Sr. Program Manager, Global Early Careers

ffive; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

F5 is seeking an experienced Senior Program Manager, Global Early Careers to lead the strategic planning and execution of university relations, internships, and early career programs. You will coordinate a globally distributed team across North America, EMEA, and APCJ to deliver best-in-class internship experiences.

You will drive campus engagement strategies, influence senior leadership on early career investments, and ensure inclusive hiring practices while partnering with HR and business

Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead initiatives and cross-functional partners across time zones.
• Strong foundation in university recruitment lifecycles and internship program structures.
• Excellent consultative communication to influence senior leaders.

Responsibilities

• Lead global early career program roadmap, including campus engagement and internship cohorts across regions.
• Provide leadership and mentorship to globally distributed teams of early career recruiters and program coordinators.
• Forecast early-in-career hiring needs with cross-functional partners to achieve annual goals.
• Act as ambassador for early career initiatives, using data to influence product, engineering, and sales leadership.
• Design and execute university recruiting strategies with target institutions and student organizations.
• Drive diversity conference participation and partnerships to build broad talent communities.
• Champion inclusive hiring across campus recruitment touchpoints.
• Collaborate with Employer Brand to craft engaging content for early career candidates.
• Manage end-to-end internship lifecycle: pre-onboarding, orientation, learning tracks, mentorship, showcases.
• Develop manager enablement tools to empower host teams to mentor and evaluate talent.
• Oversee post-internship conversion processes with HR and leadership.
• Establish program health metrics, analyze outcomes, and provide exec-ready updates.
• Manage vendor partnerships, events, and budgets with fiscal accountability.

Skills

Program Leadership

Campus Recruiting

Diversity & Inclusion

Data Analytics

Job description

At F5, we strive to bring a better digital world to life. Our teams empower organizations across the globe to create, secure, and run applications that enhance how we experience our evolving digital world. We are passionate about cybersecurity, from protecting consumers from fraud to enabling companies to focus on innovation.

Everything we do centers around people. That means we obsess over how to make the lives of our customers, and their customers, better. And it means we prioritize a diverse F5 community where each individual can thrive.

F5 is seeking an experienced, proactive Senior Program Manager, Global Early Careers to lead the strategic planning, operational execution, and continuous evolution of our global university relations, internship, and early career talent programs. In this role, you will bring strong program management expertise and leadership ability to coordinate a globally distributed team across North America, EMEA, and APCJ.

As a program leader within our People & Culture organization, you will serve as the strategic connective tissue between business leaders, hiring managers, and regional recruitment teams. You will drive campus engagement strategies, champion inclusive hiring initiatives, influence senior leadership on early career investments, and deliver a best-in-class, human-first intern cohort experience.

Primary Responsibilities

Program Strategy & Leadership

• Lead and drive F5's global early career program roadmap, including campus engagement, undergraduate/graduate internship cohorts, and early career pathways.
• Provide leadership, operational guidance, and mentorship to a globally distributed team of early career recruiters and program coordinators across multiple regions.
• Partner with cross-functional talent leaders and hiring managers to forecast early-in-career hiring needs and operationalize annual hiring goals.
• Act as a key ambassador for early career initiatives, using data and insights to influence senior stakeholders across product, engineering, and sales organizations.

Campus Recruiting & Inclusive Sourcing

• Design and execute high-impact university recruiting strategies, building strong partnerships with target academic institutions and student organizations.
• Steer participation in key diversity conferences (e.g., AfroTech , Grace Hopper) and partner associations to cultivate broad, diverse talent communities.
• Champion equitable and inclusive selection processes across all campus recruitment touchpoints.
• Collaborate with Employer Brand and Communications teams to create engaging, authentic content tailored to early career candidates.

Cohort Experience & Lifecycle Management

• Manage the end-to-end global internship lifecycle, including pre-onboarding, cohort orientation, technical learning tracks, mentorship pairings, and showcase presentations.
• Develop manager enablement toolkits and guidance to empower host teams to mentor, coach, and evaluate early career talent effectively.
• Oversee full-time conversion evaluation processes, partnering with HR business partners and business leadership to optimize post-internship conversion rates.

Operational Excellence & Analytics

• Establish and track program health metrics, candidate net promoter scores (NPS), diversity benchmarks, and conversion rates.
• Analyze program outcomes and recruitment data to identify continuous improvement opportunities and deliver regular executive-ready updates.
• Manage vendor partnerships, university event logistics, and program budgets with high fiscal accountability.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Program Leadership & Collaboration: Proven ability to lead initiatives, mobilize cross-functional partners, and guide globally distributed teams across time zones.
• Campus & Early Career Expertise: Strong foundational knowledge of university recruitment lifecycles, campus engagement trends, and internship program structures.
• Stakeholder Influence: Excellent consultative communication skills, with the demonstrated ability to build consensus and influence senior leaders across diverse business units.
• Inclusive Mindset: Deep appreciation for diversity, equity, and inclusion, with experience embedding inclusive recruiting best practices into program frameworks.
• BeF5 Alignment: Demonstrated ability to embody F5's core behaviors:
• We help each other thrive: Supporting team colleagues, interns, and business partners.
• We bring an owner's mindset: Delivering end-to-end execution, program governance, and accountability.
• We make F5 more agile: Iterating and scaling programs to adapt to evolving technology priorities.
• Data-Informed Problem Solving: Strong project management, analytical, and problem-solving skills with proficiency in measuring ROI and program impact.

Qualifications

• 5 to 7 years of related experience in talent acquisition, university recruiting, or talent program management, with a clear emphasis on early careers or campus programs.
• Demonstrated leadership ability , includ