Localization Project Manager: Guide for Companies and Individuals

Teams face many questions when it comes to localization. Once you decide to scale your product internationally, you have a lot of work to do. Besides deciding on the target market, languages, and budget, you will need to find software, prepare your code, upload the files, find translators, ensure they won’t crush the code, have all the resources to provide high-quality translations, and more.

In most cases, coordinating all of these efforts is the job of a dedicated person with management skills, understanding how to automate content updates and set up a continuous localization process.

Looking for a localization platform to connect your development, translation, design and marketing teams? Check out Crowdin.

Why is the job of a localization project manager (LPM) so crucial for a product to succeed internationally? What responsibilities does the role carry? Which skills and tools are essential for modern localization managers to master? And finally, what is the career path and salary potential for the related roles?

Who Is a Localization Project Manager?

A localization project manager (LPM) is a person responsible for the workflow of adapting a product for different markets (localization in other words). They connect development, design, marketing, and translation teams together.

Translator vs. Localization PM

While a translator focuses on converting words from one language to another, the localization PM focuses on the process that makes translation quality fast and effective. The LPM manages the budget, the timeline, the software tools, and the communication between all stakeholders.

Why Do Companies Need a Dedicated LPM?

Every tech product requires a project manager to deal with stuff like directing people, gathering resources, creating budgets, and prioritizing tasks. Among these aspects, the localization project manager takes care of uploading content, maintaining style guides and translation memories, QA testing, communication with translators, and syncing translations back.

Localization management platforms like Crowdin, make localization process more efficient, reduce its duration through automation of simple tasks, and help its members perform localization efficiently. However, in order to get the most from the software, you need someone who has more expertise in this area, not just someone who did some research (like developers, marketers or other team members you choose to burden with localization).

Obviously, having a localization manager is important. Still not sure? Let’s see.

7 Signs Your Company Needs a Localization Project Manager:

1. You want to localize your product into multiple languages.
2. You don’t have a dedicated localization team.
3. You have regular content updates.
4. You need someone to manage translators, budgets and vendor relationships.
5. You need to maintain style guides and glossaries.
6. You need to set up automated workflows (configure machine translation, AI localization and other integrations).
7. You need to ensure translation quality and need an easy way to provide translators with context.

Key Responsibilities of a Modern Localization Manager

If you are new to localization, you might have a lot of questions and doubts when hiring localization managers. What tasks do they need to perform, and what skills do they need to succeed?

A successful LPM is a connection between technology, content, and translators:

• Manage the tech stack: Set up and maintain the Translation Management System (TMS), configure AI translation workflows, and connect integrations (like GitHub, Figma, or Contentful) to automate the content sync.
• Oversee end-to-end localization workflow using the translation management tools and systems.
• Context and Quality of translations: Configure in-context tools and manage screenshots so translators see the visuals and do better quality work. Oversee QA checks to ensure formatting and code do not break.
• Maintain Linguistic Assets: Create and update Glossaries and Translation Memories.
• Vendor & Budget Management: Oversee the budget, track costs per word, manage relationships with LSPs or freelancers, and identify project risks before they impact the timeline.
• Collaboration: Coordinate with internal requestors and external LSPs to guarantee on-time, high-quality delivery of written content. Analyze source files to identify potential challenges and establish preventative measures.

Here is what Donato Giuliano, Director of Localization at HubSpot, thinks about the successful candidate’s skills.

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In my opinion, the top three are: a. Stakeholders Management: a successful LM must excel at the discovery of stakeholders, they need to understand their needs and stay in sync. Failure to do so can easily lead to escalations and misunderstandings. b. Requirements definition: pushing forward language quality at all costs when your stakeholders are asking for speed, and continuous deployments can easily lead to existential threats for Localization Teams. c. Timing: an LM should be very grounded in the organisation’s reality. You can’t push for Localization best practices immediately in an organisation that has spent several years working only with the NA market. Well timed baby steps and a network of delighted stakeholders are key for a successful Localization Team.

Delegate the localization tasks to an experienced localization manager, who helps your product reach a wider audience and frees up your engineering and operations teams.

