Principal, R&D Strategy & Operations

Twilio•,

3d•$171,120 - $251,600•Remote

About The Position

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 Principal, R&D Strategy & Operations to drive strategic initiatives across R&D and lead executive communications for Product and Engineering. Reporting to the Director of R&D Strategy & Operations, this role owns how R&D's story gets told to senior leadership — monthly and quarterly business reviews, board updates, and executive narratives — turning complex technical work into clear, concise writing that leaders can act on. You'll partner closely on our annual and quarterly planning cycles, lead strategic initiatives end to end, and serve as the connective tissue between Product and Engineering and the rest of the company, while designing lean processes that deliver our outcomes with less manual overhead.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, a related field or equivalent practical experience.
10+ years of experience across product, engineering and process/ program management
Experience in a leadership capacity, whether leading teams directly or leading through influence
Experience leading programs or product operations for B2B SaaS, PaaS or equivalent
Track record of delivering high-impact, highly cross-functional programs end to end
Outstanding written and verbal communication that drives executional impact at scale, distilling complex detail into an executive narrative
Ability to build trust and exchange ideas across organizational boundaries in service of a broader goal
Excellent problem-solving, negotiation, and organizational skills
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving, ambiguous environment, with a default to action in order to adapt quickly to changing priorities and requirements

Nice To Haves

Master’s in computer science or engineering or business administration
Experience leading change management in B2B SaaS

Responsibilities

Own the narrative for R&D across monthly and quarterly business reviews, board updates, cross-functional updates, and executive communications, turning complex technical work into clear, concise writing that leaders can act on.
Lead strategic projects that are top of mind for the CPTO and executive team.
Partner on annual and quarterly planning cycles and mid-year retrospectives, contributing to the process, content, and materials that carry them.
Track team progress against plan through Release Council, and surface risks early.
Support the R&D/GTM interlock, shaping what R&D communicates to GTM teams to inform their planning cycles.
Define and drive adoption of lean R&D processes so outcomes are met with minimal manual overhead.
Partner with Finance and Data teams to automate product and business metrics so reporting eventually runs without manual intervention.
Seek out change management opportunities that increase process adoption across a decentralized R&D org.