Tech Lead, Applied Research

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and own the end-to-end implementation of high-stakes prototypes and robust, production-ready solutions.
• Drive the technical direction and collaborate with cross-functional teams to experiment with, validate, and integrate AI, machine learning, and frontier technologies.
• Establish governance for code reviews and pioneer continuous improvements to engineering standards, mentoring peers to elevate overall code quality.
• Articulate complex technical concepts, architectural decisions, and project velocity clearly to executive stakeholders and engineering peers.
• Navigate ambiguity and rapidly pivot technical strategies in response to shifting requirements, user feedback, and fast-paced market dynamics.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of professional full-stack software development experience.
• Proficiency across modern programming languages such as JavaScript, Python, Java or Go.
• Experience building applications using front-end (React, Angular) and/or back-end (Node.js, Springboot) frameworks.
• Solid understanding of database technologies, including both SQL and NoSQL paradigms.
• Mastery of an agentic coding operating model; highly effective at leveraging advanced dev tools, Model Context Protocol (MCP), and LLMs to drastically accelerate AI-assisted development.
• Strong problem-solving skills and a collaborative mindset with effective communication skills for technical discussions.
• Exceptional ability to navigate intense ambiguity, self-unblock execution, and ruthlessly solve ambiguous problems without requiring constant structural support.
• Strong communication and mentorship skills, with a collaborative mindset suited for high-bandwidth technical discussions.

Nice-to-Haves

• Hands on exposure to LLM, AI, or machine learning principles or projects.
• Deep knowledge of cloud-based platforms (AWS, Azure) and the design principles of distributed systems.
• Ability to ramp up on new technologies, solution against well defined problems and to be iterative about building.
• Passion for innovation and exploring emerging technologies.
• Experience working in remote or globally distributed teams.
• Contributions to open source or tech community projects.

Compensation & Benefits

• This role may be eligible to participate in Twilio’s equity plan and corporate bonus plan.
• All roles are generally eligible for the following benefits: health care insurance, 401(k) retirement account, paid sick time, paid personal time off, paid parental leave.