Lead, Program Strategy & Operations, Employee Experience & Productivity

Apple, Inc.; Culver City (CA); On-site; USD 127,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical and dental

Retirement benefits

Employee stock programs

Relocation assistance

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Apple, Inc. in Culver City, CA is seeking a senior leader to own Strategy, Program Operations, and people leadership for Services Technology programs. You will shape how the organization is understood, sponsored, and scaled, partnering with program leadership to define growth and governance across client orgs and capabilities.

You will run headcount planning, budgets, and executive communications while unifying tools, processes, and metrics to drive durable value across Apple Services platforms.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of strategy, operations, or program leadership supporting tech programs at scale.
• 3+ years building executive-ready business cases, briefings, and sponsorships.
• 3+ years leading growth across multiple client orgs or LOBs.
• 3+ years with OKR frameworks, process architecture, and value assessments; Jira/Clarity familiarity.
• Experience with Gen AI tools and frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Grow and engage executives; expand into new client orgs and capabilities.
• Co-own Greenlight with Finance to scope and approve investments.
• Build sponsorship from VP to C-level via business cases and narratives.
• Own executive engagement cadence, including QBRs.
• Evolve strategic narratives across lines of business.
• Test work against the orchestration model; help decide priorities.
• Lead OKRs, value metrics, and reporting for revenue protection and efficiency.
• Own process architecture and value assessment frameworks.
• Build and coach headcount planning and vendor management offices.
• Partner with Finance, HR, Real Estate, IS&T governance on spend and space.
• Combine product ops tools into a connected platform.
• Ensure traceability from value case to delivery and spend.
• Own internal program tracking and communications tools.
• Be a trusted partner to value stream and program leaders.
• Bring structure to cross-program decisions and align capacity.
• Help leaders anticipate client needs for growth.

Skills

Strategy

Business operations

Executive coordination

Program leadership

OKR frameworks

Gen AI tools

Tools

Jira

Clarity

Job description

Lead, Program Strategy & Operations, Employee Experience & Productivity

Culver City, California, United States Corporate Functions

Imagine what you could do here. The people here at Apple don't just create products, they create the kind of wonder that's revolutionized entire industries. It's the diversity of those people and their ideas that inspires the innovation that runs through everything we do, from amazing technology to industry leading environmental efforts. Join Apple, and help us leave the world better than we found it.Are you a strategic operator who can shape how a program is positioned, sponsored, and scaled, and also run the operating engine behind it? Do you do your best work where strategy, executive engagement, and team leadership meet?Apple's IS&T Services Technology team delivers the internal orchestration layer that powers Apple's Services businesses, including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple News, and Apple Arcade. The program builds durable, cross-Services capabilities across data and AI/ML, asset management, talent and IP, workflow orchestration, and content engineering. These capabilities help the organizations behind Apple's fastest-growing revenue segment operate with greater speed, leverage, and governance.Employee Experience and Productivity (EEP) is part of IS&T and delivers some of the most widely used communication and productivity technology and services across Apple — from tools that enable collaboration to the support teams that keep Apple's workforce running. EEP also leads user experience design and research, and manages the systems behind Apple's Services’ organizations like Apple TV, Apple Music & the App Store.

Description

In this role, you'll shape how Services Technology is understood, sponsored, scaled, and run across Apple's Services portfolio. As the Services Technology Lead for Program Strategy & Operations, you'll partner with program leadership to define where the program goes next. That includes which client organizations to expand into, which capabilities to invest in, and how to build the executive sponsorship and measurement frameworks that make growth durable. You'll also lead the team that runs the program's operational functions: headcount and vendor management, financial controls, space, and communications and culture. And you'll work with the Product Ops team to streamline how work moves from value case to delivery. This role combines cross-program strategic scope with direct people leadership. You'll bring strategic clarity, executive judgment, and an operating rhythm that turns ambiguity into a fundable, well-run plan.

Responsibilities

• Growth & Executive Engagement:
• Expand Services Technology into new client organizations and capability areas, sequenced by demand, readiness, and strategic fit.
• Shape the client engagement model and build funding cases that unlock headcount and capital.
• Co-own Greenlight with Finance to scope, govern, and approve every new investment.
• Build sponsorship from VP to C-level through briefings, business cases, and executive narratives.
• Own the executive engagement cadence, including quarterly business reviews (QBRs).
• Strategy & Measurement:
• Evolve the strategic narrative across focus areas for each line of business (LOB).
• Test proposed work against the orchestration model and help leadership decide what to take on and what to decline.
• Lead program OKRs, value stream metrics, and reporting tied to revenue protection, operational leverage, speed to market, and cross-org efficiency.
• Own the process architecture and value assessment frameworks that map every initiative to a value stream.
• Program & Product Operations:
• Build, hire, and coach the team that runs headcount planning and the vendor management office (VMO), financial controls,
• Space and Places, and communications and culture.
• Partner with Finance, HR, Real Estate, and IS&T governance to keep headcount, spend, and space aligned with strategy.
• Combine the separate product ops tools into one connected platform: value and ROI, requirements, solutions catalog, business architecture, delivery and QA, and finance ops.
• Make every initiative traceable from value case to delivery and spend, with no duplicate handoffs.
• Own internal program tracking and communications tools so leadership has one current view of the portfolio.
• Act as a trusted partner to value stream and program leaders.
• Bring structure to cross-program decisions and broker alignment when teams compete for capacity.
• Help leaders anticipate emerging client needs so new growth and existing programs strengthen each other.

Minimum Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in strategy, business operations, executive coordination, or program leadership supporting technology or transformation programs at scale.
• 3+ years experience building executive-ready business cases, briefings, and strategic narratives that secured funding, headcount, or executive sponsorship.
• 3+ years experience leading growth or expansion strategy across multiple client organizations or lines of business.
• 3+ years experience with OKR frameworks, process architecture, value assessments and the internal tools such as Jira and Clarity.
• Experience with Gen AI tools and frameworks.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading programs that span multiple client organizations and lines of business.
• Experience consolidating product operations tools and workflows, such as requirements management, solutions catalogs, delivery tracking, and financial planning, into a connected platform.
• Familiarity with Apple Services businesses and the operational dynamics of content, commerce, or subscription products.
• Experience partnering with Finance, VMO, HR, and IS&T governance functions to secure budget and headcount.
• Experience building a team's culture, communications, and engagement programs.
• Ability to build trust across engineering, product, finance, and client organizations.
• Ability to influence without authority, navigate ambiguity, and bring structure to undefined problems.
• Executive presence and judgment under pressure Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt tone and depth for audiences from working teams to SVPs.
• Direct experience handling sensitive and confidential information with integrity and discretion.

Compensation and 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 $126,600 and $190,200, 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.

Apple is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We seek to promote equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Learn more about your EEO rights as an applicant

At Apple, we believe accessibility is a fundamental human right. You’ll find that idea reflected in everything here — in our culture, our benefits and our digital tools. By welcoming as many perspectives as possible, we help you build a career where you feel like you belong.

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Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.