Business Operations & Technology Manager

FLSA: Exempt

Location: Hybrid (onsite on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday)

Reports to: VP of Business Operations

Company Overview: Headquartered in El Segundo, Podium is North America’s fastest growing digital publisher, driven by its mission is to change the lives of trendsetting storytellers by discovering, developing, and amplifying their work.

Why Work at Podium: We offer a world-class, competitive benefits package that includes 100% employer-paid health benefits, paid parking, paid parental leave, flexible PTO, paid holidays, a free Class Pass membership, a paid Audible subscription, and a flexible hybrid work environment.

Job Overview: The Manager, Business Operations and Technology at Podium is a technical, hands-on role responsible for building, implementing, and optimizing the systems and automations that power our business. As a key part of a nimble Operations team, you will directly design, develop, and deploy technical solutions that enhance operational efficiency and support business growth, and serve as an operational thought leader and subject matter expert.

This role requires someone who thrives in both low-code engineering AND operations: someone who can gather requirements, architect solutions, and then build the prototypes, automations, scripts and platform integrations that bring those solutions to life. A successful Manager will take an engaged and consultative approach with internal business constituents and external developers, navigate ambiguity, and organize complex needs into functional, scalable systems and tools.

Responsibilities:

Project Execution & Technical Build

• Own quarterly operational projects end-to-end—from technical discovery to hands-on development, configuration, testing, and deployment
• Build automated workflows, integrations, and internal tools to reduce manual processes and improve cross-functional efficiency
• Implement and customize third-party platforms, tools, and SaaS solutions
• Design and evolve underlying data structures & schemas to ensure data accuracy and availability.
• Write or configure scripts, API calls, ETL processes, and system integrations using modern automation platforms and development best practices
• Stay current with new automation capabilities, integration options, and platform features

Cross-Functional Technical Partnership

• Building cross-functional relationships at all levels is a critical component of this role
• Work directly with business stakeholders to translate needs into executable technical solutions, providing clear options, tradeoffs, system impacts, and feasibility assessments
• Collaborate actively with Operations peers and leadership to iterate on solutions and refine requirements through the project lifecycle – team effort mindset!
• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, Production, Support, Marketing, HR, and Finance teams to ensure solutions fit seamlessly into broader workflows

Architecture & Roadmapping

• Maintain architectural direction for internal systems, integrations, and data flows to ensure long-term scalability
• Contribute to the operational roadmap with a focus on technical feasibility, platform capabilities, and emerging business needs
• Evaluate new technologies and tools, making recommendations and piloting hands-on proofs of concept
• Develop enablement plans, champion adoption and affinity for workflows and internal technology, with the goal of continuous improvement

Enablement, Documentation & Change Management

• Build documentation, workflow diagrams, and technical specs that support cross-functional clarity
• Develop and lead trainings for internal teams to ensure successful adoption of new tools and processes, with change management plans to ensure smooth transitions

Qualifications

• Minimum 6 years professional work experience in Business Operations, Enterprise Architecture, Solution Architecture, or Technical Product Management in a high-growth environment
• Solid experience designing and implementing business process automation and modeling Business Architecture scenarios
• Experience with API development, software integrations, and translating technical specs
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills, comfortable with data-driven approaches
• Growth mindset and an intrinsic desire to solve problems
• Strong interpersonal skills, flexible, energized by collaboration and human-centered leadership
• Adept communicator, with experience creating and presenting cohesive decks and diagrams
• Bonus if you have any of the following certifications or platform experience (or prior work experience)
• Project Mgmt: SAFe, PMP, CAPM, or PMI-ACP DBA
• Systems Certifications: JIRA, AWS, Airtable, Tableau, Box, Lucid
• CRM & IT Systems Administration

Physical Requirements

• Primarily office-based work setting
• Must be able to work onsite Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays from our office in El Segundo
• Standard work hours are from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM, however this role requires flexibility to accommodate team timezones
• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Ability to walk, stand, and move around the office as needed