Localization Technical Program Manager

Role overview

Lead the technical work that makes software products and localization workflows ready for global markets. The role combines internationalization engineering, ownership of translation systems and integrations, and program management from product design through release, working closely with Product, Engineering, UX/UI, Localization, and testing teams.

Responsibilities

- Design and guide product internationalization, including externalized strings, resource structures, Unicode support, and locale-aware behavior. - Define and review regional handling for dates, numbers, currencies, time zones, sorting, plural forms, and right-to-left languages. - Protect placeholders, variables, markup, and other non-translatable content, and partner with localization testing on pseudo-localization, defect triage, and release readiness. - Administer a translation management system, including workflows, translation memories, terminology, quality settings, permissions, automation, and governance. - Build and troubleshoot integrations between localization systems, product repositories, content systems, and delivery pipelines. - Lead localization programs through release, managing scope, dependencies, risks, priorities, and regional requirements; improve workflow automation and use AI where appropriate.

Requirements

- Deep knowledge of internationalization, including locale behavior, pluralization, Unicode, formatting, RTL support, and placeholder protection. - Hands-on experience administering a translation management system and supporting localization APIs or integrations. - Technical program management and communication skills in Agile product development and release environments. - Ability to translate localization needs into technical requirements and coordinate across product, engineering, design, localization, and testing teams. - Ability to support releases and maintain substantial work-hour overlap with core Product and Engineering teams. - Practical familiarity with formats and technologies such as JSON, XML, XLIFF, ICU MessageFormat, REST APIs, webhooks, source control, or CI/CD.

Nice to have

- Experience with AI-enabled translation workflows, machine translation or LLM integrations, evaluation, and human review controls. - Fluency in another language and experience with i18n or localization quality measures. - Experience using AI-assisted development tools to prototype or automate workflows; scripting or API contributions are helpful.

Benefits and work setup

- Hybrid schedule of three office days and two work-from-home days for people within commuting distance of an office; remote work may be considered for others. - Listed annual salary range: $115,000–$149,000. Benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k), and paid time off.