost, vendor capacity, and timelines; call out with data-driven recommendations as needed

• Autonomously manage multiple concurrent programs, balancing critical near-term delivery commitments with longer-term pivotal initiatives

• Own a portfolio of complex, technically deep programs focused on AI enablement and platform modernization

• Management of initiatives involving:

• Agentic workflows and multi-agent orchestration

• Human-in-the-loop and autonomous decision systems

• Partner with engineering teams to translate AI strategy into executable technical roadmaps

Planning & Cross-Functional Influence

• Serve as a central point of contact between internal partners (Product, Engineering, Content, Marketing, Legal, Security, Privacy) and external partners in resolving cross-program challenges

• Influence strategic and tactical decisions through structured proposals that clearly articulate trade-offs, dependencies, and business impact

• Communicate program status, risks, and systemic issues at the appropriate altitude for senior leadership and partner teams

• Manage complex programs involving re-architecting traditional workflows into AI-enabled, automated, and intelligent systems

Technical & AI-Enabled Program Management

• Demonstrate strong understanding of technical requirements, content pipelines, release models, and localization workflows to assess scope, dependencies, and critical paths

• Drive product ownership for Adobe's powerful AI-powered globalization platform (glaas.ai)

• Partner with engineering and platform teams to evaluate and operationalize emerging AI technologies that enhance international execution at scale

• Apply GenAI and AI/ML capabilities across the program management stack, including, AI-assisted planning, forecasting, and capacity modeling

• Data-driven prioritization and scenario analysis, automated program reporting and executive insights to measure and improve quality, speed, and cost efficiency

Global Agency Ecosystem & Outsourcing Budget management

• Own and manage a complex, global localization agency ecosystem, spanning multiple service providers, regions, languages, and content types, including e2e contracting and rate card negotiations

• Establish clear operating models, performance expectations, SLAs, and governance mechanisms to ensure predictable delivery, quality, and scalability

• Partner closely with Procurement, Finance, Legal, and Security teams on vendor strategy, contracting, compliance, and risk management

• Drive vendor performance management through metrics, business reviews, and continuous optimization of capacity, quality, and cost

• Accountable for global outsourcing budget of approximately $30-35M. Own forecasting, budgeting, and financial planning for Globalization-managed programs, ensuring spend aligns with business priorities and delivery commitments

• Identify cost optimization opportunities through process improvements, vendor strategy, automation, and AI-enabled efficiencies while maintaining quality and time-to-market

Communication, Governance & Operational Excellence

• Serve as a strategic execution partner to senior Engineering, AI, and Product leaders. Translate complex, multi-dimensional program data into concise insights to enable timely, informed decision-making at senior leadership levels

• Communicate complex AI program progress, threats, dependencies and trade-offs to senior leadership audiences

• Influence prioritization and investment decisions across AI platforms and product initiatives

• Identify and resolve misalignment and facilitate clear, consistent communication across geographically distributed teams, vendors, and partners

• Ensure compliance with legal, security, privacy, and regional requirements across all localized work

• Provide financial visibility, and insights to senior leadership to support informed decision-making, through defined metrics, and operating rhythms suited for AI-heavy programs

Team Leadership and Capability Building

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of Technical Program Managers

• Set expectations for technical rigor, system-level thinking, and AI fluency within the Program Management org

• Build a strong Technical Program Manager culture that balances speed, quality, and responsible AI practices

• Coach TPMs to act as technical leaders, not just coordinators across programs

What you need to succeed

• Bachelor's degree in engineering; Management (MBA) from premier institutes preferred

• 12-15+ years of experience in technical, content, or localization program management, including ownership of large, cross-functional programs

• Strong technical understanding of Agentic and process-focused AI systems, data pipelines, APIs, cloud infrastructure, and distributed systems

• Proven experience delivering large-scale, platform-level technical programs

• Proven track record of driving scalable frameworks, complex vendor optimization, and cross-organizational process improvements

• Excellent communication skills with experience influencing senior leaders along with strong analytical, quantitative, and data-driven decision-making skills

• Hands-on experience applying GenAI and AI/ML technologies to program management, localization, or content operations

• Familiarity with cloud-based development models, continuous localization, and CI/CD release practices

• Hands-on experience working with AI/ML teams or platforms in fast paced, technology-focused product environments

• Experience modernizing legacy workflows using AI and automation, and familiarity with AI governance, evaluation, and responsible AI practices

About Adobe

Adobe empowers everyone to create through innovative platforms and tools that unleash creativity, productivity and personalized customer experiences. Adobe's industry-leading offerings including Adobe Acrobat Studio, Adobe Express, Adobe Firefly, Creative Cloud, Adobe Experience Platform, Adobe Experience Manager, and GenStudio enable people and businesses to turn ideas into impact, powered by AI and driven by human ingenuity.

Our 30,000+ employees worldwide are creating the future and raising the bar as we drive the next decade of growth. We're on a mission to hire the very best and believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. At Adobe, we believe that great ideas can come from anywhere in the organization. The next big idea could be yours.

Let's Adobe together

At Adobe, we believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. Learn more about Adobe life, including our values and culture, focus on people, purpose and community, Adobe for All, comprehensive benefits programs, the stories we tell, the customers we serve, and how you can help us advance our mission of empowering everyone to create.

Adobe is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on gender, race or color, ethnicity or national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. Learn more.

Adobe aims to make our Careers website and recruiting process accessible to any and all users. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation to navigate our website or complete the application process, email accommodations@adobe.com or call +1 408-536-3015.

AI Use Guidelines for Interviews:
Our interviews are designed to reflect your own skills and thinking. The use of AI or recording tools during live interviews is not permitted unless explicitly invited by the interviewer or approved in advance as part of a reasonable accommodation. If these tools are used inappropriately or in a way that misrepresents your work, your application may not move forward in the process.

At Adobe, we empower employees to innovate with AI - and we look for candidates eager to do the same. As part of the hiring experience, we provide clear guidance on where AI is encouraged during the process and where it's restricted during live interviews. See how we think about AI in the hiring experience.

Expected Pay Range:

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets. The U.S. pay range for this positionis $171,900 -- $326,800 annually. Paywithin this range varies by work locationand may also depend on job-related knowledge, skills,and experience. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the job location during the hiring process. In California, the pay range for this position is $225,700 - $326,800

At Adobe, for sales roles starting salaries are expressed as total target compensation (TTC = base + commission), and short-term incentives are in the form of sales commission plans. Non-sales roles starting salaries are expressed as base salary and short-term incentives are in the form of the Annual Incentive Plan (AIP).

In addition, certain roles may be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of a new hire equity award.

State-Specific Notices:

California:

Fair Chance Ordinances

Adobe will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and "fair chance" ordinances.

Colorado:

Application Window Notice

If this role is open to hiring in Colorado (as listed on the job posting), the application window will remain open until at least the date and time stated above in Pacific Time, in compliance with Colorado pay transparency regulations. If this role does not have Colorado listed as a hiring location, no specific application window applies, and the posting may close at any time based on hiring needs.

Massachusetts:

Massachusetts Legal Notice

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.