Principal, Technical Program Management (research & Development)

Twilio Twilio · Enterprise · United States · Remote · Program Management (Project, Program, Agile, Technical)

Twilio is seeking a Principal, Technical Program Management to lead strategic, complex, and multidisciplinary programs within Research & Development. This role will focus on accelerating R&D's business impact by setting program strategy, leading program teams, and driving business, operational, and technical improvements across Engineering & Product organizations. The role requires strong technical fluency, influence without authority, and execution rigor in a scaled agile environment.

What you'd actually do

  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.

Skills

Required

  • 10+ years of experience managing technical projects in the software engineering domain
  • Proven Program Leadership
  • Technical Fluency
  • Influence without Authority
  • Communication Excellence
  • Resilience in Ambiguity
  • Execution Rigor
  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, a related field or equivalent practical experience

Nice to have

  • Master’s in computer science or engineering or a related field
  • 5+ years of techn

What the JD emphasized

  • 10+ years of experience managing technical projects in the software engineering domain
  • Proven Program Leadership: Demonstrated success in delivering large-scale technical programs across multiple organizations with multi-quarter timelines and intricate dependencies
  • 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.
  • Influence without Authority: Proven ability to build relationships across organizational boundaries and drive alignment among senior stakeholders with competing priorities.
  • Communication Excellence: Ability to craft executive-ready narratives that crisp up complex tradeoffs into clear, actionable recommendations for leadership.
  • 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.
  • 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.