Sr. Principal Functional Operations Partner

F5 Networks, Inc.; United States; Hybrid; USD 181,000 - 272,000; Full time

Job summary

F5 Networks, Inc. is seeking a Sr. Principal Functional Operations Partner to elevate strategic planning and the operating rhythm across the Product Management organization.

You will partner with the SVP to translate priorities into clear plans, metrics, and accountable execution with Engineering, Design, and GTM leaders. The role demands 7+ years in product management or business operations, exceptional executive communication, and the ability to influence without formal authority.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in product management, strategy, or business operations.
• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, information technology, or related field (or equivalent).
• Exceptional executive communication skills; produces polished, audience-appropriate decks and narratives.
• Strong analytical skills; comfortable with complex data and able to translate insights into actions.
• Demonstrated ability to influence without authority and build cross-functional trust across orgs.
• Highly proactive, organized, and able to create clarity in ambiguity.

Responsibilities

• Lead quarterly and annual planning, aligning long-term strategy with near-term execution priorities.
• Run the operating rhythm for the Product Management organization (cadence, reviews, roadmaps).
• Partner with Portfolio Operations to align lifecycle processes and improvements to the product system.
• Translate strategy into actionable plans, narratives, and clear success metrics (OKRs/KPIs).
• Track progress, surface risks, and drive decisions to maintain momentum.
• Represent and advise the SVP and product leadership to ensure alignment and follow-through.
• Coordinate governance, ownership, and cross-functional communication across orgs.
• Monitor organizational health and partner with Finance and HR on budget and headcount.

Skills

Strategic planning

Executive communication

Analytical skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Problem solving

Organizational skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, finance, information technology, or related field

Tools

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

At F5, we strive to bring a better digital world to life. Our teams empower organizations across the globe to create, secure, and run applications that enhance how we experience our evolving digital world. We are passionate about cybersecurity, from protecting consumers from fraud to enabling companies to focus on innovation. Everything we do centers around people. That means we obsess over how to make the lives of our customers, and their customers, better. And it means we prioritize a diverse F5 community where each individual can thrive.

The Sr. Principal Functional Operations Partner

The Sr. Principal Functional Operations Partner is a high-impact strategic operations leader who partners with the SVP, Product Management to drive planning, operating cadence, and cross-functional execution across the product organization. F5’s Product Management organization defines and delivers product strategy across security, networking, and application services. This role helps convert strategy into clear priorities, measurable outcomes, and an effective operating rhythm—working closely with Portfolio Operations (the team that runs product lifecycle processes and program execution) and partnering with leaders across Engineering, Architecture, and Design. You will keep leadership focused on the highest-value decisions, remove friction that slows execution, and raise the organization’s clarity, speed, and alignment. We are seeking a dynamic, results-oriented Sr. Principal Functional Operations Partner to partner closely with the Product Management leadership team. In this pivotal role, you will drive strategic planning, strengthen the operating rhythm, and translate priorities into clear plans, metrics, and measurable outcomes. The ideal candidate is an analytical, highly organized operator who thrives in complex, ambiguous environments and can influence across functions without formal authority. They communicate crisply, exercise strong judgment, and lead initiatives end-to-end—from framing the problem to driving execution and change adoption. This is a behind-the-scenes leadership role for someone who values outcomes over credit and is trusted with sensitive context.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead quarterly and annual planning, aligning long-term strategy to near-term execution priorities.
• Run the operating rhythm for the Product Management organization (e.g., leadership team cadence, quarterly business reviews, roadmap and portfolio reviews, offsites).
• Partner closely with Portfolio Operations to align on lifecycle processes, execution insights, and improvements to the product system.
• Translate strategy into actionable plans, decision-ready narratives, and clear success measures (OKRs/KPIs), including executive-ready materials and pre-reads.
• Track progress against strategic goals and initiatives; surface risks, trade-offs, and required decisions to maintain momentum.
• Serve as a trusted advisor and thought partner to the SVP and product leadership team, helping frame decisions and drive follow-through.
• Navigate governance and change initiatives (org, process, strategy), ensuring alignment, clear ownership, and effective communication.
• Connect Product Management priorities to cross-functional partners (Engineering, Design, GTM, Technology Services, HR, Finance), preventing misalignment and ensuring commitments are understood and delivered.
• Improve planning, execution, reporting, and decision-making by driving adoption of fit-for-purpose tools, systems, and processes.

