Senior Manager, Technology Strategy & Planning
Justworks · New York City · $188,000–$242,000 (stated in the posting)
Who We Are
At Justworks, you’ll enjoy a welcoming and casual environment, great benefits, wellness program offerings, company retreats, and the ability to interact with and learn from leaders in the startup community. We work hard and care about our most prized asset - our people.
We’re helping businesses get off the ground by enabling them to focus on running their business. We solve HR issues. We’re data-driven and never stop iterating. If you’d like to work in a supportive, entrepreneurial environment, are interested in building something meaningful and having fun while doing it, we’d love to hear from you.
We're united by shared goals and shared motivations at Justworks. These are best summed up in our company values, which are reflected in our product and in our team.
If this sounds like you, you’ll fit right in.
About the team
The Justworks Technology Strategy & Operations team helps our Product, Engineering, Design, and Data organizations operate as a connected, high-performing Technology Division. We work across teams and organizational boundaries to connect business strategy with Technology priorities, strengthen how leaders plan and make decisions, and build the systems that enable effective execution as Justworks scales.
Our team operates at the intersection of strategy, technology, and organizational operations. We partner closely with Technology leadership to improve organizational performance, align resources with priorities, and create the clarity and accountability needed to deliver meaningful business outcomes.
About the role
As the Senior Manager, Technology Strategy & Planning, you'll play a critical role in shaping how Justworks' Technology Division plans, operates, and delivers against its strategic priorities. Reporting to the Head of Technology Strategy & Operations, you'll lead the planning processes, operating mechanisms, and cross-functional initiatives that connect our Product, Engineering, Design, and Data organizations.
You'll partner closely with senior Technology leaders to translate strategic objectives into organizational plans, evaluate priorities and resource tradeoffs, and improve visibility into performance and execution. You'll develop a deep understanding of our Product and Engineering organizations, including their roadmaps, technical investments, operating models, and organizational constraints, to help leaders make informed decisions about where and how we invest.
This is a hands-on leadership role that requires both strategic judgment and operational depth. You'll independently identify organizational challenges, develop recommendations, and drive meaningful improvements to how Technology operates. You'll be responsible for building and continuously evolving the systems that enable effective planning, decision-making, and accountability across the division.
Success in this role means going beyond managing processes or reporting on progress. You'll be expected to challenge assumptions, connect information across teams, anticipate organizational needs, and create durable solutions that help Technology operate more effectively as the business grows.
Responsibilities
- Lead Technology strategic planning: Own and continuously improve annual and quarterly planning processes, translating divisional priorities into clear objectives, operating plans, milestones, and measures of success across Product, Engineering, Design, and Data.
- Drive organizational and resource planning: Partner with Technology leaders, Finance, and People to connect strategic priorities with headcount, organizational capacity, and resource allocation. Develop the analysis and recommendations needed to inform planning and investment tradeoffs.
- Own Technology's operating cadence: Design, lead, and evolve the division's leadership forums, business reviews, planning cycles, and decision-making mechanisms to ensure effective alignment, accountability, and follow-through.
- Strengthen organizational performance management: Establish and improve the metrics, reporting, and analytical frameworks that provide visibility into Technology's performance, strategic commitments, organizational health, and execution risks. Translate insights into actionable recommendations for leadership.
- Partner deeply with Product and Engineering leadership: Understand Product strategy, technical roadmaps, Engineering investments, and organizational dependencies to identify opportunities for improved prioritization, sequencing, resource alignment, and cross-functional execution.
- Lead strategic operational initiatives: Independently identify, scope, and drive cross-functional initiatives that improve Technology's operating model, organizational capabilities, and ways of working. Lead work from problem definition through implementation and measurable outcomes.
- Enable executive decision-making: Synthesize complex business, technical, and organizational information into clear executive narratives, recommendations, and decision materials. Anticipate the questions and tradeoffs leadership needs to address and ensure decisions translate into action.
