Director of R&D Operations

Summary

Join PandaDoc as the Director of R&D Operations and lead a team focused on operational excellence across Engineering, Product, and Design. This foundational role will shape the organization's scaling, bringing strategic alignment and operational efficiency to 40+ cross-functional teams. Reporting to the VP of Engineering, you will be the connective tissue across EPD, developing systems and culture to foster innovation and impactful solutions. You will help PandaDoc scale with intention, bringing clarity, efficiency, and autonomy to the teams building its software. This role involves strategic leadership, operational excellence, and managing systems, tooling, and data. You will establish and oversee the EPD Ops function, drive alignment, lead cross-functional initiatives, streamline workflows, foster shared accountability, and measure success using defined KPIs.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in product/EPD operational roles in fast-paced environments, with 4+ years leading and scaling high-performing teams
• Proven success managing complex cross-functional programs with structured execution and stakeholder alignment
• Demonstrated ability to own initiatives end-to-end while empowering teams to drive outcomes collaboratively
• Track record of successful change management—bringing durable process and tooling improvements to scaling teams
• Deep empathy for internal users (PMs, designers, engineers) and a customer-first mindset
• Systems thinker with a knack for solving ambiguous challenges and building alignment across functions
• Experience implementing and evolving operating models at scale
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills—confident presenting to executive stakeholders and mentoring team members

Responsibilities

• Establish and oversee the EPD Ops function: Develop a unified strategy for Engineering, Product and Design Operations at scale, supporting 40+ teams
• Drive alignment at scale: Ensure EPD operations are aligned with the organization's strategic goals, even as the teams grow and evolve
• Lead cross-functional initiatives: Oversee large, cross-functional programs that span multiple teams, ensuring efficiency and seamless delivery
• Streamline workflows: Create and refine processes that support a high-performing, interconnected organization of 40+ teams, as well as partnership with cross-functional teams such as Sales and Support
• Foster shared accountability: Design frameworks that promote ownership and collaboration across Product, Design, and Engineering teams at scale
• Measure success: Define KPIs to track the effectiveness of EPD operations across multiple teams, focusing on outcomes like time to market and team satisfaction
• Evaluate and implement tools: Identify, evaluate and implement tools that enhance EPD planning, efficiency, collaboration and reporting at scale
• Drive continuous improvement: Lead the development of scalable processes and systems to optimize EPD delivery and collaboration
• Knowledge management: Maintain a centralized knowledge hub of operational best practices, onboarding resources, and documentation

Benefits

• An honest, open culture that emphasizes feedback and promotes professional and personal development
• An opportunity to work remotely— our team is distributed worldwide, from Warsaw to Lisbon, from Florida to California. However, we have offices in Lisbon, Warsaw, and Kyiv and you’re welcomed to work from them and meet with other pandas in person
• 6 self-care days
• A competitive salary