Senior Program Manager
Senior Program Manager – Respawn Studios
Location: Vancouver, BC (Great Northern Way) / Hybrid
Organization: Respawn Entertainment (Electronic Arts)
Reports To: Head of Operations, Respawn Studios
Role Overview
Respawn Entertainment is looking for a Senior Program Manager to drive complex, interconnected strategic initiatives across our studio ecosystem. In this highly cross-functional role, you will partner with key leaders across internal game development disciplines—including Production, Technology, Art, and Product Management—as well as central Electronic Arts (EA) partner teams such as the CTO Organization, Talent Acquisition (TA), and Quality Verification & Services (QVS).
You will serve as an operational backbone for high-impact studio programs, initially focusing on AI Council Operations, Talent Recruiting & Resource Management Operations, and Outsourcing Vendor Operations. You will play a crucial role in bringing operational rigour, strategic alignment, and clear execution frameworks to help Respawn achieve its ambitious business and creative objectives.
Key Responsibilities
1. AI Council Operations & Governance
Program Leadership: Drive the operational cadence, roadmap execution, and agenda for Respawn’s AI Council, ensuring alignment with EA’s central AI initiatives (e.g., enterprise AI adoption and spend tracking).
Technology Adoption: Partner with central CTO teams and studio tech leadership to evaluate, deploy, and support internal AI and machine learning tools (including enterprise digital assistant frameworks and operational chargeback models).
Governance & Alignment: Establish clear workflows and policy guidelines for responsible AI usage across game teams, ensuring cross-discipline alignment between creative, technical, and legal stakeholders.
2. Talent Recruiting Operations
Respawn RMO Function: Setup and operate the Respawn Resource Management Organization (RMO) function to facilitate internal talent mobility initiatives and cross-studio staffing opportunities with other EA groups.
TA Partnership: Collaborate directly with EA Talent Acquisition and central enterprise partner teams to streamline recruitment & talent evaluation workflows and resolve hiring bottlenecks for high-priority franchise roles (e.g., specialized concept artists, technical leads, and core discipline directors).
Pipeline Optimization: Develop operational frameworks to track hiring velocity, forecast resourcing needs, and ensure studio leadership has visibility into key talent pipelines.
Onboarding & Operations: Enhance operational readiness for new talent integration across multi-studio projects and unique development team requirements.
3. Outsourcing Vendor & Partner Operations
Vendor Governance: Oversee operational frameworks and lifecycle management for external development vendors, co-development studios, and strategic technology partners.
Strategic Partnerships: Program manage external partner workstreams (such as live operations, technical integration, and collaborative workshops), ensuring clear scope delivery, SLAs, and integration with internal pipelines.
Financial & Contractual Tracking: Partner with finance and game team producers (ie. External Development Planning & Operations Manager) to oversee accurate vendor contracts, budget allocations, and performance evaluations.
4. Cross-Functional Execution & Stakeholder Alignment
Interconnected Initiatives: Program manage cross-cutting studio initiatives that bridge internal development teams (Production, Art, Tech, PM) and central EA partners (CTO, TA, QVS).
Executive Reporting & Communication: Deliver clear, concise executive updates, risk assessments, and status dashboards to studio leadership and enterprise partners.
Continuous Improvement: Continuously assess studio operational frameworks, identifying opportunities to standardize tools, reduce friction, and increase development throughput.
Qualifications
Experience: 8+ years of program management, project management, or operational leadership experience within the video game industry, technology sector, or complex creative environments.
Cross-Functional Leadership: Proven ability to lead by influence, build trust, and align diverse stakeholders ranging from creative directors and senior engineers to corporate central teams.
Operational Expertise: Demonstrated background in managing complex, multi-faceted operational programs such as vendor management, talent operations, resource management, or emerging technology integration.
Technical & Emerging Tech Familiarity: Understanding of game development lifecycles, game production pipelines, and enterprise AI tools/governance frameworks.
Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with experience presenting to senior executive leadership.
Problem Solving: Strong analytical, organizational, and risk-management capabilities with a bias for action in fast-paced environments.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience working within multi-studio game development frameworks or AAA franchise production environments.
Hands-on experience establishing governance programs, technology rollout plans, resource management/mobility functions, or strategic external partnership frameworks.
Familiarity with EA internal operational structures or similar large-scale publisher/studio operations.
