Senior Staff Technical Program Manager, Search Relevance & Personalization

Details

Airbnb’s mission is to create a world where people can Belong Anywhere. This role is a technical, hands-on, and mission-driven Senior Staff Technical Program Manager (TPM) on the Search Relevance & Personalization team. You will partner with ML engineers, infrastructure engineers, and product managers across Airbnb to build and enhance data-driven decision making and AI/ML-powered product experiences that improve ranking and recommendations across the platform.

Responsibilities

• Shape and influence the technical direction of projects, ensuring stakeholder needs are met and high-quality standards are maintained.
• Rapidly prototype and validate project ideas through iterative development cycles; adapt based on insights and data.
• Balance broad, outcome-driven thinking with attention to critical details; prioritize where deep focus is necessary for successful execution.
• Define and secure stakeholder alignment on clear, measurable success criteria to accelerate AI initiatives.
• Regularly assess risks and opportunities; devise proactive mitigation strategies to maintain momentum and project success.
• Maintain transparent and effective communication channels to keep stakeholders informed of progress, developments, and challenges.
• Present outcomes and updates to senior leadership, articulating trade-offs, risks, and emerging opportunities.

Requirements / Your Expertise

• At least 13 years of work experience, with at least 11 years as a TPM or in relevant roles.
• Demonstrated ability to work through ambiguity and drive vague problems to detailed solutions and finished initiatives.
• Self-motivated and proactive, able to adapt to teams with different operating cadences.
• Strong business judgment, ability to influence stakeholders, and excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Track record of taking ownership, leading data-driven analyses, and influencing results.
• Experience with ML models, large language models (LLMs), LRMs, feature development, model testing, and resource management to support AI-powered product experiences.
• Familiarity with A/B testing, incremental delivery, and deployment practices.
• Ability to ramp up quickly and learn new technologies with minimal lag time.

Team & Scope

• The Search Relevance & Personalization team powers ranking and recommendations across Airbnb (Search Ranking for Stays, Experiences, Services, Home Page Recommendations, Search Bar AutoSuggest and Autocomplete, Marketing Technology, etc.).
• The team builds personalization platforms and models used on and off platform, collaborating with Search Infrastructure, Guest and Host Experiences, MDX, Marketing, CS, Trust, and others.

Location & Work Policy

• This position is US - Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed with your manager.
• Candidates must live in a state where Airbnb, Inc. has a registered entity (some states are excluded).

Compensation & Benefits

• Base pay range: $224,000 — $280,000 USD.
• This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.

Inclusion & Accommodations

• Airbnb is committed to inclusion and belonging and encourages all qualified individuals to apply.
• Reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities are available during the application and interview process ([email protected]).