Senior Principal, Technical Program Management (Research & Development)

Twilio · Los Angeles

Product & ProgramRemoteposted 5mo ago

Who we are

At Twilio, we’re shaping the future of communications, all from the comfort of our homes. We deliver innovative solutions to hundreds of thousands of businesses and empower millions of developers worldwide to craft personalized customer experiences.

Our dedication to remote-first work, and strong culture of connection and global inclusion means that no matter your location, you’re part of a vibrant team with diverse experiences making a global impact each day. As we continue to revolutionize how the world interacts, we’re acquiring new skills and experiences that make work feel truly rewarding. Your career at Twilio is in your hands.
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Hiring and how we work

We use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help make our hiring process efficient. That said, every hiring decision is made by real Twilions!

Also, while we are a remote-first company, you may be asked to report in person on an ad-hoc basis for team gatherings, functional off-sites or customer meetings.
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See yourself at Twilio

Join the team as Twilio’s next Senior Principal, Technical Program Management within Research & Development (R&D).

About the job

Twilio is the world’s leading customer engagement platform empowering developers to build modern communication applications and experiences designed to be trusted, simple and smart. Twilio is looking for a Senior Principal Technical Program Manager to help direct a portfolio of strategic, complex, and multidisciplinary programs that significantly accelerate R&D's business impact. You'll set program strategy and lead program teams to successfully deliver business, operational, and technical improvements across Engineering & Product organizations.

As a trusted strategic advisor, you will play a critical role in driving alignment, setting priorities, and delivering high-impact programs that advance strategic initiatives. The Senior Principal, Technical Program Management is highly visible and requires a strong balance of strategic insight, execution excellence, and cross-functional leadership. You will navigate seamlessly between big-picture planning and hands-on delivery to ensure key initiatives move forward in a dynamic, scaled agile environment. You'll also be expected to adapt your program portfolio proactively in response to evolving business needs and organizational complexity. Your expertise in your domain areas is regarded as expert level and authoritative, both within R&D and across the company.

Responsibilities

In this role, you’ll:

Orchestrate the technical strategy and multi-year roadmap for high-impact, cross-organizational technical programs that define the future of Twilio’s platforms. You manage systemic complexity and high-stakes risk while serving as the primary technical point of contact for SVPs and executive leadership on mission-critical programs.
Architect the end-to-end execution framework, including global sequencing logic, multi-tier governance, architectural integration patterns, and enterprise-grade operational success metrics. You ensure the strategy accounts for technical debt retirement and long-term platform health, moving beyond a project plan to build a sustainable delivery engine.
Orchestrate Cross-Portfolio Alignment: Own the master execution roadmap for complex, interdependent product suites. You identify and resolve structural misalignment between engineering roadmaps, surfacing high-stakes tradeoffs and resource reallocations to executive leadership.
Partner deeply with lead engineers/architects to evaluate technical approaches, integration patterns, and operational risks; ensure plans reflect real system constraints, failure modes, and readiness requirements.
Define Systems of Accountability: Establish the organizational "operating system" for high-stakes programs. Beyond RACI, you define the standards for how cross-functional teams interact, ensuring clear ownership across siloed domains when technical priorities conflict.
Anticipate Ecosystem-Wide Impacts: Proactively identify "hidden" technical requirements across the platform (e.g., global security / compliance shifts, complex billing migrations, or observability gaps) and ensure they are integrated into the core technical design, not treated as afterthoughts
Scale R&D Excellence: Design and institutionalize durable program frameworks and technical readiness standards that elevate the execution maturity of the entire global R&D organization. You build the playbooks that become the Twilio standard for large-scale engineering delivery.
Force Multiplier & Mentor: Mentor to Principal TPMs and Engineering Leads. You raise the collective bar for technical risk management, executive storytelling, and high-velocity decision-making.

Qualifications

Twilio values diverse experiences from all kinds of industries, and we encourage everyone who meets the required qualifications to apply. If your career is just starting or hasn't followed a traditional path, don't let that stop you from considering Twilio. We are always looking for people who will bring something new to the table!

Required:

Experience: 12+ years of experience leading massive-scale technical programs in a high-growth, distributed systems and software engineering domain.
Strategic Technical Leadership: Proven ability to influence technical direction and architectural decisions at the VP/SVP level, with a track record of steering programs through complex technical pivots.
Systemic Execution Expertise: Expert-level mastery in defining execution strategies for programs with hundreds of engineers; you have a "spidey sense" for identifying integration risks and failure modes before they manifest.
Executive Influence: Exceptional ability to frame highly technical challenges into strategic business narratives, driving consensus among senior executives with competing priorities.
Architectural Fluency: Deep technical depth in cloud-scale infrastructure, API-first design, and distributed systems. Proven experience influencing Staff/Principal/Distinguished Engineers and challenging assumptions when necessary.
Operational Rigor: Demonstrated success in building and scaling operational readiness frameworks using self-service tools to surface status, actions, and KPIs across a multi-thousand-person R&D organization.
Mastery of Ambiguity: A proven track record of bringing order to chaos, creating high-functioning execution structures in environments where specifications, technologies, and market demands are in constant flux.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, a related field or equivalent practical experience.

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.
Domain expertise in global-scale communications (Telephony, SMS, CPaaS) or high-throughput distributed platforms.
Experience leading "company-bet" transformations, such as major cloud migrations or foundational platform re-architectures.

Location

This role will be remote and based in the United States.

What We Offer

Working at Twilio offers many benefits, including competitive pay, generous time off, ample parental and wellness leave, healthcare, a retirement savings program, and much more. Offerings vary by location.

Compensation

*Please note the salary range information provided applies only to candidates residing in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Washington D.C., and Washington State due to local requirements. Compensation for candidates in other locations will be discussed during the hiring process. Please note that hiring for this role is not restricted to the locations listed above.

The estimated pay ranges for this role are as follows:

Based in Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Vermont or Washington D.C. : $188,240.00 - $235,00.00
Based in New York, New Jersey, Washington State, or California (outside of the San Francisco Bay area): $199,280.00 - $249,100.00
Based in the San Francisco Bay area, California: $221,360.00 - $276,700.00

This role may be eligible to participate in Twilio’s equity plan and corporate bonus plan. All roles are generally eligible for the following benefits: health care insurance, 401(k) retirement account, paid sick time, paid personal time off, paid parental leave.

The successful candidate’s starting salary will be determined based on permissible, non-discriminatory factors such as skills, experience, and geographic location.

Application deadline information

Applications for this role will be accepted on an ongoing basis.

Twilio thinks big. Do you?

We like to solve problems, take initiative, pitch in when needed, and are always up for trying new things. That's why we seek out colleagues who embody our values — something we call Twilio Magic. Additionally, we empower employees to build positive change in their communities by supporting their volunteering and donation efforts.

So, if you're ready to unleash your full potential, do your best work, and be the best version of yourself, apply now! If this role isn't what you're looking for, please consider other open positions.

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Twilio is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. Additionally, Twilio participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law.