- Connect Technology with the broader business: Partner with Corporate Strategy, Finance, People, Operations, Revenue, and other functions to align Technology planning, investments, and operating priorities with company-wide objectives.
- Drive continuous operational improvement: Identify systemic inefficiencies, unclear ownership, and organizational friction. Design scalable solutions that simplify how teams work together, improve decision-making, and strengthen execution without introducing unnecessary process.
- Lead organizational change: Partner with Technology leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to implement changes to operating models, planning practices, organizational processes, and communication mechanisms, ensuring adoption and sustained impact.
- Build organizational capabilities: Develop repeatable frameworks, tools, and operating practices that improve how Technology functions at scale, creating systems that continue delivering value beyond individual initiatives or leadership involvement.
What you will need
- 7+ years of experience in Technology Strategy, Product Strategy & Operations, Business Operations, strategic planning, management consulting, or related roles within a technology-driven organization.
- Demonstrated experience working within or closely alongside Product and Engineering organizations, with a strong understanding of how Product strategy, technical roadmaps, Engineering investments, and organizational capacity connect to business outcomes.
- Strong technical fluency, including an understanding of software development lifecycles, platform investments, technical dependencies, Engineering constraints, and emerging technologies. Ability to engage credibly with Product and Engineering leaders and translate technical considerations into strategic and operational implications.
- Experience owning and improving strategic planning processes, organizational operating models, business reviews, performance management systems, and cross-functional decision-making mechanisms.
- Strong business and financial acumen, including experience evaluating resource allocation, organizational capacity, investment tradeoffs, and operational performance.
- Demonstrated ability to independently structure ambiguous business and organizational problems, develop informed recommendations, and lead complex initiatives through implementation.
- Experience influencing senior and executive stakeholders, navigating competing priorities, challenging assumptions constructively, and driving decisions across organizational boundaries.
- Strong analytical capabilities, with experience developing metrics, evaluating organizational performance, and using quantitative and qualitative data to inform strategic decisions. Advanced spreadsheet skills are expected; experience with SQL or business intelligence tools is a plus.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to synthesize complex technical, business, and organizational information into compelling executive narratives and actionable recommendations.
- Strong systems thinking and organizational judgment, with the ability to identify dependencies, anticipate second-order impacts, and design solutions that improve organizational performance at scale.
- Experience driving organizational change, establishing new operating practices, and building alignment across stakeholders with different priorities and incentives.
- Demonstrated leadership capabilities, including the ability to establish accountability, coach others, and lead cross-functional teams through complex organizational challenges.
- A high degree of ownership, intellectual curiosity, adaptability, and comfort operating independently in ambiguous and rapidly evolving environments.
- Experience in high-growth technology organizations or complex industries such as FinTech, Healthcare, or HRTech is a plus.
The base wage range for this position based in our New York City Office is targeted at $188,000.00 - $242,000.00 per year.
Actual compensation is based on multiple factors that are unique to each candidate, including and not limited to skill set, level of relevant experience, and specific work location. Salary ranges for positions based in other locations may differ based on the cost of labor in that location.
For more information about Justworks’ Total Reward Philosophy, including all of the perks and benefits we are proud to offer our team members, please visit Total Rewards @ Justworks.
Diversity At Justworks
Justworks is committed to maintaining a workplace where diversity of identity, culture, and life experience is the norm and is celebrated authentically and respected consistently. Diversity in our work, our people, and our product drives creativity and innovation, entrepreneurial leadership and integrity, competitiveness, and collaboration throughout our business and in the market. We depend on our differences to make our team stronger, our workplace more dynamic, and our product accessible to all of our customers.
We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer open to all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital or familial status, disability, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status. Justworks is fully dedicated to providing necessary support to candidates with disabilities who may require reasonable accommodations. We also provide reasonable accommodations to employees based on their sincerely held religious beliefs, as well as for other covered reasons consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. If you're in need of a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at accommodations@justworks.com. Your comfort and success matter to us, and we're here to ensure an inclusive experience.