Senior Manager, Business Operations & Planning — AI Organization

Summary

The 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.

Minimum Qualifications

15+ years of relevant experience in financial operations, business planning, or technology operations leadership.
Leadership experience in financial and budget oversight roles within large technology organizations.
Ability to influence and align stakeholders across organizations.
Management experience guiding complex initiatives and teams across multidisciplinary functions, including engineering, operations, cloud infrastructure, finance, and legal.
Strong problem-solving ability with outstanding decision quality, grounded in data-driven decision-making.
Deep knowledge of financial systems and business models, as well as related software and machine learning (ML) engineering development processes.
Excellent understanding of business and financial operations, with the ability to drive development of business tools and analytics that improve organizational efficiency.
Proven experience with data reporting, coupled with excellent analytical skills and meticulous attention to detail.
Exceptional communication skills, including experience presenting complex topics to senior leadership.
Ability to lead teams through ambiguity, organizational change, and evolving priorities.

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.

Pay & Benefits — Cupertino, California, United States

At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $250,800 and $404,500, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.

Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple’s discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You’ll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses — including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits

Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.

Application Deadline

Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.