A Day in the Life of a Localization Manager

• Morning: Standup with devs (checking Jira), reviewing translation progress in Crowdin, and answering questions from translators.
• Mid-day: Сreating and assigning tasks for translators, run ai/tm/mt pre-translation.
• Evening: QA checks, approving translations, and preparing for the next sprint release.

Essential Skills: Hard and Soft

We prepared a list of experience and skills employers often mention on their job descriptions when searching for a localization manager. (based on Netflix, TikTok, Amazon, and other job descriptions)

• Tools: Working knowledge of industry-standard localization tools
• Analytics: Strong analytical problem-solving skills and attention to details
• Languages: Full professional fluency English (additional languages are a plus)
• Experience: Proven track record of managing language localization projects and collaborating with LSPs
• Education: BA/BS degree or equivalent practical experience
• Multitasking: Detail-oriented, quality-focused with the ability to manage multiple tasks effectively
• Soft Skills: Excellent organizational, time management, and communication skills
• Collaboration: Cross-functional collaboration experience working with stakeholders from product, marketing, or technology teams is a plus

How to Ace as a Localization Manager?

We spoke to managers with extensive localization experience about the impact of a localization manager on a project, and what it really means to be a good LPM. Here are their thoughts.

A localization manager should be data-driven and detail-oriented to deliver the best results

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Localization managers must have data at their fingertips, and be able to use the data to tell a story that has an impact on the running localization program and overall product development and goals, as well as be able to use insights to tweak the processes towards achieving the right goals.

A manager needs to know how each part of the localization project should run to monitor for potential issues and achieve a smooth translation process

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Managing localization well takes knowing how each part of the project should run so that you can help monitor for difficulties. But when you ask about impact, it is true that a localization manager can make or break projects, because they may be called in to get a project back on track from scope creep (time and cost can creep up because of unnecessary or low priority tasks, that kind of thing), or make sure all details are progressing smoothly including file preparation, translation processes, QA and delivery despite complex files and large amounts of content or languages.

Localization managers should collaborate with other team members and develop plans to improve the company’s international reach

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Localization managers not only run the localization strategy on a tactical level, but they’re also the key business partners that influence the international strategy while making it come to life. They collaborate, evaluate, consult, and implement plans with team members across an organization to optimize projects or products for international access and growth.

The localization managers should always ask the right questions while making realistic and attainable projections

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A Localization Manager should aim to remove friction from project execution. They should be masters in using the best resources for the right projects addressing the defined requirements. With their knowledge and understanding of their organization they should be guardians of their own Team against unrealistic expectations and uncommunicated changes.

Localization manager is a process engineer

Localization managers ensure that the entire process runs smoothly, sticks to deadlines, and meets quality standards. Quite a challenge for those who have no experience and required skills.

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The localization manager should be the connector and the communicator, and always be looking for areas of the most efficient impact on growth, whatever growth means in any context the manager is working in. One other important skill is to be actively listening and intuitively re-engineer processes. Tools and technologies will come naturally into the picture to only serve really well polished processes.

Localization Manager Tech Stack

Translation Management System (TMS): Crowdin is a good example of a TMS that LPMs usually use.

Communication: Slack/Microsoft Teams. Localization tools usually have integrations for such systems.

Design: Figma/Sketch. Also integrated to the localization management tool of your choice.

Bug Tracking: Jira/Issue Manager.

Career Path and Salary Expectations

Junior Level (Localization Coordinator):

• Germany - €32k-€43k
• US - $40k-$60k

Mid-Level (Localization Project Manager):

• Germany - €50k-€100k
• US - $80k-$100k

Senior Level (Head of Localization / Director):

• Germany - €100k+
• US - $110k+

(Sources: Glassdoor and Salary Expert, gross annual income)

Disclaimer: salary information is dated by December 2025. Salaries may vary by location or sector

Best Resources to Learn

Books:

• “Translation and Localization Project Management” (ATA),

• “Brand Global, Adapt Local: How to Build Brand Value Across Cultures” (Katherine Melchior Ray and Nataly Kelly),

• “The General Theory of the Translation Company” (Renato Beninatto),

• “A Practical Guide to Localization” (Bert Esselink).

Podcasts: Agile Localization by Crowdin.

Courses: There are lots of cost-effective localization management courses on Udemy, Coursera, and YouTube.