Senior Technical Program Manager, Product Development

Zendesk•San Francisco, CA

4d•$174,000 - $262,000•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Senior Technical Program Manager within Product Development in San Francisco working on Forethought AI Agents by Zendesk, you will own and drive complex, cross-functional technical programs that deliver measurable outcomes and support Level 2/3 OKRs. You’ll work closely with Product, Design, and Engineering partners (CIO, Data, Legal, Finance and GTM teams) to identify and resolve cross-team dependencies early, reduce delivery risk, and translate strategy into clear, executable plans. You’ll establish program cadence and governance with managers and directors, manage scope/critical path/risk, and ensure predictable, high-quality delivery through strong change management and stakeholder alignment. Trusted for sound judgment in ambiguity, you’ll connect the dots across roadmaps, raise program execution standards through practical process improvements, and coach peers. You’ll be the connective tissue across Product, Engineering and partner functions, driving delivery of scalable features and services that support Zendesk’s AI and CX priorities. Expect to collaborate with colleagues across EMEA, APAC, and AMER.

Requirements

Proven track record delivering technical programs in a software/engineering environment; experience launching multiple large-scale releases.
Strong cross-functional awareness and ability to connect roadmaps, anticipate impacts, and manage upstream/downstream dependencies.
Prior experience working on AI, ML or platform initiatives (or programs that support developer/platform teams).
Demonstrated success partnering with Director-/VP-level stakeholders and operating at a global scale (multi-geo programs).
Excellent execution discipline: scope management, critical-path planning, proactive risk mitigation, and effective change control.
Skilled facilitator and communicator: able to drive alignment among diverse stakeholders and synthesize complex inputs into clear narratives.
Comfortable operating with ambiguous inputs and making tradeoffs that balances speed, quality and business impact.
Familiarity with program/delivery tools and practices (Jira, Confluence, Kanban/Agile) and with program governance frameworks.
Data-informed: able to define and track KPIs, partner with analytics teams, and use metrics to guide decisions.

Responsibilities

Lead and deliver multi-team technical programs that span Product Development and partner functions, ensuring milestones, quality standards and outcomes are met.
Translate strategy and OKRs into program structure, plans, milestones and measurable success criteria; keep progress visible to stakeholders.
Build program governance: establish operating cadences, decision forums, escalation paths and clear RACI for cross-functional delivery.
Identify, track and mitigate risks and dependencies proactively; manage scope and critical path to limit surprises.
Facilitate alignment and decision-making across partner functions; run workshops, retrospectives and steering committee meetings.
Produce concise, decision-ready updates and status reporting for various levels of stakeholders.
Improve program processes and standards; coach teams on planning, risk management and reporting best practices.
Mentor and partner with other program managers to raise execution standards across the PMO.