Staff Technical Program Manager ML/AI Platform

The Team: 

Pinterest Technical Program Managers are proactive owners with technical expertise. They are aligned to the highest level company priorities to support successful delivery of programs within their teams. The Platform T/PgM Team is responsible for overall program governance in Infrastructure, Infra Finance, Data Engineering and Security, as well as Compliance and managing our cloud budget.

What you’ll do: 

• As a Staff Technical Program Manager focusing on cross-engineering special projects, you will identify, scope, champion, and land key strategic projects important to advancing Pinterest’s platform and underpinning. 
• Lead Strategic ML/AI Platform Programs — Identify, scope, champion, and deliver high-impact, cross-engineering initiatives critical to advancing Pinterest's ML/AI Platform, GenAI infrastructure, and Agent Platform; owning outcomes from ambiguous opportunity through measurable execution.
• Operate with an AI-First Execution Mindset — Use GenAI as the default operating model for program execution; producing AI-assisted first drafts of core program artifacts, modernizing high-toil workflows (e.g., intake triage, status synthesis, risk and dependency tracking, action/decision extraction), and synthesizing signals to proactively surface risks, tradeoffs, and escalation paths.
• Prototype AI-Augmented Tools & Workflows — Leverage AI coding assistants to build lightweight solutions that improve decision-making and reduce friction — including dashboards, data analysis, process helpers, and internal tooling; using a "vibe coding" approach to move fast and validate value early.
• Apply Safety-by-Design AI Governance — Follow Pinterest's AI guidance for risk, governance, and compliance; appropriately handling sensitive data, validating AI-generated outputs, documenting assumptions and limitations, and ensuring AI-assisted workflows meet applicable policy and safety expectations before broad adoption.
• Drive Complex Technical Decisions Across Teams — Partner closely with technical domain owners across MLP, Agent Platform (Helix), Core Infra, and Ads to proactively identify, frame, and resolve complex cross-team technical decisions; sequencing risky elements to fail fast and reduce downstream program exposure.
• Translate Strategy into Execution — Convert strategic platform priorities into structured, milestone-driven execution plans; operating at both breadth (big picture vision) and depth (driving granular details with engineering teams) to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
• Shape Planning & Influence Roadmaps — Serve as a thought leader to cross-functional stakeholders during annual and quarterly planning cycles; influencing product and platform roadmap decisions with data-informed perspectives and a deep understanding of organizational priorities and technical tradeoffs.
• Build Scalable Processes & Best Practices — Define, institutionalize, and continuously improve program management processes, frameworks, and tooling; elevating organizational execution capability and enabling teams to operate with greater agility, consistency, and efficiency at scale.
• Drive Cross-Functional Alignment & Communication — Build transparent, adaptive communication channels across Engineering, ML Research, Data Science, Product, Security, and Legal; ensuring stakeholders at all levels; from ICs to executives, have timely, accurate visibility into priorities, status, risks, and decisions.
• Own Program Outcomes End-to-End — Take full accountability for the success of high-impact programs, ensuring measurable delivery through rigorous planning, proactive risk mitigation, and relentless follow-through; representing program interests at the highest levels of the organization.

What we’re looking for:

• Experienced Technical Program Manager — 8+ years of TPM or related experience, with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent. With a proven track record of leading and delivering complex, multi-year initiatives spanning multiple engineering teams and organizations.
• AI-First Execution Mindset — Demonstrated ability to use GenAI to meaningfully accelerate program planning, operations, and stakeholder communication; starting from AI-generated drafts and applying strong judgment to validate, refine, and drive decisions rather than defaulting to manual, high-toil approaches.
• Workflow Design & AI Fluency — Experience turning repeatable program work into durable, low-toil mechanisms; including strong prompting, vibe coding lightweight scripts and tools, building dashboards, and leveraging agents to improve decision-making and operational throughput.
• Safety-by-Design AI Governance — Comfortable operating within AI governance expectations, including risk assessment, sensitive data handling, model output validation, and auditability, and proactively identifying where AI use is not appropriate or requires additional controls.
• ML/AI & Systems Domain Knowledge — Working understanding of Machine Learning, GenAI, LLM serving and inference, AI Agent architectures, DevOps, and systems engineering principles; sufficient to engage credibly with technical teams, drive meaningful tradeoffs, and identify cross-system risks.
• Strategic Vision & Entrepreneurial Leadership — Strong ability to analyze organizational context, anticipate future scenarios, and shape program roadmaps aligned to company-level strategy and OKRs, with an entrepreneurial spirit that thrives in ambiguity and builds programs from the ground up.
• Executive Influence & Thought Leadership — Demonstrated success influencing senior and executive leadership, representing program interests at the highest levels, providing well-reasoned input to critical decisions, and building trusted relationships across disciplines and organizations without relying on formal authority.
• Analytical Problem-Solving & Risk Mitigation — Strong analytical and decision-making skills with a track record of using data, innovative approaches, and structured frameworks to navigate complexity, resolve ambiguity, and mitigate program risks proactively.
• Operational Excellence at Scale — Demonstrated experience creating and driving efficient, scalable processes and best practices that increase organizational agility, with a focus on institutionalizing repeatable mechanisms that outlast individual programs and enable teams to execute with greater consistency.
• Exceptional Communication & Collaboration — Outstanding written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills;  able to distill nuanced, technical concepts for diverse audiences, build consensus across competing perspectives, and foster an inclusive, collaborative environment that reflects Pinterest's commitment to diversity and belonging.

Relocation Statement:

• This position is not eligible for relocation assistance. Visit our PinFlex page to learn more about our working model.

In-Office Requirement Statement: 

• We recognize that the ideal environment for work is situational and may differ across departments. What this looks like day-to-day can vary based on the needs of each organization or role. 
• This role will need to be in the office for in-person collaboration 1-2 times every 6-months and therefore can be situated anywhere in the country. 
  
  

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