Director of Technical Program Management, Samba TV
$225-275k
Expert level
Austin
Data & measurement for smarts TVs
Posted today
Data & measurement for smarts TVs
201-500 employees
B2BArtificial IntelligenceAnalyticsMachine LearningSaaSAdvertisingData AnalysisMedia
Posted today
$225-275k
Expert level
Austin
201-500 employees
B2BArtificial IntelligenceAnalyticsMachine LearningSaaSAdvertisingData AnalysisMedia
Company mission
To create data at the heart of TV, powering a more scientific approach to advertising and a better viewing experience for everyone.
Role
Who you are
- The right candidate brings deep engineering discipline, ad tech domain knowledge a plus, proven people leadership, and the organizational instincts to operate credibly at the senior leadership level
- 10+ years of experience in technical program management, with at least 5+ years in a senior or lead TPM role
- Demonstrated experience managing and developing a team of TPMs — hiring, coaching, setting standards, and building a high-performance culture
- Deep domain expertise in ad tech — including programmatic advertising, audience data platforms, measurement and attribution solutions, identity, and/or data product delivery. This is a hard requirement; candidates without ad tech context will not be considered
- Proven track record operating as a peer to VPs and Sr. Directors — influencing strategic decisions, representing program risk at the executive level, and driving alignment across senior leadership
- Expertise in Agile, Scrum, and SAFe methodologies with hands-on experience driving adoption across engineering organizations
- Strong command of program governance: earned value metrics, dependency management, risk mitigation, and structured escalation frameworks
- Exceptional written and verbal communication — able to adapt from engineering deep-dives to executive briefings without losing precision or credibility
- Experience managing programs that span regulatory or compliance constraints (GDPR, CCPA, or similar privacy frameworks)
- Background in software engineering, computer science, or a related technical field — prior hands-on engineering experience gives strong credibility with technical teams
- Experience with cloud-based data platforms, big data technologies, and/or real-time data pipeline infrastructure
- Familiarity with ACR (Automatic Content Recognition), connected TV data, or OEM-level data collection
- Experience managing TPM functions during periods of rapid organizational growth, M&A integration, or geographic expansion
- MBA or advanced technical degree — valued but not required where equivalent experience is clear
What the job involves
- We are looking for a Director of Technical Program Management to lead and grow our TPM function at a critical inflection point in the company's expansion. This is not a pure execution role — it is a strategic leadership position
- You will be a peer to VPs and Sr. Directors across Engineering, Product, Data Science, and Executive Leadership, owning how we plan, execute, and govern complex programs that span the full ad tech stack: data collection, identity, audience platforms, measurement solutions, and third-party integrations
- You will own, build and develop a small but high-impact team of TPMs, establish the frameworks and operating model that scale with the organization, and personally drive the most complex, cross-functional programs
- Organizational Leadership
- Lead, mentor, and grow a team of 2–4 TPMs, setting a high bar for program ownership, communication, and technical credibility
- Define the TPM team's operating model — how programs are staffed, governed, escalated, and reported — and evolve it as the organization scales
- Act as the senior-most TPM voice in leadership forums, representing program health, risk posture, and execution capacity to the CTO, SVP of Engineering and cross-functional peers
- Drive hiring decisions, performance development, and career growth for the TPM team
- Program Strategy & Execution
- Own the end-to-end program execution strategy for the technology organization's most complex, cross-functional initiatives — from annual planning through delivery
- Define and enforce program governance frameworks: scope, milestones, dependency management, risk registers, and earned value tracking
- Partner with Engineering, Product, and Data Science leadership to align program roadmaps with business priorities, capacity constraints, and strategic objectives
- Drive the shift from bespoke, one-off execution to scalable, repeatable program infrastructure — ensuring teams build for hundreds of integrations, not one at a time
- Personally lead the highest-stakes programs when complexity, risk, or organizational span demands senior TPM ownership
- Cross-functional Influence & Stakeholder Management
- Operate as a credible peer to VPs and Sr. Directors — not just a coordinator, but a strategic partner with a clear point of view on tradeoffs, priorities, and risk
- Communicate program status, risks, and strategic dependencies to the CTO,SVP of Engineering and executive leadership with clarity, precision, and appropriate urgency
- Build and maintain alignment across Engineering, Product, Legal, Data, and Operations on programs that cut across organizational boundaries
- Surface and resolve cross-functional blockers that cannot be handled at the team level — escalating with a recommended resolution, not just a flag
- Process, Tooling & Governance
- Use of AI tools and skills for acceleration of automations from the perspective of TPM artifacts. Claude / Gemini / Cursor / Codex preferred
- Establish and continuously improve the standard TPM toolkit: program templates, RAID frameworks, status reporting cadences, and planning rituals
- Champion Agile and scaled Agile (SAFe) practices across engineering teams, partnering with Engineering Managers to ensure methodology serves delivery — not the other way around
- Ensure programs reflect regulatory and compliance requirements (GDPR, CCPA, privacy-by-design) as first-class planning inputs, not afterthoughts
- Stay current on industry trends in ad tech, programmatic advertising, and digital measurement — bringing external perspective into internal planning
Our take
Samba TV is improving the TV viewing experience by employing analytics to better personalize adverts and recommendations. With a scientific and algorithmic approach to how smart TVs work, the company enables TV businesses to better capture and serve consumers - an offering which has attracted the likes of Disney.
In recent years, Samba TV has focused on making artificial intelligence and machine learning central to its offerings, in part through the acquisition of Disruptel. This has enabled heightened content recognition and non-intrusive ad unit development, both of which enable it to deliver more value.
Moving forwards, Samba continues to partner and integrate with a wide range of companies to expand its product offering and market reach. And is 2022 expansion into Australia has put the company on the path to becoming a global force to be reckoned with.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
-7% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 5 rounds)
Apr 2018
$7.5m
EARLY VC
Jun 2017
$30m
SERIES B
Total funding: $45.7m
Company benefits
- Health Coverage: We have several choices of medical, dental, and vision plans with a range of coverage levels and costs, including a 100% employer-covered plan.
- Wellness & Lifestyle Perks: Our wellness programs are designed to help you maintain or move toward a healthy lifestyle through mindful meditations, gym access, and other assistance when you need it!
- Company Equity Plan: We believe in shared success. We want our employees to not just work for us, but to truly be part of our growth story.
- Volunteer Days: We're committed to making a positive impact, both in and outside the workplace!
- Flexible Time Off: We encourage a healthy work-life balance which empowers our teams to recharge when needed and thrive both personally and professionally.
- Team & Company Events: We love to hang out together! We provide many opportunities to get to know each other whether virtually or in person.
Company HQ
China Basin, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Ashwin Navin
(Co-Founder & CEO)Previously co-founded i/o ventures and BitTorrent, serving there as President. Experience as an Analyst for Epoch Partners, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.
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