Other Responsibilities

• Anticipate on behalf of the SVP: prepare decision briefs and meeting materials, surface relevant context early, and ensure key discussions land with clarity and preparation.
• Elevate executive communications: ensure the PM organization shows up crisply and consistently through high-quality narratives, briefings, and leadership communications.
• Act as an integration layer across leaders and teams: resolve ambiguity, clarify ownership, and address cross-functional friction before it escalates.
• Represent the SVP when delegated: engage with full context, align stakeholders, and make commitments the organization can rely on.
• Monitor organizational health (goals, capacity, talent) and partner with Finance and HR on budget and headcount planning; proactively identify and address gaps and inefficiencies.
• Support PM leadership effectiveness and development by identifying role clarity gaps, operating frictions, and opportunities to strengthen the leadership team.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Proven track record leading strategic planning, operating rhythms, and cross-functional programs in fast-paced environments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; strong proficiency in Microsoft PowerPoint for executive and board-ready materials.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills (qualitative and quantitative), including proficiency with Excel and complex data sets.
• Ability to collaborate and drive alignment across all levels of the organization with limited formal authority.
• Proficient with SharePoint (or similar) for document storage, collaboration, and organization.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in product management, strategy, or business operations, including partnership with senior product and/or engineering leaders
• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, information technology, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• Exceptional executive communication skills; produces polished, accurate, audience-appropriate decks, briefs, and strategic narratives independently.
• Strong analytical skills; comfortable with complex data and able to translate insights into clear recommendations and decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to influence without authority and build trust across Engineering, Finance, GTM, and Design.
• Highly proactive and organized; anticipates needs, creates clarity in ambiguity, and ensures commitments do not fall through the cracks.
• Kind, direct, radically transparent.
• Uses both logic and empathy to drive clarity and action.

What This Role Is Not

This role is not a program manager for individual roadmap initiatives, and it is not an administrative support position. It also does not solely own the end-to-end product operating model; instead, you will partner closely with Portfolio Operations and cross-functional leaders to help the organization plan, align, and execute effectively. The work is highly strategic and requires independent judgment, proactive leadership, and strong cross-functional influence. In this role, you’ll help Product Management leadership move faster, improve organizational effectiveness, and strengthen trust and alignment across the broader product organization.

The annual base pay for this position is: $181,300.00 - $271,900.00 F5 maintains broad salary ranges for its roles in order to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience, geographic locations, and market conditions, as well as to reflect F5’s differing products, industries, and lines of business. The pay range referenced is as of the time of the job posting and is subject to change. You may also be offered incentive compensation, bonus, restricted stock units, and benefits. More details about F5’s benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.f5.com/company/careers/benefits. F5 reserves the right to change or terminate any benefit plan without notice. Please note that F5 only contacts candidates through F5 email address (ending with @f5.com) or auto email notification from Workday (ending with f5.com or @myworkday.com).

Equal Employment Opportunity

It is the policy of F5 to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants without regard to unlawful considerations of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, sensory, physical, or mental disability, marital status, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, discipline, and termination. F5 offers a variety of reasonable accommodations for candidates. Requesting an accommodation is completely voluntary. F5 will assess the need for accommodations in the application process separately from those that may be needed to perform the job. Request by contacting [e-mail].

Hybrid: Employees within 30 commutable miles of an F5 office are required to work from the office a minimum of 30 business days per quarter. Remote: Primarily work from designated home location but can come into an F5 office to work or travel to an offsite location as needed.

Together, we're building a better digital world. Founded in 1996, F5 is a global leader in application delivery and security. Our premier platform helps customers secure and deliver every app, API, and piece of infrastructure across all environments. Backed by over three decades of expertise and 553 patents, our solutions protect against threats while ensuring fast, reliable digital experiences. With over 6,400 employees, we serve more than 23,000 customers in over 170 countries. To continue this work, we need people like you—the best minds in the industry. We're committed to a unique, human-first culture that encourages authenticity, prioritizes diversity and inclusion, and fosters the growth and success of our employees.