Learning Development Manager Jobs in California
Learning Development Manager jobs in California are among the most active in the country, concentrated in technology, healthcare, financial services, and entertainment, with openings at every level from program coordinator to director. Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego account for the largest share of postings, and established employers like Kaiser Permanente, Apple, and Salesforce maintain consistent learning and development functions across the state. Instructional design, leadership development, and learning technology integration are the most sought-after specialties right now. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
Find JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 46+ Learning Development Manager jobs
The Position
Genentech, a member of the Roche group and founder of the biotechnology industry, is dedicated to pursuing groundbreaking science to discover and develop medicines for people with serious and life-threatening diseases.
Who We Are
Genentech's Learning, Skills, and Development (L&SD) organization functions as the strategic capability engine for the U.S. Commercial, Medical Affairs and Government Affairs (CMG). We ensure our people and teams possess the skills and confidence to deliver medicines to patients faster.
Our Approach
We operate with a "fewer things, better" philosophy, focusing on high-impact outcomes rather than volume. Our multi-pillared framework drives this mission:
Strategic Roadmaps: Aligning field and functional learning with business goals.
Innovation: Benchmarking externally and leveraging AI-powered development tools.
Rigorous Measurement: Tracking proficiency against real-world business results.
Execution & Collaboration
We drive impact through a collaborative partnership between Therapeutic Area business partners, learning business partners, and instructional designers. This team prioritizes two critical areas:
Launch & Field Training: Driving readiness and execution.
Functional Training: Addressing perennial needs like leadership, therapeutic expertise, and transformation priorities (e.g., omnichannel, digital).
By embedding training into the daily flow of work, we enable our colleagues to achieve mastery and drive tangible business impact.
This role will report to the Head of U.S. Enterprise Strategy & Activation and Chief of Staff to Genentech CEO, and be a member of their Leadership team.
The Opportunity
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
As the strategic lead for the L&SD organization—you will be responsible for governing our operating model, defining the CMG learning strategy, and ensuring the department serves as a high-impact strategic partner to CMG.
You will lead the organization to an uninterrupted culture of readiness, agility, and skill mastery across CMG. Integrate and align learning strategy with business strategy. Anticipate future capabilities needed to execute on strategic priorities and lead cross-functional efforts to deliver business impact through strategically targeted learning initiatives that equip our people, optimize performance, and sustain desired behavior change.
Integrate and align learning strategy with business strategy by sensing the current and future capability needs across CMG; identify and seize opportunities to build new skills including AI driven tools and digital learning frameworks-to proactively close performance gaps and accelerate workforce readiness.
Oversee the design and execution of end-to-end launch readiness and field training strategies for Genentech’s most critical, next-generation therapeutic launches.
Direct the design and implementation of impactful development programs.
Collaborate and co-own our business outcomes with CMG leaders leveraging data-driven insights to identify opportunities for learning and performance to advance business goals.
Collaborate with People & Culture, business leaders, and other key partners to balance and integrate learning with other approaches to organizational capability growth.
Lead the establishment and ongoing monitoring of learning and performance measures and outcomes, analyzing data driven trends to adjust learning strategy and design as needed
Oversee the Strategic Workforce Strategy (SWP) for CMG by translating workforce analytics into an actionable commercial strategy, ensuring skill-gap insights directly inform resource allocation and business priorities.
Lead the 80 person department that delivers learning solutions to CMG team members to build new capabilities for success:
Inspire and coach continuous evolution in mindset and approaches and actively invest in our people to develop their capabilities for the future.
Attract, develop, and retain a multi-cultural team of capability professionals.
Foster a high-performance team culture rooted in clear expectations, psychological safety, shared accountability, and continuous feedback.
Provide day-to-day coaching, developmental conversations, robust succession planning, and professional growth pathways for all direct reports.
Lead by example by role-modeling Genentech's operating principles, fostering collaboration and ensuring their team's work is aligned with broader enterprise priorities
Who You Are
Required Skills and Experience:
Ability to define and champion a strategic vision for training excellence that aligns with Genentech's current and future product portfolio.
