The Opportunity
Creative Product Group is seeking a strategic Director of Strategy & Operations who is driven by clear achievements. This role sits at the center of a portfolio of AI-powered creative products — including Adobe Firefly, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and more — and is responsible for building the operating infrastructure that connects strategy to execution across a large, multi-product engineering and product organization.
In this role, you will work in close partnership with the Sr Director of CPG S&O — owning distinct, high-priority workstreams while collectively building the operating infrastructure for one of Adobe's most strategically important product organizations. This is not a support role; it is a senior leadership position with real ownership, executive visibility, and a mandate to build.
You will partner closely with Product, Engineering, Finance, Sales, Marketing, and Executive Leadership to translate strategy into operating rhythms, driving accountability across the leadership team, and ensuring that resources are deployed against the highest priorities.
What you'll do
Design, Implement, and Scale the Operating Model
Design and own the organization's operating cadence: QBRs, annual planning cycles, leadership syncs, and business reviews
Build and maintain systems, processes, and tools that enable the organization to operate at scale — from goal tracking and decision frameworks to cross-functional dependency management
Define decision rights, critical issue paths, and accountability mechanisms; standardize planning artifacts, critical metric dashboards, and reporting structures
Own objectives and key results development and accountability across the organization — establishing clear ownership, defining measurable outcomes, and ensuring consistent progress tracking
Own the operating forums and cadences for reviewing critical metric performance, ensuring leadership alignment on business health and progress against strategic goals
Lead the rollout of a shared operating model across multiple product areas — starting with the highest-priority product and expanding as the model proves out
Partner with embedded PGM and BizOps leads to drive adoption of shared frameworks while adapting for team-specific needs
Build a community of practice across the portfolio that creates coordination and consistency without centralizing control
**Drive Cross-Functional Execution Excellence **
Align Product, Engineering, Design, and GTM around shared objectives and measurable outcomes.
Ensure roadmap commitments are realistic, capacity-aligned, and financially justified.
Increase transparency and predictability across product development cycles.
Identify operational inefficiencies and implement process improvements to improve velocity and output quality.
Improve cross-functional handoffs and reduce execution friction.
Establish performance management mechanisms that surface risks early and enable course correction.
**Lead with Accountability **
Build and lead a high-performing product strategy and business operations team.
Set clear performance expectations and measurable objectives for the team.
Foster a culture of data-driven decision-making, ownership, and continuous improvement.
This role starts as a senior IC position with a clear path to building and leading a team as the operating model scales — the right person will shape what that team looks like.
What you'll need to succeed
12+ years of experience across product strategy, business operations, product management, finance, or consulting, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership capacity.
Demonstrated experience owning portfolio-level business performance and operational governance.
Proven track record of designing and running complex operating rhythms (including annual planning cycles, objectives and key results, and executive-level business reviews) with exceptional precision and follow-through.
Prior experience supporting a global large-scale product, engineering or technology organization is strongly preferred. A background in management consulting, investment banking, or an internal strategy/operations role at a technology company is a plus.
Demonstrated ability to operate within large, global, matrixed organizations and drive alignment across diverse collaborators.
Skills & Capabilities
Exceptional operational rigor: follow-through, accuracy, and bringing structure and rigor to complex, fast-moving initiatives.
Strong financial competence and comfort navigating forecasting and budget models.
Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to synthesize complex data into clear, actionable insights and executive-level recommendations.
Ability to build trust quickly across all levels of an organization, from individual contributors to C-suite executives.
Outstanding written and verbal communication skills; able to create crisp, executive-quality content quickly and under pressure.
Comfort operating with discretion on sensitive organizational and strategic matters.
Leadership Qualities
Calm under pressure, with the judgment to prioritize ruthlessly when everything feels urgent.
A natural collaborator who builds bridges across functions.
Committed to building an inclusive team culture where diverse perspectives are valued.
Education and Preferred Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or equivalent operational experience strongly preferred.
Prior experience at a large-scale SaaS, technology, or digital media company.
Experience in a creative, AI, or consumer software environment strongly preferred.
About Adobe
Adobe empowers everyone to create through innovative platforms and tools that unleash creativity, productivity and personalized customer experiences. Adobe’s 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 30,000+ employees worldwide are creating the future and raising the bar as we drive the next decade of growth. We’re 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.
** Let’s Adobe together**
At Adobe, we believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. Learn more about Adobe life, including our values and culture, focus on people, purpose and community, Adobe for All, comprehensive benefits programs, the stories we tell, the customers we serve, and how you can help us advance our mission of empowering everyone to create.
Adobe is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on gender, race or color, ethnicity or national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. Learn more.
Adobe aims to make our Careers website and recruiting process accessible to any and all users. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation to navigate our website or complete the application process, email accommodations@adobe.com or call +1 408-536-3015.
AI Use Guidelines for Interviews: 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.
At Adobe, we empower employees to innovate with AI — and we look for candidates eager to do the same. As part of the hiring experience, we provide clear guidance on where AI is encouraged during the process and where it’s restricted during live interviews. See how we think about AI in the hiring experience.
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 position is $169,700 -- $323,350 annually. Pay within this range varies by work location and may also depend on job-related knowledge, skills, and 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 $223,300 - $323,350
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.