Technical Program Manager

Whatnot; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 190,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday and time off policy

Health insurance options

Home office setup allowance

401(k) retirement plan with employer match

Paid parental leave

Job summary

Whatnot is seeking a Technical Program Manager in San Francisco, CA, to lead cross-functional initiatives across Engineering and Product teams. This role requires strong leadership and the ability to navigate complex technical environments.

The ideal candidate should have 5+ years of experience, a proven track record in managing complex projects, and proficiency with AI tools to drive efficiency. Benefits include a competitive salary range of $190K – $250K, health insurance, and generous time off.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant experience in technical initiatives.
• Ability to navigate ambiguous environments and make data-driven decisions.
• Experience with AI tools to enhance workflows.

Responsibilities

• Drive the engineering roadmap and critical initiatives.
• Define technical requirements with cross-functional teams.
• Communicate progress and insights to stakeholders.

Skills

Technical initiative leadership

Data synthesis

Hands-on AI tools fluency

Complex problem-solving

Job description

Whatnot Company Overview

Whatnot is the largest livestream shopping platform in North America and Europe to buy, sell, and discover the things you love. Whether it’s trading cards, fashion, electronics, or live plants, our sellers are building real businesses across hundreds of categories. We’re building live commerce at a scale that has never been done in the West, and there’s no playbook to copy. The people here are shaping how an entirely new industry develops. As a remote co‑located team, we are inspired by our values and anchored in hubs across the US, UK, Ireland, Poland, Germany, and Australia. We move fast, stay close to our users, and focus on the work that drives the most impact. We’re one of the fastest growing marketplaces and were recently named the #1 Best Startup Employer in America by Forbes. Check out the latest Whatnot updates on our news and engineering blog and join us as we enable anyone to turn their passion into a business and bring people together through commerce.

Role

We are looking for a strong Technical Program Manager who will work across our Engineering and Product teams to drive high‑impact initiatives and help scale how we build and operate at Whatnot. From product to infrastructure to AI, you will play a key role working with engineering and product leadership on programs improving execution, alignment, and velocity across the organization.

Responsibilities

• Drive the engineering roadmap, strategy, and execution of critical cross‑functional initiatives
• Define requirements and technical roadmap with engineering, product, and cross‑functional teams to launch programs at lightning speed
• Design and improve engineering processes, planning rhythms, and execution frameworks
• Clearly communicate roadmap, progress, and insights to key teams and stakeholders
• Do whatever it takes to ensure engineering teams are operating effectively — unblock them and keep them moving at a rapid pace
• Take ownership of any major blocker to the company’s success
• Drive strategic initiatives across the company as needed

You

People who do well at Whatnot tend to be comfortable figuring things out as they go, biased toward action, and genuinely curious about what they’re building. They care more about outcomes than credit and stay close to the product and the people using it.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant experience
• Experience leading complex, multi‑disciplinary, and highly visible technical and operational initiatives across an organization
• Ability to thrive in ambiguous environments, identify system and design tradeoffs, and make decisions with limited information in high‑pressure situations
• Demonstrated hands‑on fluency with AI tools (e.g. Claude Code, Cursor) to reduce manual overhead, automate program workflows, and drive measurable efficiency gains
• Proven ability to collect, synthesize, and interpret data to inform decisions and drive clarity
• Experience with hypothesis‑driven product and engineering development
• Entrepreneurial drive to achieve stretch goals in an innovative, fast‑paced environment

Compensation

Full‑Time (Salary) US‑based applicants: $190,000/year to $250,000/year + benefits + stock options. The salary range may be inclusive of several levels that would be applicable to the position. Final salary will be based on a number of factors including level, relevant prior experience, skills and expertise. This range is only inclusive of base salary, not benefits or equity in the form of stock options. Compensation Range: $190K – $260K.

Benefits

• Generous holiday and time off policy
• Health insurance options including medical, dental, vision
• Work from home support
  • Home office setup allowance
  • Monthly allowance for cell phone and internet
• Care benefits
  • Monthly allowance for wellness
  • Annual allowance toward childcare
  • Lifetime benefit for family planning such as adoption or fertility expenses
• Retirement: 401(k) offering for traditional and Roth accounts in the U.S. (employer match up to 4% of base salary) and pension plans internationally
• Monthly allowance to dogfood the app (All Whatnauts are expected to use the product as both a buyer and a seller)
• Parental leave
  • 16 weeks of paid parental leave plus one month gradual return to work. Company leave allowances run concurrently with country leave requirements which take precedence.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Whatnot is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by local law. We believe our work is better and our culture improved when we encourage, support, and respect the different skills and experiences represented within our workforce.