Director, Engineering Operations & Strategy
At Klaviyo, we value the unique backgrounds, experiences and perspectives each Klaviyo (we call ourselves Klaviyos) brings to our workplace each and every day. We believe everyone deserves a fair shot at success and appreciate the experiences each person brings beyond the traditional job requirements. If you’re a close but not exact match with the description, we hope you’ll still consider applying. Want to learn more about life at Klaviyo? Visit careers.klaviyo.com to see how we empower creators to own their own destiny.
At Klaviyo, the Office of the CTO translates technology strategy into execution at scale. This is a unique role—and we won’t sugarcoat it: the challenges are significant. The reward? Deep ownership, measurable impact, and growth that’s anything but ordinary. If you’re motivated by solving hard problems and working directly with the CTO to build what lasts, this role is for you.
You will be the CTO’s force multiplier. You’ll run the engineering operating cadence, drive strategic planning and resource allocation, and partner on mission‑critical programs across platform, data, product, and security. In high‑stakes moments, you will bring crisp judgment, structured thinking, and an executive narrative that moves decisions forward. You’ll model Klaviyo’s values—Drivers wanted, Move fast, no shortcuts, Be meticulous in your craft, Win together—and keep AI at the center of how work gets done.
What success looks like in the first 6–12 months? A predictable CTO operating system that clarifies priorities and accelerates decisions within engineering and with partner functions; visible progress on key technical projects and programs, and strong relationships at all levels of the organization.
What You’ll Do
- Be an extension of the CTO — Prep materials and briefings for key decisions and forums; act as proxy in select engagements with clear guardrails.
- Operationalize CTO priorities — Translate strategic initiatives into execution by coordinating multi-quarter, cross-functional efforts focused on reliability, productivity, data quality, and cost efficiency, ensuring teams are aligned and accountable for measurable impact.
- Proactively surface and solve problems — Create clarity from ambiguity; identify risks early; propose structured options and trade‑offs; keep work moving with urgency. Be a clarity creator.
- Run the operating cadence — Drive annual/quarterly planning and OKRs along with Product Ops and Business Ops, planning for Engineering and technical initiatives, weekly staff, technical reviews, and follow‑through; publish crisp inputs/outputs and “what’s decided” artifacts.
- Translate roadmaps into resource plans — Partner with Recruiting, Finance, People, and Engineering Leadership to own capacity planning end-to-end. Forecast and reconcile headcount against technical roadmap and budget; and assist in translating approved plans into role charters and structured hiring.
- Craft internal and external narratives — Build Board/SLT updates, All‑Hands content, and executive briefs that translate technical choices into customer and business impact.
- Institutionalize operational excellence — Make incident/postmortem, risk, and dependency mechanisms visible and durable; raise accountability, ownership, intensity, and impact across R&D.
- Put AI at the center — Transform workflows by putting AI at the center, building smarter systems and ways of working from the ground up.
Who You Are
- Technical Operator: Seasoned technical leader (8–12+ years) with experience in Chief of Staff, Engineering Strategy, Engineering Operations, or Technical Engineering roles, ideally having supported CTO- or VP-level R&D organizations in high-growth software environments.
- Technical Fluency & Problem Solver: Technically fluent, able to discuss architecture and platform trade-offs, linking them to reliability, velocity, and cost. Solves hard problems under pressure, seeks feedback, and learns quickly. High EQ and strong judgment.
- Operationally Rigorous & Metrics-Driven: Operationally rigorous and metrics-driven, establishing clear cadences, dashboards, and KPIs for goal-to-delivery. Expertise in OKRs, SLOs, Throughput/Lead Time, headcount plan vs. actuals, and hub ratios.
- Strategic Workforce Planner: Expert in engineering org design, capacity planning, headcount management, and budget adherence. Deep understanding of hub ratios, healthy spans & layers, career architecture alignment, and translating technical needs to headcount.
- Exceptional Communicator & Influencer: Exceptional communicator with executive presence. Crafts compelling narratives and influences C-level stakeholders and teams at all levels (Product, Eng, Data, Security, Finance, People).
- AI-Forward & Innovative: AI-forward, with experience experimenting with AI. Eager to learn and responsibly explore new AI tools for efficiency for self and Engineering organizations.
- Meticulous Attention to Detail: Willing to roll up your sleeves and take on any task — from high-level strategy to everyday operational details. Proactive in identifying and solving issues, maintaining the highest quality and consistency even while juggling multiple priorities.
- Dynamic & Impactful Leader: Fast-moving, analytical, and structured thinker. Brings order to ambiguity, makes swift, high-quality decisions. Strong, organized leadership, raising the bar on accountability, ownership, urgency, and impact.
- Resilient & Mission-Driven: Exhibits grit and determination, resilient to change and context switching. Committed to the organization's mission and values, energized by building for customers at scale.
Nice to Haves
- Experience designing platform/infrastructure or developer productivity orgs; familiarity with measuring developer velocity, reliability (SLOs), and cost‑of‑serve.
- Background in B2B SaaS or product‑led organizations.
We use Covey as part of our hiring and / or promotional process. For jobs or candidates in NYC, certain features may qualify it as an AEDT. As part of the evaluation process we provide Covey with job requirements and candidate submitted applications. We began using Covey Scout for Inbound on April 3, 2025.
Please see the independent bias audit report covering our use of Covey here
Massachusetts Applicants:
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.
Our salary range reflects the cost of labor across various U.S. geographic markets. The range displayed below reflects the minimum and maximum target salaries for the position across all our US locations. The base salary offered for this position is determined by several factors, including the applicant’s job-related skills, relevant experience, education or training, and work location.
In addition to base salary, our total compensation package may include participation in the company’s annual cash bonus plan, variable compensation (OTE) for sales and customer success roles, equity, sign-on payments, and a comprehensive range of health, welfare, and wellbeing benefits based on eligibility.
Your recruiter can provide more details about the specific salary/OTE range for your preferred location during the hiring process.
Get to Know Klaviyo
We’re Klaviyo (pronounced clay-vee-oh). We empower creators to own their destiny by making first-party data accessible and actionable like never before. We see limitless potential for the technology we’re developing to nurture personalized experiences in ecommerce and beyond. To reach our goals, we need our own crew of remarkable creators—ambitious and collaborative teammates who stay focused on our north star: delighting our customers. If you’re ready to do the best work of your career, where you’ll be welcomed as your whole self from day one and supported with generous benefits, we hope you’ll join us.
AI fluency at Klaviyo includes responsible use of AI (including privacy, security, bias awareness, and human-in-the-loop). We provide accommodations as needed.
By participating in Klaviyo’s interview process, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and will adhere to our Guidelines for using AI in the Klaviyo interview Process. For more information about how we process your personal data, see our Job Applicant Privacy Notice.
Klaviyo is committed to a policy of equal opportunity and non-discrimination. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, citizenship, national origin, color, religion or religious creed, age, sex (including pregnancy), gender identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, veteran or active military status, marital status, criminal record, genetics, retaliation, sexual harassment or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.