Principal, Technical Program Management (Research & Development)

About This RoleAI processing…

Key Responsibilities

• 1
  Lead high-impact, cross-org technical programs: Direct the execution of programs spanning multiple products and platforms characterized by significant technical complexity and executive visibility. You are the primary driver for aligning engineering teams toward a unified delivery goal.
• 2
  Define and drive the execution strategy: Establish the sequencing, governance models, and integration approaches for large-scale initiatives. You move beyond a project plan to define the launch readiness criteria and operational success metrics that ensure a high-quality release.
• 3
  Align cross-org delivery and dependencies: Manage the execution roadmap across Product and Engineering teams. You proactively surface technical tradeoffs, resourcing gaps, and critical decision points, providing data-backed recommendations to leadership.
• 4
  Partner on technical approach and risk: Collaborate deeply with senior engineers and architects to validate integration patterns and operational risks. You ensure that execution plans reflect real-world system constraints, failure modes, and security requirements.
• 5
  Establish ownership and accountability: Implement clear ownership models (such as RACI or DRI) across organizations. You navigate conflicting priorities between teams to maintain momentum and ensure clear lines of responsibility.
• 6
  Anticipate platform-wide impacts: Ensure that critical non-functional requirements—such as observability, supportability, billing implications, and GTM readiness—are integrated into the program lifecycle and validated before launch.
• 7
  Build durable program mechanisms: Create and refine operating cadences, reporting standards, and readiness dashboards. You contribute to the improvement of Twilio’s R&D execution engine by developing templates and playbooks that can be reused across the organization.
• 8
  10+ years of experience managing technical projects in the software engineering domain.
• 9
  Proven Program Leadership: Demonstrated success in delivering large-scale technical programs across multiple organizations with multi-quarter timelines and intricate dependencies.
• 10
  Technical Fluency: Ability to engage deeply in architecture and integration discussions. You can identify hidden technical risks, assess complexity, and drive rigorous operational readiness planning.
• 11
  Influence without Authority: Proven ability to build relationships across organizational boundaries and drive alignment among senior stakeholders with competing priorities.
• 12
  Communication Excellence: Ability to craft executive-ready narratives that crisp up complex tradeoffs into clear, actionable recommendations for leadership.
• 13
  Resilience in Ambiguity: Comfort with shifting specifications or standards; you create the conditions for engineering teams to remain productive and focused during periods of high ambiguity.
• 14
  Execution Rigor: A default-to-action mindset with the ability to build and enforce the mechanisms (dashboards, cadences, checklists) required to maintain high-velocity execution.
• 15
  Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, a related field or equivalent practical experience.

Requirements

• Lead high-impact, cross-org technical programs: Direct the execution of programs spanning multiple products and platforms characterized by significant technical complexity and executive visibility. You are the primary driver for aligning engineering teams toward a unified delivery goal.
• 10+ years of experience managing technical projects in the software engineering domain.
• Execution Rigor: A default-to-action mindset with the ability to build and enforce the mechanisms (dashboards, cadences, checklists) required to maintain high-velocity execution.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, a related field or equivalent practical experience.
• Master’s in computer science or engineering or a related field.
• Experience in telephony, email, messaging, social media, or other electronic communications.
• The Principal, Technical Program Management in R&D is highly visible and requires a strong balance of strategic insight, execution excellence, and cross-functional leadership.
• Your expertise in your domain areas is regarded as expert level and authoritative, both within R&D and across the company.
• You are the primary driver for aligning engineering teams toward a unified delivery goal.
• Qualifications Twilio values diverse experiences from all kinds of industries, and we encourage everyone who meets the required qualifications to apply.
• Required: 10+ years of experience managing technical projects in the software engineering domain.
• Desired: Master’s in computer science or engineering or a related field. 5+ years of technical program management at hyperscaler or Fortune 100 cloud software/infrastructure companies.
• Additionally, Twilio participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law.

Perks & Benefits