Senior Technical Program Manager, Data Science

Sprout Social is looking to hire a Senior Technical Program Manager to our R&D Operations team. 

Why join Sprout’s R&D Operations team?

Sprout empowers businesses around the globe to tap into the power and opportunity of social media. Our software brings together social content and messaging, data and workflows in a unified system of record, intelligence and action. Operating across major social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google and YouTube, we provide organizations with a centralized platform to effectively manage social media efforts across stakeholders and business functions. We’re relentless about ensuring the success of our customers and building elegant software, and are regularly recognized by customers for our industry-leading products.

What you’ll do: 

Reporting to the Chief of Staff & Head of Ops for R&D, and partnering closely with the Senior Manager of Data Science, you’ll embed directly with the Data Science team to establish and refine operational practices. You’ll be responsible for shaping how the team manages intake, stakeholder requests, and delivery workflows, while introducing frameworks and tools that make collaboration smoother and more transparent.

In this role, you will: 

• Partner with Data Science leadership to define, document, and evolve operational processes, including intake, prioritization, stakeholder management, and program tracking.
• Build and maintain Jira projects, dashboards, and workflows that provide clarity, accountability, and visibility into ongoing and upcoming work.
• Organize and facilitate program planning, reviews, and communication cadences to ensure the Data Science team and its stakeholders remain aligned and well-informed.
• Develop frameworks for stakeholder engagement and communication so the right inputs are captured and decisions can be made quickly.
• Surface risks, clarify dependencies, and proactively manage blockers across the team’s portfolio of work.
• Introduce and refine lightweight, scalable structures that help Data Science operate effectively within the broader R&D organization.
• Support adoption and change management for new Data Science tools, processes, and platforms.
• Establish operational metrics to track the health and impact of Data Science initiatives.

What you’ll bring 

You’re an experienced program manager who brings clarity to complexity and builds right-sized systems that keep cross-functional work organized and accountable. You know how to navigate the org to bring in the right people, surface risks early, and get to the root of problems. You stay connected to the “why” — understanding goals, strategy, and execution — and help teams stay aligned to it. If you’re a strategic thinker with a passion for keeping R&D teams organized, and you’re excited to shape what great R&D program management looks like, we’d love to talk to you!

The minimum qualifications for this role include:

• 4+ years of experience working in software organizations in Engineering, Program Management, or Technical Program Management roles
• Proven track record of leading large-scale, high-impact, cross-functional technical programs
• Experience in high-growth SaaS environments

Preferred qualifications:

• Strong strategic thinking with the ability to connect day-to-day execution to broader business objectives
• Skilled at navigating ambiguity and bringing clarity and focus to teams
• Excellent leadership, organizational, and communication skills
• Background in supporting data-focused teams with a solid grasp of foundational technology concepts
• Experience using Atlassian products (Jira, Confluence), Google Suite (Docs, Slides, Sheets), Mixpanel and Tableau
• Familiarity with analytics and reporting environments (e.g., Sheets, Mixpanel, Hex, Tableau) and experience leading teams or initiatives that leverage these tools.

How you’ll grow

Within 1 month, you’ll plant your roots, including:

• Completing Sprout Social’s new hire training and onboarding alongside fellow new team members to gain a broad understanding of our products and how your role fits into the organization.
• Partnering with your manager and the Senior Manager of Data Science to define success metrics for your role and how you’ll be measured.
• Exploring our products to understand what makes our software unique and why customers love it.
• Building relationships across data teams, product, engineering, design, and GTM teams.

Within 3 months, you’ll start hitting your stride by:

• Establish a clear understanding of the Data Science team’s objectives, portfolio, and stakeholder landscape.
• Stand up initial operational processes and Jira structures to improve intake, prioritization, and visibility.
• Begin facilitating team ceremonies and stakeholder updates, driving clarity and momentum in ongoing work.
• Identifying opportunities to improve how we collaborate and operate across functions and within Data Science.

Within 6 months, you’ll be making a clear impact through:

• Become the go-to partner for Data Science leadership on operational excellence, intake prioritization, and cross-team alignment.
• Roll out frameworks for stakeholder management that improve communication and reduce friction across the org.
• Ensure that the team’s work is consistently visible, tracked, and connected to R&D-wide objectives
• Contribute to more predictable planning and delivery cycles for the Data Science team.

Within 12 months, you’ll make this role your own by:

• Act as a thought partner to the Senior Manager of Data Science and R&D Operations leadership, shaping how program management best supports technical research-oriented teams.
• Share and scale successful frameworks you’ve developed for Data Science so they can be adopted by other technical groups.
• Surprising us — bringing your unique skills, ideas, and energy to strengthen the team in ways we haven’t yet imagined.

Of course what is outlined above is the ideal timeline, but things may shift based on business needs and other projects and tasks could be added at the discretion of your manager

Individual base pay is based on various factors, including work location, relevant experience and skills, the responsibility of the role, and job duties/requirements. In the United States, we have two geographic pay zones. For this role, our current base pay ranges for new hires are:

• Zone 1 (New York, California, Washington): $147,488 (min), $184,400(mid), $221,232 (max) USD annually
• Zone 2 (All other US states): $134,100 (min), $167,600 (mid), $201,100 (max) USD annually

The listed ranges represent the full earning potential in this position. Starting salaries for well-qualified new hires are typically around the midpoint of the range. These ranges were determined by a market-based compensation approach; we used data from trusted third-party compensation sources to set equitable, consistent, and competitive ranges. We also evaluate compensation bi-annually, identify any changes in the market and make adjustments to our ranges and existing employee compensation as needed.

Base pay is only one element of an employee's total compensation at Sprout. Every Sprout team member has an opportunity to receive restricted stock units (RSUs) under Sprout’s equity plan. Employees (and their dependents) are covered by medical, dental, vision, basic life, accidental death, and dismemberment insurance, and Modern Health (a wellness benefit).  Employees are able to enroll in Sprout’s company’s 401k plan, in which Sprout will match 50% of your contributions up to 6% with a maximum contribution. Sprout offers “Flexible Paid Time Off” and ten paid holidays. We have outlined the various components to an employee’s full compensation package here to help you to understand our total rewards package.

Sprout Social is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on identity- race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex (including sexual identity), age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, veteran or military status, unfavorable discharge from military service, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, order of protection status, citizenship status, arrest record or expunged or sealed convictions, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law. Because Sprout Social is a federal contractor, we affirmatively recruit individuals with a disability and protected veterans. Learn more about our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in our latest DEI Report.

If you require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the interview process or to submit your application, please email us at [email protected]. Include the nature of your request and your preferred contact information. We'll do everything we can to support your success during our recruitment process while upholding your privacy. Please note that only inquiries regarding accommodations will receive a response from this email address; other inquiries will not be addressed (e.g., you send your resume but are not requesting an accommodation).

For more information about our commitment to equal employment opportunity, please click here (1) Equal Opportunity Employment Poster and (2) Sprout Social's Affirmative Action Statement. 

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