Exceptional influencing skills by having a proven track record of helping stakeholders address strategic opportunities and solve problems
Collective leadership across our full CMG network to set priorities, develop enterprise solutions, drive aligned execution, and ensure full ownership
Ability to adapt department direction and approach as organizational needs shift
Willing and able to challenge and catalyze the organization to continual evolution
Applied understanding of Systems Thinking, Root Cause Analysis, and Problem-Solving Methodologies to recommend learning solutions to complex business opportunities
Strong coach and developer of people
Digital-first mindset with a strong interest in emerging technologies, including AI and automation, and the ability to translate these innovations into practical learning programs that build organizational capability and accelerate business performance
Serves as the enterprise integrator of training across Genentech/Roche, creating alignment, consistency, and connectivity across functional, leadership, compliance, onboarding, and workforce development programs.
Demonstrates composure and strategic thinking in high-pressure scenarios, while balancing ability to challenge and push the organizational boundaries and advocating for innovative changes
Exemplifies the CMG Behaviors:
Go Fast To Win - Learn, decide, and execute quickly
Say It In The Room - Speak openly, resolve issues together and follow through
Celebrate Learning - Learn from failure, celebrate the journey and keep the patient at the center
Education and Experience
Bachelor’s Degree required. Advanced degree in Education, Organizational Psychology, Human Capital Management, or related field preferred
15+ years of progressive leadership experience in Learning & Development, Leadership Development, Talent Management, Organizational Development, or related disciplines. Life sciences or pharmaceutical industry preferred
5+ years in corporate learning or similar role with experience in learning and development, field readiness, or organizational effectiveness at a senior level
Experience building enterprise-wide leadership development strategies in high-growth and commercial stage organizations
Highly adaptable, resilient with strong leadership presence, self-awareness, and sound judgment
Proven ability to design and curate high-performance learning journeys by anticipating future of learning needs and channels.
Proven ability to identify opportunities for learning and performance to yield measurable business outcomes
Expert knowledge of Learning Sciences, Instructional Design, Modern Learning Experience Tools and Methodologies
Proven ability to establish and monitor learning and performance measures, analyzing trends to adjust learning strategy and design as needed
Partner with Customer Engagement, Marketing, Public Affairs and Access, and Medical to ensure training is tightly aligned to business strategy, customer needs, and field realities in complex markets.
Location: This position is based in South San Francisco and relocation benefits are available.
The expected salary range for this position based on the primary location of South San Francisco, CA is $233,450 - $433,550 USD Annual. Actual pay will be determined based on experience, qualifications, geographic location, and other job-related factors permitted by law. A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and Company performance. This position also qualifies for the benefits detailed at the link provided below.
Benefits
#LI-NN1
Genentech is an equal opportunity employer. It is our policy and practice to employ, promote, and otherwise treat any and all employees and applicants on the basis of merit, qualifications, and competence. The company's policy prohibits unlawful discrimination, including but not limited to, discrimination on the basis of Protected Veteran status, individuals with disabilities status, and consistent with all federal, state, or local laws.
If you have a disability and need an accommodation in relation to the online application process, please contact us by completing this form Accommodations for Applicants.
The Position
Genentech, a member of the Roche group and founder of the biotechnology industry, is dedicated to pursuing groundbreaking science to discover and develop medicines for people with serious and life-threatening diseases.
Who We Are
Genentech's Learning, Skills, and Development (L&SD) organization functions as the strategic capability engine for the U.S. Commercial, Medical Affairs and Government Affairs (CMG). We ensure our people and teams possess the skills and confidence to deliver medicines to patients faster.
Our Approach
We operate with a "fewer things, better" philosophy, focusing on high-impact outcomes rather than volume. Our multi-pillared framework drives this mission:
Strategic Roadmaps: Aligning field and functional learning with business goals.
Innovation: Benchmarking externally and leveraging AI-powered development tools.
Rigorous Measurement: Tracking proficiency against real-world business results.
Execution & Collaboration
We drive impact through a collaborative partnership between Therapeutic Area business partners, learning business partners, and instructional designers. This team prioritizes two critical areas:
Launch & Field Training: Driving readiness and execution.
Functional Training: Addressing perennial needs like leadership, therapeutic expertise, and transformation priorities (e.g., omnichannel, digital).
By embedding training into the daily flow of work, we enable our colleagues to achieve mastery and drive tangible business impact.
This role will report to the Head of U.S. Enterprise Strategy & Activation and Chief of Staff to Genentech CEO, and be a member of their Leadership team.
