Principal Technical Program Manager

Job Description At Zendesk, we are passionate about building software that delivers the ultimate customer experience. Your favorite brands maximize our products to engage you as a customer, and we lead the industry with appealingly simple software. We’re constantly innovating, and we apply this philosophy to all prioritized initiatives. Job Summary As a Principal Technical Program Manager (TPM) within Product Development working on AI Agent programs, you will lead multiple complex, cross-functional technical programs that deliver measurable business outcomes and directly support Level 1–3 OKRs. You operate with a deep end-to-end view of value creation across Zendesk, proactively identifying cross-functional friction and dependencies before they surface as delivery risks. You will drive the narrative and operating cadence with senior leaders, translate strategy into executable plans, and ensure high-quality, predictable delivery through strong change management, risk mitigation, and stakeholder alignment. You are trusted for sound judgment in ambiguity, for connecting the dots across teams and roadmaps, and for elevating program management standards through mentorship and process improvements that scale. You’ll have the opportunity to work autonomously but also have the support of our highly distributed Program Management team. You will be the glue that holds it all together, ensuring cross-team, cross-functional collaboration runs smoothly from end to end. You will have a global reach in this role and can expect to work with colleagues across EMEA, APAC and AMER. What You’ll Be Doing Lead multiple concurrent, complex technical programs across Product Development and key partner functions, ensuring end-to-end delivery against milestones, outcomes, and quality bars. Seamlessly initiate, structure, and execute technical programs with minimal support—owning program strategy, structure and governance from kickoff through operationalization. Drive OKR delivery: partner closely with KR owners and reporters to develop and drive the narrative, tie supporting programs into a cohesive story, and ensure progress is measurable and visible. Identify cross-functional dependencies and friction points early; design execution plans that account for end-to-end impacts across Zendesk and reduce delivery risk. Own program governance: establish decision-making forums, operating rhythms, and escalation paths; keep senior leaders informed with clear asks, options, and tradeoffs. Apply exceptional execution discipline: manage scope, critical path, risks, and change management to limit surprises; ensure mitigations are in place before issues become delivery blockers. Facilitate complex alignment and decision-making: guide groups through ambiguity using skilled facilitation, influence, and negotiation to drive clear outcomes. Communicate with executive presence: synthesize fragmented inputs into crisp narratives, business impact framing, and decision-ready updates for senior stakeholders. Improve how we run programs at scale: identify gaps, propose better ways of working, and drive adoption of program and process improvements across the PMO and partner organizations. Mentor and uplevel others: coach program management peers and partners on planning, execution standards, stakeholder management, and the craft of program leadership. What You Bring to the Role Basic Qualifications: Significant experience leading complex technical programs in a software and engineering environment, including initiating program structure, aligning cross-functional stakeholders, and delivering outcomes end to end. Proven ability to drive multiple programs with broad cross-functional dependencies and broader program alignment independently. Demonstrated strength in visioning and planning: aligns programs to company strategy, filters noise, anticipates risks and opportunities, and adjusts plans based on new information. Exceptional execution and quality: str ... (truncated, view full listing at source)