Job Description:

Sr. Manager, Technical Operations:

Rakuten International manages seven businesses and employs over 4,000 people worldwide. Renowned for its leadership and innovation, the brand operates across e-commerce, digital content, advertising, entertainment, and communications, offering the joy of discovery and accessibility to over 1 billion members globally. Our teams are dedicated to fulfilling the company’s mission of delighting merchants and customers through innovation, optimism, and collaboration.

Cartera, a Rakuten company and a pioneer in loyalty shopping, is a subsidiary of the global Internet services leader. We are seeking an experienced, skilled, and passionate individual to join our Technical Operations team. Cartera’s loyalty solutions support top-tier companies that use loyalty programs to engage and reward their members. We enable those members to earn more rewards by shopping with over 1,000 online and in-store retailers. If you’re looking to be part of a dynamic team, we encourage you to apply. Cartera is headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Your opportunity
We are looking for an experienced Sr. Manager, Technical Operations to oversee complex, cross-functional operations of our various technology platforms. This position requires a technically skilled individual who can quickly adapt, combining technical expertise with strong leadership and exceptional communication abilities. The successful candidate will become part of the Technical Operations Department, which plays a key role at Cartera by focusing on three main areas: day-to-day operation of our technology platforms,  requirement gathering related to process optimization, and the organization’s agile methodology.

Responsibilities

• Act as a strategic partner to internal stakeholders, offering guidance and expertise across a wide range of technical operations and applications.
• Work closely with engineering leaders and software development teams to deliver effective operations and process solutions that support key business objectives.
• Monitor, report, and communicate on operations and complex projects to ensure efficient resource utilization through careful planning, execution, and continuous improvement.
• Analyze and solve technical and operational challenges, negotiating solutions that balance technical feasibility with business objectives.
• Excel in ambiguous environments by collaborating with teams across the organization to identify challenges, develop innovative solutions, and deliver impactful results.
• Effectively communicate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences, ensuring clarity and alignment among stakeholders.
• Interests and previous demonstrated ability to learn and become proficient at system monitoring tools.

Required Qualifications:

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in a technical operations role, leading technical operations for large, cross-functional technical platforms, along with a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field, MIS or Operations Management.
• Proven technical experience in the operations of cloud infrastructure and systems.
• Experience in systems analysis, including requirements gathering and identifying opportunities to optimize and enhance processes.
• Exceptional leadership skills, including advanced problem-solving, negotiation, influence, and analytical abilities.
• Outstanding communication skills, with the ability to clearly and concisely convey complex technical concepts.
• Highly intelligent, dedicated, and quick to learn, with a strong commitment to uniting teams and driving success.
• Proficient in Microsoft products, with exceptional skills in Excel. Basic data analytics skills related to process reliabilities, cost optimization and system log file analysis.
• Ability to work in the Lexington, MA office.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Hands-on technical proficiency with Linux systems, including server configuration, virtualization, containers, clustering, observability, and health monitoring.
• Experience with Datadog or similar observability tools, collaborating with SMEs to identify key data points and implement effective monitoring solutions.
• Experience with Atlassian products, particularly Jira and Confluence, including building and customizing solutions for engineering teams.
• Proficient in organizing tasks and creating project plans within a software development organization.
• Experience in systems analysis, including requirements gathering and identifying opportunities to optimize and enhance processes.
• Familiarity with Agile or other project management methodologies, with experience serving as a Scrum Master or team member in a software development organization.
• Proven track record of achieving results in ambiguous, fast-paced environments.

Five Principles for Success
Our worldwide practices describe specific behaviors that make Rakuten unique and united across the world. We expect Rakuten employees to model these 5 Shugi Principles of Success.

Always improve, Always Advance - Only be satisfied with complete success - Kaizen
Passionately Professional - Take an uncompromising approach to your work and be determined to be the best
Hypothesize - Practice - Validate – Shikumika - Use the Rakuten Cycle to succeed in unknown territory
Maximize Customer Satisfaction - The greatest satisfaction for our teams is seeing their customers smile
Speed!! Speed!! Speed!! - Always be conscious of time - take charge, set clear goals, and engage your team

At the time of posting, Rakuten expects the base compensation for this role to be within the range shown below. Individual compensation will vary based on job-related factors, including the skills, qualifications, and experience of the successful candidate as well as business need and geographic location. The successful applicant for this role will be eligible for discretionary bonus, health, vision, dental insurance, 401k matching, PTO, Volunteer Time Off (VTO), and other employee benefits as the company implements.

USD $72,090.00 - $123,876.00 annually