The Opportunity
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
As the strategic lead for the L&SD organization—you will be responsible for governing our operating model, defining the CMG learning strategy, and ensuring the department serves as a high-impact strategic partner to CMG.
You will lead the organization to an uninterrupted culture of readiness, agility, and skill mastery across CMG. Integrate and align learning strategy with business strategy. Anticipate future capabilities needed to execute on strategic priorities and lead cross-functional efforts to deliver business impact through strategically targeted learning initiatives that equip our people, optimize performance, and sustain desired behavior change.
Integrate and align learning strategy with business strategy by sensing the current and future capability needs across CMG; identify and seize opportunities to build new skills including AI driven tools and digital learning frameworks-to proactively close performance gaps and accelerate workforce readiness.
Oversee the design and execution of end-to-end launch readiness and field training strategies for Genentech’s most critical, next-generation therapeutic launches.
Direct the design and implementation of impactful development programs.
Collaborate and co-own our business outcomes with CMG leaders leveraging data-driven insights to identify opportunities for learning and performance to advance business goals.
Collaborate with People & Culture, business leaders, and other key partners to balance and integrate learning with other approaches to organizational capability growth.
Lead the establishment and ongoing monitoring of learning and performance measures and outcomes, analyzing data driven trends to adjust learning strategy and design as needed
Oversee the Strategic Workforce Strategy (SWP) for CMG by translating workforce analytics into an actionable commercial strategy, ensuring skill-gap insights directly inform resource allocation and business priorities.
Lead the 80 person department that delivers learning solutions to CMG team members to build new capabilities for success:
Inspire and coach continuous evolution in mindset and approaches and actively invest in our people to develop their capabilities for the future.
Attract, develop, and retain a multi-cultural team of capability professionals.
Foster a high-performance team culture rooted in clear expectations, psychological safety, shared accountability, and continuous feedback.
Provide day-to-day coaching, developmental conversations, robust succession planning, and professional growth pathways for all direct reports.
Lead by example by role-modeling Genentech's operating principles, fostering collaboration and ensuring their team's work is aligned with broader enterprise priorities
Who You Are
Required Skills and Experience:
Ability to define and champion a strategic vision for training excellence that aligns with Genentech's current and future product portfolio.
Exceptional influencing skills by having a proven track record of helping stakeholders address strategic opportunities and solve problems
Collective leadership across our full CMG network to set priorities, develop enterprise solutions, drive aligned execution, and ensure full ownership
Ability to adapt department direction and approach as organizational needs shift
Willing and able to challenge and catalyze the organization to continual evolution
Applied understanding of Systems Thinking, Root Cause Analysis, and Problem-Solving Methodologies to recommend learning solutions to complex business opportunities
Strong coach and developer of people
Digital-first mindset with a strong interest in emerging technologies, including AI and automation, and the ability to translate these innovations into practical learning programs that build organizational capability and accelerate business performance
Serves as the enterprise integrator of training across Genentech/Roche, creating alignment, consistency, and connectivity across functional, leadership, compliance, onboarding, and workforce development programs.
Demonstrates composure and strategic thinking in high-pressure scenarios, while balancing ability to challenge and push the organizational boundaries and advocating for innovative changes
Exemplifies the CMG Behaviors:
Go Fast To Win - Learn, decide, and execute quickly
Say It In The Room - Speak openly, resolve issues together and follow through
Celebrate Learning - Learn from failure, celebrate the journey and keep the patient at the center
Education and Experience
Bachelor’s Degree required. Advanced degree in Education, Organizational Psychology, Human Capital Management, or related field preferred
15+ years of progressive leadership experience in Learning & Development, Leadership Development, Talent Management, Organizational Development, or related disciplines. Life sciences or pharmaceutical industry preferred
5+ years in corporate learning or similar role with experience in learning and development, field readiness, or organizational effectiveness at a senior level
Experience building enterprise-wide leadership development strategies in high-growth and commercial stage organizations
Highly adaptable, resilient with strong leadership presence, self-awareness, and sound judgment
Proven ability to design and curate high-performance learning journeys by anticipating future of learning needs and channels.
