AIML Data Operations Annotations Production Team Manager

Behind every groundbreaking AI innovation at Apple is a foundation of high-quality annotated dataand behind that foundation are the vendor partnerships and production operations that make it possible at scale. nnWere looking for an Annotations Production Team Manager to lead a group of crowd managers who serve as the critical link between Apples annotation needs and our external vendor workforce. You will set strategic direction for how your team engages with vendor partners ensuring the delivery of high-quality annotated data on time and at scale. You will develop your teams capabilities in vendor management production operations and quality oversight while establishing the frameworks and processes that enable consistent scalable execution. Imagine leading the team that keeps Apples AI data engine running ensuring our machine learning models are trained with the highest quality data produced by a global workforce operating at peak efficiency.n

As a Manager in Annotations Production youll lead a team of crowd managers who collaborate with engineering teams and data requestors to deploy scalable data pipelines through our vendor workforce. Your team manages the full production lifecyclefrom initial project requirements and vendor onboarding through delivery tracking quality assurance and continuous improvement. You will remain hands-on when complex vendor challenges or production escalations require your direct will coach your team in vendor relationship management helping them balance quality expectations with throughput targets across multiple annotation domains. You will establish operational frameworksramp plans quality monitoring systems escalation paths and performance benchmarksthat enable your team to run production consistently and at work will directly contribute to the success of the next generation of Apple products and role leads a globally distributed team with direct reports spanning multiple time zones across regions including AMR / EMIEA / APAC. You should be flexible in your working hours to accommodate collaboration across these time zones which may include early morning or evening meetings on a regular basis.

Lead mentor and develop a team of crowd managers that are located in multiple different time zones fostering growth in vendor management production operations and stakeholder communicationnSet strategic direction for vendor-facing production operations establishing scalable frameworks and best practicesnOversee vendor performance ensuring SLAs are met for quality throughput and delivery timelines across concurrent programsnDrive capacity planning and resource management across vendor partners including volume forecasting and workforce allocationnEnsure your team bridges engineering/customer teams and vendor operations translating complex annotation requirements into actionable production plansnPartner with QA training spec/process engineering and data analytics teams to maintain quality at scalenEstablish and monitor key performance metrics for vendor operations driving continuous improvementnManage budget allocation financial forecasting and vendor cost optimizationnBuild and maintain strong relationships with vendor leadership ensuring alignment on Apples quality standardsnPrepare executive reports communicating production status vendor health and risks to senior leadershipnFoster a collaborative culture where your team tackles production problems proactively and gains the trust of customers engineering partners and vendor organizations

BS degree requiredn10 years of experience in program/project management production operations or vendor management in data operations or related fieldsn3 years of experience managing and developing teams in operational or vendor-facing rolesnStrong understanding of production operations including capacity planning quality assurance frameworks and delivery managementnExcellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate complex concepts to both technical and non-technical audiencesnProven ability to manage multiple concurrent programs with competing priorities in a fast-paced environmentnSelf-motivated and proactive leader who thrives in ambiguous environments and is able to establish diligent processes for global teamsnDemonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity and rapidly shifting priorities crafting creative pragmatic near-term vendor support solutions that keep programs on track while maintaining focus on longer-term vendor strategy and scalable operational goalsnExperience in leading a dispersed global team

Advanced degree in a relevant field preferrednAnnotation operations data operations or crowd-sourcing programs at scalenVendor/supplier management including performance management and relationship developmentnBudget management and financial forecasting for vendor-delivered worknData quality issue tracking and resolution (impact analysis root cause analysis data analysis)nBackground managing geographically distributed teams or vendor workforcesnUnderstanding of machine learning concepts data annotation methodologies and quality assurance processes