We are looking for a senior, client-facing Program Manager with strong localization experience to support a strategic enterprise account. This role will serve as a key operational and client-facing lead, helping manage complex localization, multimedia, and AI-enabled workflow programs across multiple stakeholder groups.
The role requires someone who can operate comfortably at both the strategic and tactical levels: building trusted client relationships, managing budgets and forecasts, quoting, driving intake and prioritization, handling escalations, and partnering closely with global production, engineering, linguistic, and account teams to ensure delivery excellence.
This is a highly visible role for someone who brings structure to complex programs, can navigate ambiguity, and understands the commercial impact of operational decisions.
About RWS
RWS is a global AI solutions company empowering the world’s most trusted enterprise AI.
Our proprietary Cultural Intelligence Layer, powered by 250,000 data specialists, cultural and language experts and deep domain professionals, backed by 45+ patents, makes enterprise AI culturally fluent, contextually accurate and secure, ensuring every interaction reflects a brand’s tone, context and customer values.
Through our Generate, Transform and Protect segments, we deliver intelligent content, enterprise knowledge, large-scale localization and IP protection for global growth. Trusted by 80+ of the world’s top 100 brands, RWS provides the confidence, governance and expertise organizations need to deploy AI safely, responsibly and at scale.
Headquartered in the UK, RWS is listed on AIM (RWS.L).
More information: rws.com .
About Transform
At RWS, we enable the world’s largest enterprises to communicate with global audiences through cutting-edge language technology, AI-driven solutions, and expert services. Our RWS Transform division empowers organizations to accelerate digital transformation, scale global content, and unlock growth in every market.
Key Responsibilities
Job Overview Program and Operational Management Commercial and Financial Management Escalation, Risk, and Quality Management Cross-Functional Leadership
- Act as the primary client-facing Program Manager, building trusted relationships with client stakeholders and serving as the main point of contact for assigned workstreams.
- Lead program planning, intake, prioritization, status tracking, and cross-functional coordination to ensure successful delivery across multiple localization initiatives.
- Manage end-to-end localization programs, including translation, multimedia, engineering, QA, publishing, and content operations workflows.
- Partner with global delivery, production, engineering, linguistic, and account teams to ensure projects are properly planned, resourced, and executed.
- Drive stakeholder alignment through regular business reviews, status meetings, escalations, and executive communications.
- Own risk identification, issue resolution, escalation management, and corrective action planning to minimize delivery impact.
- Support budget management, forecasting, revenue tracking, quoting, and financial reporting while balancing delivery quality and profitability.
- Evaluate the operational and commercial impact of scope changes, client requests, resource planning, and workflow decisions.
- Drive process optimization, workflow standardization, governance, and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency and scalability.
- Provide cross-functional leadership and mentorship, promoting accountability, proactive communication, and operational excellence across teams.
Skills & Experience
Required
- 8+ years of experience in localization, globalization, content operations, or language services.
- Proven experience managing complex enterprise localization programs.
- Strong client-facing program or project management experience with senior stakeholder engagement.
- Experience managing budgets, forecasting, revenue, and margin within large accounts or portfolios.
- Deep understanding of localization workflows, including translation, multimedia, engineering, QA, DTP, and publishing.
- Experience collaborating with global cross-functional teams across multiple time zones.
- Strong risk management, escalation handling, and problem-solving capabilities.
- Ability to influence executive stakeholders and drive alignment across matrixed organizations.
- Experience with AI-enabled localization, machine translation, automation, or content transformation programs preferred.
- Familiarity with localization and workflow management tools such as Trados, Phrase, GlobalLink, Jira, or Azure DevOps.
- Strong commercial acumen with the ability to balance client expectations, operational realities, and business objectives.
- Highly organized, proactive, and comfortable operating in fast-paced and ambiguous environments.
- Seattle/Redmond area based, with the ability to attend onsite client meetings as required.
Success in this role will be measured by the ability to:
- Strengthen client confidence and local account presence.
- Improve visibility, intake, prioritization, and stakeholder alignment.
- Reduce escalation cycles and operational friction.
- Support accurate forecasting, budget tracking, and financial visibility.
- Protect delivery quality, timelines, and margin.
- Help stabilize and scale the operating model across the account.
- Reduce dependency on account leadership and technical/production leads for day-to-day client-facing coordination.
Location
Seattle / Redmond area required
Hybrid / onsite as needed for client meetings
Benefits
- Amazing benefits! (Seriously!)
- Generous paid time off package, plus company holidays, birthday day off, paid volunteer time, and 100% paid parental leave.
- 401(k) Retirement plan with company match.
- Company-wide agile work policy with flexible work arrangements.
- Opportunities for training, professional development, and personal growth.
- Smart, engaged co-workers and a global culture of diversity, innovation, and opportunity.
Base Pay
$100,000 – $150,000 / year
Actual rate of pay may vary based on factors including, but not limited to: position offered, location, education, training, and/or experience. Total compensation may also include variable incentives, bonuses, benefits, and/or other perks, as outlined in any formal offer made.
Life at RWS – If you like the idea of working with smart people who are passionate about growing the value of ideas, data and content by making sure organizations are understood , then you’ll love life at RWS.
Our purpose is to unlock global understanding. This means our work fundamentally recognizes the value of every language and culture. So, we celebrate difference, we are inclusive and believe that diversity makes us strong. We want every employee to grow as an individual and excel in their career.
In return, we expect all our people to live by the values that unite us: to partner, putting clients fist and winning together, to pioneer, innovating fearlessly and leading with vision and courage, to progress, aiming high and growing through actions and to deliver, owning the outcome and building trust with our colleagues and clients.
RWS embraces DEI and promotes equal opportunity, we are an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind. RWS is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at RWS are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sex, age, disability, or sexual orientation. RWS will not tolerate discrimination based on any of these characteristics.
RWS Values
Get the 3Ps right – Partner, Pioneer, Progress – and we´ll Deliver together as RWS.
Covid Vaccination – All RWS employees hired for positions that require working on-site at RWS offices, customer offices, travel on behalf of RWS, and/or in-person meetings will be required to comply with the RWS USA COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Policy. RWS complies with federal, state, and local laws regarding accommodations related to this policy.
Recruitment Agencies: RWS Holdings PLC does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward any unsolicited resumes to any RWS employees. Any unsolicited resume received will be treated as the property of RWS and Terms & Conditions associated with the use of such resume will be considered null and void.
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