Proven ability to identify opportunities for learning and performance to yield measurable business outcomes
Expert knowledge of Learning Sciences, Instructional Design, Modern Learning Experience Tools and Methodologies
Proven ability to establish and monitor learning and performance measures, analyzing trends to adjust learning strategy and design as needed
Partner with Customer Engagement, Marketing, Public Affairs and Access, and Medical to ensure training is tightly aligned to business strategy, customer needs, and field realities in complex markets.
Location: This position is based in South San Francisco and relocation benefits are available.
The expected salary range for this position based on the primary location of South San Francisco, CA is $233,450 - $433,550 USD Annual. Actual pay will be determined based on experience, qualifications, geographic location, and other job-related factors permitted by law. A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and Company performance. This position also qualifies for the benefits detailed at the link provided below.
Benefits
#LI-NN1
Genentech is an equal opportunity employer. It is our policy and practice to employ, promote, and otherwise treat any and all employees and applicants on the basis of merit, qualifications, and competence. The company's policy prohibits unlawful discrimination, including but not limited to, discrimination on the basis of Protected Veteran status, individuals with disabilities status, and consistent with all federal, state, or local laws.
If you have a disability and need an accommodation in relation to the online application process, please contact us by completing this form Accommodations for Applicants.
See All 46 Learning Development Manager Jobs in California
Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find JobsLearning Development Manager Jobs by City in California
Where California roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Learning Development Manager Job Market in California
A snapshot from current California openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Automotive
- Technology & Software
- Energy
- Trucking
- Fintech
What California Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in learning development manager jobs across California.
- Bachelor's degree in education, organizational development, instructional design, or a related field
- Demonstrated experience designing and delivering enterprise-wide training programs or curricula
- Proficiency with learning management systems such as Workday Learning, Cornerstone, or SAP SuccessFactors
- Strong project management skills and ability to lead cross-functional teams across large California organizations
- Experience applying adult learning theory and instructional design frameworks like ADDIE or SAM
- Familiarity with e-learning authoring tools such as Articulate 360, Adobe Captivate, or similar platforms
Learning Development Manager Jobs in California: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a learning development manager in California?
Most California employers require a bachelor's degree in instructional design, organizational development, human resources, or education, with a master's degree preferred at larger companies. California has no state-issued license for this role, but certifications such as the ATD Certified Professional in Talent Development or the CPLP credential meaningfully strengthen applications. The typical path moves from training coordinator or instructional designer roles into management, often within large California technology, healthcare, or financial services organizations.
How much do learning development managers make in California?
Learning development managers in California earn a median of about $156,260 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $96,900 for the lowest 10% to over $274,960 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire learning development managers in California?
Employers hiring learning development managers in California right now include Intuit, Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies, and Zoox, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. California's concentration of large technology headquarters, major health systems, and global financial institutions means demand for learning development managers remains steady throughout the year.
Which California cities have the most learning development manager jobs?
San Diego, Irvine, and Los Angeles have the most learning development manager openings in California right now. The distribution reflects the state's major economic centers: the San Francisco Bay Area's density of technology headquarters, Los Angeles's mix of entertainment studios and healthcare systems, and San Diego's growing biotech and defense sectors all generate consistent demand for professionals who can build and scale learning programs.
Are there remote learning development manager jobs in California?
Yes, and more than most fields. About 65% of learning development manager openings tied to California are remote or hybrid as of August 2026, reflecting how much of the work, including curriculum design, LMS administration, and virtual facilitation, can be done fully online. Roles that involve in-person onboarding programs or hands-on leadership workshops are more likely to require on-site presence at least part of the week.
How can I get hired as a learning development manager in California with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is securing a training coordinator, learning specialist, or instructional designer role first, then moving into management after building a portfolio of programs. Large California employers like Kaiser Permanente, Wells Fargo, and major UC system campuses run rotational HR and talent development programs that accept candidates with limited direct experience. A completed ATD certification or a strong portfolio of e-learning modules built with Articulate or Adobe Captivate can substitute meaningfully for years of experience in California hiring conversations.
Where can I find and apply to learning development manager jobs in California?
You can find and apply to learning development manager jobs in California on Migrate Mate, which lists current California openings updated regularly. Search the listings, find the roles that match your experience and location preferences, and apply directly to the ones that fit.
See All 46 Learning Development Manager Jobs in California
Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Jobs