Senior Technical Program Manager, R&D Operations

Senior Technical Program Manager, R&D Operations

Udemy is an AI-powered skills acceleration platform built to help people and teams grow. It's personalized, practical, and focused on real-world impact.

Our mission is simple : to transform lives through learning. Your work helps people around the world build skills they can use, whether they're picking up something new or leveling up to stay ahead.

Over 80 million learners and 17,000 businesses already learn with Udemy. If you're excited by change, energized by learning, and ready to have a real impact, you'll feel right at home.

Udemy is a global company headquartered in San Francisco, with additional U.S. offices in Denver and Austin, and international hubs in Australia, India, Ireland, Mexico, and Trkiye. This is an in-office position, requiring three days a week in the office (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) and flexibility on Mondays and Fridays.

About Your Skills

You bring a strong operational mindsetbalancing efficiency, financial stewardship, and scalable process design.

You're data-driven, using metrics to inform decisions, measure success, and continuously improve outcomes.

You excel at building trusted relationships across senior leaders, technical teams, and business partners.

You thrive in ambiguity, driving clarity, accountability, and cost-effective results in complex environments.

About This Role

As a senior R&D Operations Program Manager, you'll play a critical role in driving operational excellence across our R&D organization. You'll partner with leaders in Engineering, Product, Design, Finance, and Operations to manage budgets and cost-saving initiatives while introducing lightweight, scalable processes and iterating on them. This role is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of technology and operations - someone who can ensure financial rigor, streamline tools and workflows, and help our teams maximize impact.

What You'll Be Doing

Partnering with the Head of R&D Operations and FP&A business partners to manage department-wide budget and tool operations.

Driving cost savings initiatives by collaborating closely with Platform Engineering teams, running monthly Engineering Operations reviews, and identifying savings opportunities.

Managing spend on cloud tools (e.g., AWS, Databricks, Datadog) and partnering with teams to optimize usage and reduce costs.

Working with stakeholders and leadership team to optimize processes for budgeting, reporting, and exception management.

Continuously improving operational delivery, clarity, and collaboration across teams.

Champion operational excellence by refining workflows, automating reporting, and supporting metrics-driven decision-making.

Own and lead complex, cross-functional programs from inception through delivery - managing scope, schedules, risks, and stakeholder alignment.

Identify and manage interdependencies across multiple workstreams, proactively removing blockers and enabling seamless execution.

Communicate clearly and effectively at all levels of the organizationadapting communication style for both technical and non-technical audiences.

Collaborate with other TPMs to align on shared practices, scale cross-functional processes.

What You'll Have

6+ years of experience in program management or operations program management, working with Product and Engineering stakeholders (preferably in a software development environment).

Proven ability to plan, manage, and monitor complex financial and operational processes.

Advanced Google Sheets / Excel skills, with experience creating models, automations, and data-driven dashboards.

Demonstrated experience managing and optimizing costs of cloud-based tools and infrastructure (e.g., AWS, Datadog) at scale.

A self-starter mindset with strong judgment, accountability, and a passion for continuous improvement.

Experience influencing and building productive relationships with senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders, including C-suite executives.

A data-driven approach you back recommendations with metrics and use analytics to measure impact.

Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to bring clarity in ambiguous situations.

Comfortable wearing multiple hats and thriving in fast-paced environments.

Skilled at balancing structure with pragmatism, implementing scalable processes that prioritize speed and agility.

Why Work Here?

You'll grow here. Learning is part of the job. You'll get full access to Udemy courses, a monthly UDay to invest in yourself, and a budget to spend on whatever helps you improve. Many people are diving into AI lately, but what you focus on is up to you.

AI is real here. We use it in the way we learn and the way we work. You'll have the space and tools to experiment, apply, and get better at using AI in practical ways.

You'll own your work. We trust people to lead, make decisions, and follow through. You don't need to wait for permission or layers of approval to have an impact.

You'll build with others. We collaborate openly and shape ideas together. Everyone has a voice, and good thinking is welcomed from any direction.

You'll see your impact. What you build helps people grow their skills, change their careers, or find a path forward. You've got the experience, why not use it to help others gain theirs?

Bring your curiosity. We'll bring the platform and the support. Let's LEARN together.