Senior Program Manager, Trust & Safety
CharacterAI
Job Summary
As a Senior Trust & Safety Program Manager, you will lead high-impact safety programs, partnering with engineering, operations, policy, and research. You will shape program strategy, align teams, and drive end-to-end delivery for critical safety initiatives, ensuring safer AI experiences at scale. This role involves managing complex cross-functional efforts, influencing roadmap prioritization, and serving as a strategic advisor to leadership.
Must Have
- Lead planning and execution of major Trust & Safety initiatives.
- Build structures for team alignment and drive cross-functional accountability.
- Influence roadmap prioritization for safety requirements.
- Manage vendors and external partners to performance expectations.
- 7-10 years experience in program management, operations, or product execution.
- 3-4 years minimum experience in Trust & Safety, content moderation, or risk management.
- Proven ability to lead complex, multi-team initiatives.
- Strong communication skills to bridge technical and non-technical partners.
- Ability to break down ambiguous spaces into clear next steps and drive alignment.
Good to Have
- Familiarity with AI safety concepts, annotation pipelines, or classifier development.
- Comfort with SQL, dashboards, or data tools for measuring program impact.
- Understanding of the AI entertainment space or Character.AI ecosystem.
Perks & Benefits
- Top-notch health coverage for you & your family, with majority of the premium covered
- Generous 401(K) contribution
- Incredible paid leave for new parents (up to 20 weeks)
- 4 weeks of PTO
- Daily in-office catering plus a monthly Doordash stipend
- Monthly wellness stipend
Job Description
About the Role
We’re hiring a Senior Trust & Safety Program Manager to lead high-impact safety programs across the company. In this role you’ll partner closely with engineering, operations, policy, and research to shape program strategy, align teams, and drive end-to-end delivery for critical safety initiatives. You’ll own complex cross-functional efforts, bring structure to ambiguity, and help the organization ship safer, reliable AI experiences at scale. You’ll work internally across technical and non-technical teams, and externally with vendors, partners, and safety experts to move our safety strategy forward.
This role is a good match for someone who enjoys guiding teams through complexity, is comfortable influencing without authority, and can juggle multiple priorities while staying focused on outcomes. You’ll often be the connective tissue between groups with different goals or constraints, and you should be energized by helping them land on shared direction. You’ll need to anticipate risk early, make tradeoffs clear, and help teams move forward even when the path isn’t fully defined.
What You’ll Do
- Lead planning and execution of major Trust & Safety initiatives spanning moderation, detection systems, vendor workflows, and policy impact
- Build structures that keep teams aligned: scopes, goals, requirements, timelines, risks, and success measures
- Influence roadmap prioritization in partnership with product, eng, and research, ensuring safety requirements are fully understood and addressed
- Drive cross-functional accountability and communication across internal teams and external partners
- Track key program metrics and define reporting that helps leadership see progress, risk, and resourcing needs
- Manage vendors and external partners to performance expectations and quality standards
- Develop repeatable frameworks and operational patterns that improve execution quality across the Trust & Safety portfolio
- Serve as a strategic advisor to leaders on prioritization, sequencing, and investment decisions
What You’ll Bring
- 7–10 years of experience in program management, operations, or product execution in a fast-moving tech environment
- Experience in Trust & Safety, content moderation, risk management, or crisis response (3–4 years minimum)
- Proven ability to lead complex, multi-team initiatives from inception through delivery
- Strong communication skills and the ability to bridge technical and non-technical partners
- Experience identifying, vetting, and managing external vendors, partners, and safety experts
- Ability to break down ambiguous spaces into clear next steps and drive alignment
- Deep interest in Trust & Safety, responsible AI, and building safer products at scale
Nice to Have
- Familiarity with AI safety concepts, annotation pipelines, or classifier development
- Comfort with SQL, dashboards, or data tools for measuring program impact
- Understanding of the AI entertainment space or Character.AI ecosystem