Senior Principal Program Manager, Business Operations, BizOps
About the team
Customer Fulfillment Engineering (CFE) builds the platforms and experiences that power Zillow’s end-to-end transaction ecosystem across our Buying, Agent, Mortgage, and broader Real Estate business units. We partner closely with Product, Marketing, Finance, Design, and Shared Services to deliver reliable, scalable, and elegant customer solutions.We are a technology-driven organization committed to operational excellence, continuous improvement, and a customer-first mindset. Our work spans systems, services, and strategic transformation initiatives across Zillow Group.
About the role
We are hiring a Senior Principal Program Manager, Business Operations (BizOps) to serve as a strategic leader supporting the SVP of Customer Fulfillment Engineering. This role is a critical force multiplier, accountable for driving operational rigor, budget management, enabling cross-functional alignment, and leading strategic programs across engineering and the broader Zillow ecosystem.
You’ll orchestrate the business rhythms of the organization—financial planning, headcount management, operational reviews, and strategic initiative tracking—while acting as the connective tissue across Engineering, Finance, Product, and other partner teams.
This is a high-impact individual contributor role that requires strategic thinking, operational excellence, strong cross-functional influence, and a relentless bias for execution. You will shape and scale how our engineering organization plans, executes, and grows.
What You'll Do
Act as a trusted partner to the SVP of Engineering, driving prioritization, clarity, and accountability across the leadership team.
Design and run engineering and operational rhythms: planning, strategic reviews, portfolio health assessments, OKR alignment, and budget/headcount planning.
Own program design and execution for top-priority engineering and cross-functional initiatives (e.g., SDLC optimization, platform investments, org-wide tooling adoption).
Drive cross-team integration and visibility across large engineering organizations and stakeholder groups, ensuring smooth adoption of shared frameworks and standards.
Manage the operating and capital expenditure (OpEx/CapEx) budget in partnership with Finance (FP&A) and Procurement, including vendor/cloud infrastructure tracking.
Identify and remove organizational friction points, streamlining reporting, metrics, decision-making processes, and communications across the team.
Provide executive-ready insights, dashboards, and program updates that drive data-informed decisions and alignment across senior leadership.
Facilitate change management for high-impact engineering initiatives, from strategy definition to implementation and scaling.
Foster a high-trust, collaborative culture by connecting dots across teams and surfacing challenges/opportunities before they escalate.
Who you are
You are a strategic operator, servant leader, and systems thinker. You know how to connect vision to execution, and you take pride in being the person leadership counts on to turn big, complex ideas into scalable action.
Must-Have Qualifications
10+ years of experience in technical program management, engineering operations, strategic business operations, or chief-of-staff-type roles in high-growth tech environments.
Strong background in working with engineering leadership and understanding the software development lifecycle (SDLC), technical architecture, and product delivery.
Demonstrated success leading and scaling business operations or program portfolios in a fast-paced, cross-functional organization.
Experience managing organizational budgets, vendor spend, and headcount planning in partnership with Finance and Procurement.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to distill complexity and influence across executive and peer stakeholders.
Comfortable with ambiguity, highly self-motivated, and energized by solving complex organizational challenges.
Deep experience with portfolio management tools, OKRs, reporting systems, and cross-organizational communication frameworks.
Strong analytical and data-driven mindset—able to develop and present metrics that guide decision-making and accountability.
Known for bringing energy, clarity, and structure to teams, you are trusted to represent senior leaders with integrity and insight.
Preferred Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, or a related field. An MBA or a technical graduate degree is a plus.
Prior experience supporting engineering leaders in a chief-of-staff or strategic BizOps capacity.
Familiarity with large-scale software infrastructure, platform services, or enterprise systems is a strong advantage.
Get to know us
Zillow is reimagining real estate to make home a reality for more and more people.
As the most-visited real estate website in the United States, Zillow® and its affiliates help movers find and win their home through digital solutions, first class partners, and easier buying, selling, financing and renting experiences. Millions of people visit Zillow Group sites every month to start their home search, and now they can rely on Zillow to help make it easier to move. The work we do helps people get home and no matter what job you're in, you will play a critical role in making home a reality for more and more people.
Our efforts to streamline the real estate transaction are supported by a deep-rooted culture of innovation, our passion to redefine the employee experience, a fundamental commitment to Equity and Belonging, and world-class benefits. These benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life, and disability coverages as well as parental leave, family benefits, retirement contributions, and paid time off. We’re also setting the standard for work experiences of the future, where our employees are supported in doing their best work and living a flexible, well-balanced life. But don’t just take our word for it. Read recent reviews on Glassdoor and recent recognition from multiple organizations, including: the 100 Best Companies to Work For, Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award, Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equity Index, and TIME 100 Most Influential Companies list.
Zillow Group is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact your recruiter directly.
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable state and local law.
Applicants who receive job offers from Zillow Group will be asked to sign a Proprietary Rights Agreement which includes confidentiality, intellectual property assignment, customer and employee non-solicitation, and non-competition provisions. If you are contacted for a role at Zillow Group and wish to review a copy of the Proprietary Rights Agreement prior to receiving an offer, you may request a copy from your Recruiter.