Senior Manager, Business Operations & Planning - AI Organization
AppleThe Infrastructure and Planning team within Software Engineering Operations is seeking an accomplished leader to drive Business Operations and Planning for the AI organization. If you think analytically and are passionate about applying financial, operational, and planning expertise to complex challenges, we'd love to hear from you! This strategic role enables coordination across the AI organization - spanning budget planning and operational execution in close partnership with engineering leadership. The ideal candidate will align resources and budget to critical development projects and initiatives. This involves oversight to planning for the infrastructure and data required for model training and development with a focus on optimization, utilization, and connecting engineering strategy to the financial investment. Description Lead a Business Operations team that drives internal budget planning for the AI organization, including infrastructure capacity management (supply & demand planning for both 1P & 3P cloud resources), data acquisitions (licensed data, vendor-managed data), workforce management (both internal and external headcount) and related processes to ensure finance and engineering leadership understand how such investments tie back to model strategy or SW roadmap. Decisions on workload prioritization and resource allocation will be guided by a vision to accelerate development, strengthen financial processes and unlock operational efficiencies. This role requires a deep understanding of financial processes, technology development, and regulatory compliance, as a proven track record of delivering results through cross-team collaboration. This team will also be responsible for oversight of strategic site planning and employee communications for the AI organization, ensuring that key initiatives across the organizations are aligned to and a location strategy that enables retaining top ML talent.","responsibilities":"Build and maintain strong partnerships with cross-functional teams across compute and cloud infrastructure, business operations, procurement, finance, and engineering. Partner closely with Finance to develop and maintain budgets, including leading the annual budget planning cycle. Prioritization & Portfolio Management: Lead reporting and analysis of development and capacity needs to drive prioritization and de-prioritization decisions across the portfolio, balancing innovation, compliance, and operational efficiency. Oversee headcount and departmental budget management, providing rigorous financial oversight, strategic workforce planning, and optimal resource allocation to support operational efficiency and growth. Space & Facilities Planning: Oversee organizational space planning and site strategy, partnering with Real Estate & Facilities to optimize footprint allocation and support evolving team growth in strategic locations with ML talent. Organizational Communications: partner with Employee Experience and Organizational VP to drive employee communications across the AI organization, keeping team members aligned, informed, and connected to leadership goals, strategic priorities, and key initiatives. Hire, develop, and retain top talent, while maintaining strong visibility and communication across the broader organization. Preferred Qualifications MBA and/or CPA, with strong understanding of Finance policies and SOX compliance. Technical expertise or deep understanding of ML development. Passion for software development and AI/ML, with a consistent track record of operational results. An inspiring leader who fosters collaboration across a multitude of initiatives. Experience leading and developing high-performing teams in a fast-paced, dynamic, and innovative environment. Proven track record of collaborating and influencing across teams and organizations. Minimum Qualifications 15+ years of relevant experience in financial operations, business planning, or technology operations leadership. Leadership expe…