Localization Manager

SAS•Cary HQ, NC

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Localization Manager – Hybrid, Cary, North Carolina We’re a leader in data and AI. Through our software and services, we inspire customers around the world to transform data into intelligence – and questions into answers. If you’re looking for a dynamic, fulfilling career with flexibility and a world-class employee experience, you’ll find it here. We’re recognized around the world for our inclusive, meaningful culture and innovative technologies by organizations like Fast Company, Forbes, Newsweek, and more. About the job The Global Experience Team is seeking a detail-oriented and strategic Localization Manager to oversee our global network of language service providers (LSPs) and provide centralized vendor and quality governance, ensuring vendors consistently meet our operational, linguistic, and quality expectations. This role bridges vendor operations with quality assurance, playing a critical part in delivering localized content that meets our brand, cultural, and technical standards across all markets. This role is critical to ensuring high-quality, cost-effective, and timely localization of product content. You will be a liaison between internal stakeholders and external vendors, driving operational excellence and continuous improvement in localization workflows.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in working in a localization vendor management role/s - ideally in a stakeholder or client-facing environment.
Bachelor's degree required, preferably in Linguistics, Computer Science or related fields. Masters is a plus.
Experience setting up and using linguistic quality framework
Experience using localization technology (TMS/CAT tools, machine translation, LLMs) and processes, particularly for CICD software deployment model
Proven ability to solve complex linguistic and technical challenges, attention to detail
Ability to measure, analyze, and present data to stakeholders.
Ability to adjust working hours to accommodate a variety of time zones
Equivalent combination of related education, training and experience may be considered in place of the above qualifications.

Nice To Haves

Experience using project management tools (e.g. Jira) and source management systems (e.g. GitHub).
Experience with building and maintaining terminology databases
Certificate in project management (e.g., PMP) is a plus
Proficiency in additional language(s)

Responsibilities

Vendor Management Drive vendor management strategy for the Global Experience team
Manage a global pool of localization vendors, owning overall vendor relationships, RFPs, onboarding, performance management, and issue resolution, while inhouse Project Managers collaborate with vendors on individual projects.
Support vendors by providing and/or organizing training and knowledge-sharing sessions to maintain quality standards.
Collaborate closely with vendor Quality Managers to ensure quality standards are met.
Engage with procurement team for contract negotiations and service-level agreements (SLAs).
Monitor vendor performance using KPIs and quality metrics (i.e. turnaround time, error rates, cost efficiency, test completions); implement corrective actions as needed.
Act as the primary escalation point for inhouse Project Managers when vendor performance, quality, delivery, or communication issues arise.
Own vendorlevel issue resolution and corrective action plans.
Conduct bi-annual business reviews with vendors
Maintain and update vendor databases and profiles.
Operational Excellence Collaborate with internal teams (Project managers, Translators, Testers) to align vendor capabilities with project needs.
Drive process improvements and automation in vendor workflows using TMS and project management tools.
Manage vendor localization budgets and track cost efficiency.
Quality Management Oversee linguistic quality assurance (LQA) performance and feedback loops.
Lead the operational rollout and adoption of the linguistic quality framework ensuring consistent execution across vendors, workflows, and locales through TMS configuration, reporting, and governance
Support terminology management and translation memory optimization.
Set up a query management process in collaboration with the Language Operations team and lead an implementation effort
Data & Reporting Analyze vendor performance data and generate regular reports for leadership.
Use data insights to inform vendor strategy and resource allocation.
Tooling & Technology Collaborate with engineering teams to improve tool integration and automation.
Embrace curiosity, passion, authenticity and accountability. These are our values and influence everything we do.

Benefits

Comprehensive medical, prescription, dental and vision plans.
Medical plan options include: PPO with low annual deductible and copays.
HDHP combined with a health savings account with a contribution from SAS (no access to on-site health care center).
Onsite Health Care Center (HQ) that’s free to employees and family members enrolled in the PPO plan.
There’s a pharmacy too! Not local to HQ? The pharmacy will ship prescriptions for no additional charge!
An industry-leading 401k plan.
Tuition Assistance Program and programs and resources to support your development
Generous time away including vacation time, a variety of paid holidays, and our much-loved U.S. Winter Wellness Break between December 25 and January 1.
Volunteer Time Off, parental leave and unlimited paid sick days.
Generous childcare benefits for all full-time employees.