Principal Program Manager, Research & Insights Operations

Salesforce•San Francisco, CA

16h•Remote

About The Position

Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents drive customer success together. The Research Operations team sits within the Experience Organization, supporting Product Research and Design across Salesforce. As a Principal Program Manager and Strategic Research Program Lead, you'll drive the evolution of Research Operations toward an AI-enabled model that redefines how we run research and engage with customers. You'll bring systematic, long-term thinking to a team that connects product builders with the people who shape what we build — and you'll have the opportunity to architect the infrastructure, tooling, and strategies that scale research operations for the future.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in Program Management, Research Operations, Technical Program Management, User Experience Research (UXR), or a closely related field within a fast-paced technology environment.
Experience working alongside Product Research, User Research, User Experience, Product Management, or Data Science teams.
Proven track record of scaling operations or research programs from the ground up, and strong experience leading cross-functional projects.
Exceptional communication skills with a demonstrated ability to influence, align, and collaborate with cross-functional leadership and high-level stakeholders.
Comfortable working with data, with experience leveraging product telemetry, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), or sales data to drive strategic operational decisions.
A related technical degree required.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with enterprise research and AI tools such as Qualtrics, UserTesting, Outset AI, ListenLabs, User Interviews, or Salesforce CRM.
Comfortable operating in AI-first workflows with a demonstrated interest in automation and self-service design.
Familiarity with compliance, privacy (e.g., General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)), and strict participant privacy protocols regarding research participants.
Background in designing sourcing infrastructure for early-stage (0-to-1) products or highly technical target audiences.

Responsibilities

Apply systematic, long-term strategic thinking to research operations — building repeatable mechanisms, infrastructure, and AI solutions that drive efficiency at scale, moving away from reactive, one-off request handling.
Design, build, and execute comprehensive operational and participant recruitment strategies tailored for new or immature product lines and highly specialized, hard-to-find niche personas.
Convert existing but inactive contacts into active, well-profiled participants.
Serve as the steady hand in high-visibility, fast-moving initiatives — effectively translating vague or evolving research requirements into structured, actionable program plans.
Lead, influence, and coordinate across multiple internal teams, cross-functional partners, and executive stakeholders to ensure research operations align with broader business objectives.
Define and maintain operational health metrics for the research participant pipeline, including database growth, lead conversion rates, recruitment cycle times, and self-service adoption to surface trends and inform strategic decisions.
Deeply analyze telemetry, platform usage, and sales data to proactively identify untapped participant sourcing opportunities, keeping the research pipeline ahead of product needs.