Production Operations Manager Jobs in Pasadena, CA

Come be a part of Amazon's dynamic Live Sports Production team. We are looking for an experienced Sr. Production Operations Manager who brings both strategic business acumen and hands-on production expertise to own the end-to-end lifecycle of multiple live sports properties, from initial financial modeling and vendor strategy through boots-on-the-ground execution.
In this role, you will serve as the centralized operational lead for your assigned properties, driving strategic planning across the full project lifecycle

You will lead financial modeling, shape vendor strategy, and manage engagement with third-party Production Service Partners (PSPs), coordinating backend functions including crewing, payroll, travel, and production accounting while maintaining Amazon's operational standards and ensuring productions launch on time and on budget.
Equally critical is your ability to deliver on the ground. You will work in lockstep with internal crewing, editorial, and technical workstreams to ensure each event or studio show is properly resourced, and will partner directly with PSPs to establish best practices, define operational standards, and ensure alignment across the vendor landscape. You will drive production readiness across all operational workstreams, ensuring each event is prepared for a clean launch and seamless restart.
This role requires deep knowledge of remote, event, and studio production operations, including broadcast positions, industry standard rates, vendor engagement models, and production service agreements

You will be responsible for issue spotting, driving decision making, and escalating matters that carry risk to the Global Head of Production Operations. Our production operation is purpose-built around the needs of an expanding, multi-sport live portfolio rather than modeled after a traditional broadcast network structure. We are defining and building as we evolve, and this person must be excited to roll up their sleeves and help establish the systems, relationships, and workflows that will scale with us.
The successful candidate is a self-starter who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment

You can juggle competing priorities across multiple productions with autonomy, react with urgency when situations demand immediate attention, and bring a proven track record of end-to-end ownership in a fast-paced, evolving business.
Key job responsibilities
End-to-End Property Lifecycle Management: Own and manage the full project lifecycle for assigned properties, from projected business scope and production roadmap development, through execution and ongoing supervision of day-to-day live event and studio production, to post-mortem and financial reconciliation. Develop milestones, launch schedules, and workback timelines to ensure successful delivery of property launches and season restarts. Lead property transition planning for returning seasons, ensuring operational continuity, vendor re-engagement, and incorporation of prior-season learnings into the restart roadmap.
Business Strategy and Vendor Management: Develop a deep understanding of organizational business objectives and production priorities to drive vendor evaluation, selection, and strategic recommendations that optimize cost, quality, and scalability across assigned properties

Shepherd the vendor selection process through RFPs and serve as the primary point of contact for vendors defining scope of work, deliverables, and engagement standards. Partner with Legal and Production Finance on contract terms, rate frameworks, and commercial agreements, and monitor vendor performance to ensure accountability against operational standards.
Budget and Financial Management: Create and manage production budgets from initial scoping through execution. Work closely with Production Finance to track and reconcile all production costs, ensuring external vendors and the production team are aware of overall spend

Coordinate fee reconciliation and payment processing with third-party vendors to ensure accuracy and timeliness. Lead regular financial status updates to senior leadership, flagging variances and recommending corrective action.
Crewing Coordination via PSPs: Ensure assigned properties are properly staffed by coordinating crew deployment through third-party vendors. Establish consistent frameworks for how Above-The-Line (ATL) and Below-The-Line (BTL) personnel are engaged across productions

Partner with the centralized crewing function to maintain visibility into crew availability, prevent scheduling conflicts, and ensure alignment with creative and editorial vision. Support rate structure consistency and market-competitive positioning across comparable roles.
On-Site Event Operations and Health & Safety: Oversee on-site event production operations, including venue logistics and coordination with league and arena broadcast groups. Ensure Health & Safety protocols and risk management standards are maintained across all production environments

Work with vendors and internal teams to identify and mitigate operational risks in advance of air, and maintain contingency plans for live production scenarios.
Labor and Workforce Compliance: Navigate both union and non-union production environments. Ensure third-party PSPs adhere to all applicable labor regulations and collective bargaining agreements. Work closely with Amazon's internal legal and labor teams to stay current on regulatory requirements, workforce compliance standards, and crew classification guidelines across domestic and international markets

Advise on compliance considerations as they arise, including jurisdictional rules and engagement terms.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with Amazon teams including Editorial Production, Technical Operations, Business Development, Production Finance, Accounting, and Legal to operationalize properties and drive synergy. Align regularly with production teams across regions to share best practices and integrate new learnings. Support the Global Head of Production Ops in implementing operational strategy across all Prime Video Live Sports properties.
Escalation and Risk Management: Proactively identify issues and blockers, providing timely solutions to resolve them

Exercise sound judgment in issue spotting and decision making, escalating to senior leadership when matters carry risk or require broader organizational alignment. Lead regular status updates on project timelines, budgets, and production readiness.
Operational Process Improvement and Scalability: Seek continuous improvements in execution of existing productions. Recommend changes to operational strategy, seek alignment with stakeholders, and implement at regular intervals

Own and leverage internal production management tools to maintain full visibility into productions, track resource deployment, and surface issues. Contribute to frameworks, SOPs, and systems that enable the team to scale with increasing property volume and complexity.
About the team
The Production Operations team is responsible for delivering high-quality event and studio productions on all global live sports properties to Prime Video customers worldwide. We drive production excellence through purpose-built processes and scalable operational frameworks that empower the team to work more efficiently and grow with increasing demand.