Translation Project Manager

Localizationacademy; South San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 69,000 - 79,000; Full time

Job summary

Spectraforce is seeking a Translation Project Manager in South San Francisco, hybrid work, 12-month assignment with possible extension. You will lead the localization program across multiple brands, manage vendors and budgets, and drive MT/LLM-enabled workflows in a regulated healthcare environment.

The role requires deep experience in localization operations, power through regulatory reviews, and collaboration with marketing, medical affairs, and external studios.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics, Translation/Localization, Communications, Marketing, or equivalent professional experience.
• 8+ years of experience managing enterprise localization programs, ideally within a regulated environment.
• Experience with localization file formats, CAT tools, and TMS systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead the full localization lifecycle from intake to MLR review for omnichannel content across 15+ brands.
• Manage relationships with LSPs and production agencies; oversee budgets, contracts, SLAs, and evaluations.
• Define KPIs and reporting to give cross-functional visibility into quality, cost, and speed to market.
• Evolve strategy with modern workflows and tech stack integrations; embed localization into enterprise content.
• Partner with Brand Marketing, Medical Affairs, Access, and agencies to address regulatory challenges.
• Drive AI-powered localization pilots, MT/LLM workflows, and HITL processes.
• Govern linguistic assets, termbases, and data governance for scalable, compliant translation.
• Deliver clear updates and strategic recommendations to leadership and partners.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Vendor management

Data-driven

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

XTM

Phrase

Smartling

GlobalLink

Job description

Position Title: Translation Project Manager

Work Location: South San Francisco, CA (Hybrid)

Assignment Duration: 12 months (possible extension)

Work Schedule: M-F, Standard business hours, PT

Position Summary

• The Localization Manager will lead the Translation Program within the Enterprise Content Suite, supporting The Organization’s Commercial, Medical, and Government Affairs teams in the US.
• This role powers a best-in-class pharmaceutical commercialization engine through omnichannel content capabilities across 15+ product brands. The Localization Manager will own this program end-to-end and is responsible for the linguistic assets, vendor relationships, technology integrations, and quality control frameworks that enable consistent, compliant, and on-brand multilingual content at scale.
• Sitting at the intersection of localization operations, multilingual content strategy, and AI/ML-enabled product development, this role will evolve existing translation workflows to power the next generation of GenAI-assisted content production while upholding strict regulatory compliance and health literacy standards.

Key Responsibilities

• End-to-End Program Management: Lead the full localization lifecycle, from intake and scoping through Medical/Legal/Regulatory (MLR) review, for omnichannel marketing tactics (print, digital, social, email, web, SEO/SEM, campaigns) and Medical/Government Affairs content across 15+ product brands.
• Vendor & Budget Governance: Manage strategic relationships with Language Service Providers (LSPs) and specialized content production agencies; oversee program budgets, contract management, performance SLAs, and vendor evaluations.
• KPIs & Operational Analytics: Define and track key performance indicators; build data collection and executive reporting mechanisms to deliver cross-functional visibility into program health, translation quality scores, cost efficiency, and speed-to-market.
• Strategy & Tech Stack Architecture: Evolve localization program strategy by identifying operational gaps and architecting modern workflow models and tech stack integrations that embed localization seamlessly into the broader enterprise content architecture.
• Cross-Functional Engagement: Partner closely with internal Brand Marketing, Medical Affairs, Access, and external creative agencies/studios to address unique pharmaceutical localization challenges, and ensure operational readiness for new product launches.
• Innovation Roadmap: Drive pilot programs and establish best practices for AI-powered localization capabilities (including Machine Translation and LLM integrations), collaborating with Product and Engineering teams to build scalable, repeatable workflows and new capabilities.
• Linguistic Asset Governance: Structure linguistic assets, termbases, and language data sovereignty strategically to enable LLM-driven, Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) translation workflows while increasing speed and volume without compromising compliance.
• Executive Communication: Deliver clear program updates, trade-off analyses, and strategic recommendations to cross-functional partners and leadership, driving clarity in complex situations through structured decision-making frameworks.

Qualification & Experience

Required

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics, Translation/Localization, Communications, Marketing, or equivalent professional experience.
• Experience: 8+ years of experience managing enterprise localization programs, ideally within a regulated, brand-intensive, or life sciences content environment.
• Technical Expertise: Comprehensive knowledge of localization file formats, CAT tools, and Enterprise Translation Management Systems (TMS) such as XTM, Phrase, Smartling, or GlobalLink.
• Linguistic Asset & Quality Management: Proven track record in managing translation quality frameworks, linguistic assets, and language data governance, including to power compliant MT/LLM with Human-in-the-Loop workflows.
• Adaptability & Leadership: Demonstrated problem-solving ability with a proven track record of operating in ambiguous environments and building processes and infrastructure from scratch.
• Communication: Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to interact professionally with executive stakeholders and external vendor partners.

Preferred

• Life Sciences Domain Experience: Prior experience in localization for pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, healthcare, or highly regulated medical environments.
• Tools: In-depth knowledge of Adobe Creative Cloud (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) and multimedia localization workflows (video subtitling, voiceover, dynamic social content). Exposure to Veeva.
• Center of Excellence (CoE): Experience building a Localization Center of Excellence or scaling enterprise translation models to support high-growth business units.
• Advanced AI Applications: Practical exposure to MT/AI-assisted translation workflows.
• Language: Professional proficiency in Spanish. Expertise in localizing content specifically for the US Spanish-speaking market.

Applicant Notices & Disclaimers

• For information on benefits, equal opportunity employment, and location-specific applicant notices,

At SPECTRAFORCE, we are committed to maintaining a workplace that ensures fair compensation and wage transparency in adherence with all applicable state and local laws. This position's pay range is $50.00/hr - $57/hr.