Principal, Strategic Operations

First American
: $193,325 - $241,650 Annual
sick time, 401(k)
United States, California, Santa Ana
1 First American Way (Show on map)
Nov 18, 2024
Who We Are Join a team that puts its People First! Since 1889, First American (NYSE: FAF) has held an unwavering belief in its people. They are passionate about what they do, and we are equally passionate about fostering an environment where all feel welcome, supported, and empowered to be innovative and reach their full potential. Our inclusive, people-first culture has earned our company numerous accolades, including being named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list for nine consecutive years. We have also earned awards as a best place to work for women, diversity and LGBTQ+ employees, and have been included on more than 50 regional best places to work lists. First American will always strive to be a great place to work, for all. For more information, please visit www.careers.firstam.com. What We Do As a Strategic Operations Principal, you will play a critical role in the Product and Technology organization. You will support the maturation of product teams' operational efficiency, effectiveness, and overall product success. You will support the optimization of processes, facilitate communication and cross-collaboration, provide tools and data that help inform product decisions, ensure teams are aligned towards strategic goals, and help drive the successful execution of our roadmap. You will work closely with product, engineering, functional leaders, and other internal stakeholders to champion a culture of continuous improvement and learning, leveraging insights from data and customers to improve value delivery and increase customer satisfaction. What You'll Accomplish Develop and implement strategic operations strategies that align with the organization's goals and objectives and drive operational excellence. Develop and implement processes for better cross-functional collaboration, communication, and workflow management, ensuring teams are aligned and efficient. Find synergies, opportunities, and challenges in how we communicate across and between product, engineering, and key stakeholders to ensure alignment and clarity. Facilitate the adoption of best practices in customer feedback loops and data-driven decision-making. Define and implement best practices around goal-setting frameworks such as OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to help teams improve their ability to determine and define ambitious goals and track their outcomes with measurable results. What You'll Bring 8+ years of experience in product management, process improvement, change management or operations, with at least 3 years in a leadership role. Proven track record of identifying and mitigating process and operational risks that may impact product delivery timelines, quality, or customer satisfaction. Ability to proactively address issues and bottlenecks to ensure smooth strategic operations. Strong understanding of product development processes and project management tools. Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, with the ability to interpret data and insights to inform strategies. Outstanding communication and interpersonal abilities, capable of working effectively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders at all levels. Experience with process improvement, operational efficiency, and scaling in a fast-paced environment. Ability to facilitate strategic prioritization and product intake to bridge strategy and execution, ensuring plans translate into effective actions. A customer-centric mindset, with a focus on delivering exceptional value and experience through product offerings. Excellent leadership and persuasion skills and the ability to lead through influence without direct authority. Proficiency with standard MS productivity tools (Office, Visio, and Teams), web analytics and pathing tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Pendo, Heap, Real Story), collaboration tools (e.g., Mural, Miro), Product management (e.g., Jira, Confluence, etc.). College degree and minimum 8 years of experience in product, engineering, operations, or a related field. Pay Range: $193,325 - $241,650 Annually This hiring range is a reasonable estimate of the base pay range for this position at the time of posting. Pay is based on a number of factors which may include job-related knowledge, skills, experience, business requirements, and geographic location. What We Offer By choice, we don't simply accept individuality - we embrace it, we support it, and we thrive on it! Our People First Culture celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion not simply because it's the right thing to do, but also because it's the key to our success. We are proud to foster an authentic and inclusive workplace For All. You are free and encouraged to bring your entire, unique self to work. First American is an equal opportunity employer in every sense of the term. Based on eligibility, First American offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401k, PTO/paid sick leave and other great benefits like an employee stock purchase plan.