Senior Research Operations Program Manager

Okta is The World’s Identity Company. We free everyone to safely use any technology— anywhere, on any device or app. Our Workforce and Customer Identity Clouds enable secure yet flexible access, authentication, and automation that transforms how people move through the digital world, putting Identity at the heart of business security and growth.

At Okta, we celebrate a variety of perspectives and experiences. We are not looking for someone who checks every single box - we’re looking for lifelong learners and people who can make us better with their unique experiences.

Join our team! We’re building a world where Identity belongs to you.

Position Description:

As a Senior Research Operations Program Manager at Okta, you will play a crucial role in building and enabling an impactful beta program. Via close collaboration across research, design, product, engineering teams, QA, and release teams, you will programmatically manage cross-functional teams’ research needs. You will proactively build and manage the operations for a beta program, collaborating with other cross functional functions to plan the necessary infrastructure for this programming to be successful, following compliance and governance best practices.

In this role, you’ll get to:

• Lead research operations and panel management for beta programming
• Work collaboratively across multiple teams to empower Okta staff to carry out impactful research
• Help manage the general pipeline of inbound research requests from various teams across the organization, including prioritizing new and ongoing projects
• Develop and maintain research documentation, templates and other informational resources for research methods, procedures and techniques
• Develop internal activities that help cultivate Okta’s broader user research culture and community
• Help teams access relevant knowledge through reviews of past research
• Support cross-functional team members to analyze, share, and store their findings and insights
• Grow your colleagues’ research skills and competencies through training workshops, presentations and documentation
• Conduct primary research with both Okta staff and potentially customers to inform the improvement of user research operations
• Ensure that user research programs and processes meet accessibility standards and promote inclusion among both Okta staff and customers
• Ensure compliance with ethical research standards as well as privacy policies and regulations
• Contribute to the continuing improvement of our research systems, such as our participant panel and research repository
• Manage and maintain a database of existing and prospective research participants, proactively building out our panel of participants as needed
• Provide leadership in program management methodologies and best practices, ensuring consistent and successful delivery of projects
• Identify and manage potential risks, develop mitigation strategies, and resolve project challenges proactively

Qualities that would make you a great candidate for this role:

• 5+ years of experience working in design, product or research operations roles
• A holistic and collaborative approach to solving problems
• Proactive approach to making research a team sport
• A strong sense of ownership, transparency, flexibility, and ability to self-initiate projects
• Experience building or managing beta and/or early release evaluation programs
• Experience working with QA and Release teams to ship product
• Experience managing customer panels and/or participant communities
• Knowledge of best practices for leveraging AI tooling, such as Claude and Gemini, to improve efficiency and streamline processes
• Knowledge of the practices and impacts of inclusive research and design approaches
• Strong organizational and multitasking skills to manage multiple programs simultaneously
• Strategic thinking and the ability to align multiple functions with organizational goals
• Excellent communication and collaboration abilities, with experience engaging with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Knowledge of UX research approaches and methodologies (including direct research experience to ensure quality of research)
• Project management and/or operational expertise to ensure programs are sustainable, scalable and delivered within constraints
• Comfortable with ambiguity and possess a desire to overcome obstacles
• A curious mind, a quick learner with a bias for action, and an attention to detail
• An ability to train/coach others to ensure the program runs successfully and the people who you’re guiding to execute research themselves are fully supported

Education

Bachelor's or Master’s degree in psychology, human-computer interaction, program management, business (or other related field) or equivalent work experience

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