Engineering Program Manager

Description:

For many of us there’s that one podcast we never miss, and video content is part of our daily routine, whether it’s professional or personal. But how many of us truly understand the effort that goes on behind the scenes? Here at Riverside, we know it well. That’s exactly why we built an AI-powered platform that helps content creators, podcasters, marketeers, and more at major brands like Netflix, Disney, Google, and Microsoft to create high-quality content with ease.

Riverside’s technology streamlines the entire content creation process, turning ideas into professional-grade content with the highest production standards, without requiring expensive equipment or external services. The secret? AI-driven tools that replace traditional production roles like editing, directing, and design, automating the entire process at the click of a button.

About the Engineering Team

We’re a team of smart, curious engineers building scalable, reliable systems that power content creation for millions. We work with modern web technologies, tackle real-world challenges in distributed systems, and keep things practical—no overengineering, just solid solutions. If you love solving tough problems, moving fast, and building tech that creators actually use, you’ll fit right in.

Overview

The Program Manager will be the execution backbone of our R&D organization. This role translates strategy into coordinated, multi-team programs; drives budget and vendor discipline; surfaces risks early; and gives the VP of R&D clear, data-driven visibility into progress and bottlenecks. This significant leader maintains a wide engineering view, standardizes delivery processes, and continually tunes the operating system of the entire engineering org.

On your day to day

• Orchestrate cross-functional programs: Lead long-running initiatives spanning multiple engineering squads, product, design, data, security, and external vendors.
• Build the integrated roadmap: Sequence milestones, align dependencies, define success metrics/OKRs, and keep delivery variance within tight tolerances using real-time execution data.
• Standardize ways of working: Evolve program cadences, release trains, change management, and incident/post-mortem practices; drive continuous process improvement across squads.
• Create executive visibility: Deliver crisp, data-rich dashboards and readouts for the VP R&D and leadership—highlighting progress, blockers, and trade-offs.
• Unblock teams: Keep teams focused on technical excellence while you ensure predictability, cross-org alignment, and friction-free execution.

What success looks like?

• Predictable delivery: Programs land within agreed scope/timeline with <±10% variance and clear scope controls.
• Fewer surprises: Risks are identified and mitigated early; critical issues have fast-forming tiger teams and clear owners.
• Operational clarity: A consistent operating rhythm (planning, reviews, stage-gates, retros) adopted across squads.
• Financial discipline: Accurate forecasts; timely renewals; no last-minute budget shocks; vendor ROI visible.
• Executive confidence: Leadership trusts the plan and the signal; less reactive fire-drill, more proactive decision-making.

What Will Make You Stand Out?

• Program leadership: 5–8+ years in technical program management / R&D ops leading multi-team initiatives in software product companies.
• Systems thinker: Portfolio-level planning, dependency management, and risk modeling across complex environments.
• Data-driven operator: Comfort with delivery analytics (cycle time, throughput, predictability, quality), and building executive-ready dashboards.
• Methodology fluency: Pragmatic use of Agile/Scrum/Kanban/Lean (and release trains where relevant) without dogma.
• Influence & communication: Executive-level storytelling; crisp written updates; ability to drive alignment across engineering, product, design, and business functions.
• Tooling depth: Experience working in Jira/Linear, Notion/Confluence, Looker/Tableau/Mode, and vendor management/procurement systems.

Experience working with remote and hybrid engineering teams.