Research Program Manager

Meta•Menlo Park, CA

22h•$97,000 - $139,000

About The Position

The Demography and Survey Sciences (DSS) team at Meta is a centralized research group that conducts rigorous research to answer strategic product and business questions across the company. Its work draws on survey research, metric development, causal inference, large-scale data analysis, and qualitative methods such as cognitive testing and focus groups. The team develops research and measurement approaches to address complex cross-product challenges, including evaluating machine learning models and improving user and behavior measurement. Research Program Managers build and scale global research programs to strengthen research teams’ impact by improving efficiency, cultivating relationships, increasing knowledge sharing, and building organizational capacity. The Research Program Manager, DSS Research Operations, works with the DSS ResOps team and the Global Research Organization to identify overlaps and synergies across research programs and practices. The role establishes and maintains global operational and team-wide programs, creates and scales processes for a growing team, and uses organizational and communication skills to help the team operate effectively.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in program management, research operations, or a related field.
Experience establishing programs, leading them end-to-end, and scaling them for growth.
Experience integrating AI tools and workflows into business operations or program management.
Demonstrated ability to drive responsible and ethical AI adoption in cross-functional settings.
Demonstrated ability to translate AI/ML concepts for business stakeholders.
Experience building relationships with peers and executive stakeholders and collaborating with cross-functional teams across multiple locations.
Experience leveraging data to inform decisions and drive change.
Track record of identifying process gaps and independently designing and implementing solutions in evolving or undefined environments.
Experience managing competing deadlines by prioritizing tasks based on impact and stakeholder needs, and identifying and resolving blockers to maintain project momentum.
Experience communicating program status, risks, and recommendations to researchers, cross-functional stakeholders, organizational leaders, and external partners, and adapting communication style to different audiences.

Nice To Haves

Experience with vendor management and contract negotiation.
Demonstrated ongoing AI skill development, such as prompt/context engineering or agent orchestration, and staying current with emerging AI technologies.
Track record of leading or supporting AI transformation initiatives in a business context.
Experience adhering to and implementing responsible, ethical AI practices, such as risk assessment, bias mitigation, and quality and accuracy reviews.
Demonstrated track record of organization and prioritization approaches and frameworks.
Experience working directly with UX researchers, Finance, and Legal teams.
Demonstrated ability to integrate AI tools to optimize or redesign workflows and drive measurable impact, such as efficiency gains or quality improvements.
Experience with AI/ML-powered products, business process automation, or AI-driven analytics.

Responsibilities

Define and manage strategic initiatives that improve team efficiency and impact, establishing operational systems and outcomes.
Identify and partner with stakeholders on internal processes, templates, and guidelines to improve team optimization and documentation.
Partner with team leadership to establish effective team communication, information distribution, and cross-team collaboration.
Partner with cross-functional teams, including Sourcing and Vendor Engagements, to enable customized DSS contracting processes.
Manage relationships with a select group of preferred vendors and build business-specific operations and processes to streamline intake.
Support research planning and allocation by tracking, aligning, and executing project-specific contracts and purchase orders, and tracking invoices against open purchase orders.
Manage the operational and financial efficiency of the DSS budget by maintaining accurate, up-to-date financial datasets, files, and reports.
Perform data analysis and provide insights to inform and support business decisions.
Prepare metric-driven status reports by gathering, analyzing, and summarizing relevant information.
Manage expectations by defining program roadmaps, providing frequent updates, identifying and communicating risks and adjustments, and ensuring commitments are delivered.
Adapt approaches to meet team needs and shifting priorities, removing obstacles by escalating issues or proposing alternatives.
Serve as a link to the Global Research Ops team, leveraging relevant processes and best practices and collaborating on programs tailored to the team’s needs.
Facilitate relationships between teams, advance initiatives, find resources, escalate concerns to appropriate owners early, and resolve issues that prevent progress.