Manager, Forward Deployed Creative Technologist
San Jose, CA - USA
Job Summary
The Opportunity
Every global brand is now a content factory thousands of on-brand variations a quarter across static video and 3D shipped in days not weeks. We embed with enterprise customers learn their content supply chain end-to-end and build the custom AI-powered workflows that get them there on Adobe Firefly Services Firefly Creative Production (our node-based workflow builder) and Adobe Brand Intelligence (ABI) for brand validation and compliance.
Heresthe whole job: by the time your team arrives the deal is signed but the creatives and marketers whohave tousewhat we sold never signed up for it. Nobody can mandate adoption; your teamhas toearnit account after account against people who already have tools they like.Thatswhat makes an enterprise customer renew instead ofchurn and you did it yourself before you ever managed anyone.
You lead from the front as a hands-on player-coach. About half your weekyourein the code in customer rooms and in demos.Theother half you hire people better than you coach them to earn adoption the way you do and make the bench sharper every quarter.
We are not pre-sales. We are not consultants. We are technical creators who ship and who getused.
Whatyoulldo
Earn adoption and build a team that does itagain and again.When anengagement stalls a dark stakeholder a product gap a roomful of skeptics youvedone this yourself and you coach your ICs through it. When the strategic deal is at risk you fly in. Your team measures itself in adoption and renewals not features shipped.
Stay hands-on.Take the hardest engagement alongside your team write the reference workflow others learn from and ship it yourself.
Hirebetter thanyourself andgrow them.Raise the bar with every hire. Run real 1:1s set explicit expectations and make the hard calls early promote redirect or coach out and document them. Every ICmorecapable in 12 months; name the specific move you made.
Clear the blockers your teamcant.Turn recurring product gaps into roadmap influence chase cross-team dependencies until they move and feed real field signal back toAdobeproduct and engineering.
Build the playbook.Reusable patterns from your teams engagements become shared templates and upstream Workflow Builder nodes. The next pod moves faster because of whatyourslearned.
Whatyoullbring
The bar what we filter hardest for:
You earn adoption against resistance andyouvedone it yourself.Won over the user whodidntwant your tool found another way in when a stakeholder went dark turneda roomful of skeptics into repeat users through the workshop or live build. When the strategic deal is at riskyourethe one who flies in. You measure yourself and your team in adoption and renewals not features shipped.
You build a team that does itagain and again.You hire and coach for activation grit not just craft. Turning a passive stakeholder into an excited repeat userisnta one-off you pulled off once itsthe thing your whole bench does account afteraccount.
Hands-on builder and creative not just a manager:
You still build it yourself.Production code in the last 6 months andyoullbe initthe next6.Ifyouvedrifted into purepeoplemanagement thisisntyour role.
Creative contentsupply-chaincraft.Briefs to assets brandsystemsand design tokensmastersto channel variants the Figma / PSD / INDD DAM review-and-approval handoff. You read your teams engagements at architect depth.
A public portfolio(link or PDF at application) shipped creativeandtechnical work you personally did not justmanaged. Hard requirement; no portfolio no review.
Management craft proven with evidence:
You hire grow andperformance-manage for real.Youvehired ICs run PIPs made promotion calls that stuck navigated cross-functional conflict coached someone out and grown 23 ICs who are now more senior because of you. Names and specific moves on request.
Force multipliers real but teachable:
Firefly Services Firefly Creative Production and Adobe Brand Intelligence fluency you know what the field is hitting before your ICs tell you. Adobe ecosystem (AEM Workfront App Builder) and Figma plugin/API/MCP depth are pluses.
AI-native building with judgment.You set the AI-native bar for your team Cursor / Claude Code / Copilot daily and you catch when the output is wrong. You explore the frontier (ComfyUI n8nLangGraph MCPs) to stay sharp.
High EQ low ego. 812yearsstraddling creative production and technical building. Travel 1525%.
Whatwerenot looking for
Managers who ship features not adoption.Your teamdeliversyou call it done and whether anyoneactually usedit or whether the account renewed was someone elses problem.
Out-of-balance managers either no production code in 18 months (pure people manager) orhiding behind your teams code instead of developing them (Id rather just code). The role is 50/50.
Senior ICs with no managementtrack record.This needs evidence of hiring performance management and growth not just being a greatseniorIC.
PMs / program managers / consultants every leader here writes codeandproduces creative work themselves.
Ill build my portfolio later.Not readyatapplication Come back when it is.
About Adobe
Adobe empowers everyone to create through innovative platforms and tools that unleash creativity productivity and personalized customer experiences. Adobes industry-leading offerings including Adobe Acrobat Studio Adobe Express Adobe Firefly Creative Cloud Adobe Experience Platform Adobe Experience Manager and GenStudio enable people and businesses to turn ideas into impact powered by AI and driven by human ingenuity.
Our 30000 employees worldwide are creating the future and raising the bar as we drive the next decade of growth. Were on a mission to hire the very best and believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. At Adobe we believe that great ideas can come from anywhere in the organization. The next big idea could be yours.
Lets Adobe together
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Our interviews are designed to reflect your own skills and thinking. The use of AI or recording tools during live interviews is not permitted unless explicitly invited by the interviewer or approved in advance as part of a reasonable accommodation. If these tools are used inappropriately or in a way that misrepresents your work your application may not move forward in the process.
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Expected Pay Range:
Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets and we pay differently based on those defined markets. The U.S. pay range for this positionis $$293250 annually. Paywithin this range varies by work locationand may also depend on job-related knowledge skillsand experience. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the job location during the hiring process.In California the pay range for this position is $202500 - $293250
At Adobe for sales roles starting salaries are expressed as total target compensation (TTC base commission) and short-term incentives are in the form of sales commission plans. Non-sales roles starting salaries are expressed as base salary and short-term incentives are in the form of the Annual Incentive Plan (AIP).
In addition certain roles may be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of a new hire equity award.
State-Specific Notices:
California:
Fair Chance Ordinances
Adobe will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and fair chance ordinances.
Colorado:
Application Window Notice
If this role is open to hiring in Colorado (as listed on the job posting) the application window will remain open until at least the date and time stated above in Pacific Time in compliance with Colorado pay transparency regulations. If this role does not have Colorado listed as a hiring location no specific application window applies and the posting may close at any time based on hiring needs.
Massachusetts:
Massachusetts Legal Notice
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.
Required Experience:
Manager