Lead Technical Program Manager

Job Description

Job Description

AppFolio is more than a company. We’re a community of dreamers, big thinkers, problem solvers, active listeners, and multipliers. At every opportunity, we set the pace while delivering innovation built to carry real estate into the future. One in which every experience feels effortless, yet meaningful. Where customers are empowered to take on any opportunity. We show up as one team, connected by our values to be a force for good. Because together, we have the power to create extraordinary outcomes for our customers, our communities, and ourselves.

 

The Lead Technical Program Manager, Risk & Security will drive the cross-functional execution and operational alignment of critical security initiatives across stakeholder groups, including Engineering, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), IT, Business Systems, Marketing Operations, and more. By unifying application security, infrastructure security, vulnerability management, and adversarial testing under a single roadmap, this role ensures our security posture scales cleanly with AppFolio’s growth. Reporting within the Information Security organization, you will serve as the primary bridge between technical security functions and partner engineering teams, empowering our business to build safely, mitigate risks early, and maintain customer trust.

 

Your Impact

 

• Establish, maintain, and execute strategic roadmaps for core internal security initiatives across application security, infrastructure security, vulnerability management, and threat operations.

• Partner directly with Engineering, SRE, IT, and Business Systems teams to scope requirements, track critical project milestones, and ensure operational deliverables remain on schedule.

• Implement structured intake and prioritization processes to make security project handoffs transparent, well-resourced, and aligned with overall business goals.

• Proactively identify cross-departmental blockers, resource gaps, and dependency conflicts, escalating issues with actionable options and strategic trade-offs.

• Serve as the single point of contact and primary cross-functional liaison for security-driven initiatives, streamlining communications with internal engineering partners and external third-party vendors.

• Deliver clear, executive-ready reporting on program health, project progress, resource needs, and technical outcomes framed around business risk reduction and resilience.

 

Qualifications

 

• Able to translate complex, multi-domain security initiatives (application security, infrastructure security, vulnerability management) into structured project roadmaps and clear operational deliverables.

• Skilled at facilitating cross-functional alignment between security, software engineering, site reliability, and IT operations teams.

• Strong ability to evaluate technical dependencies, surface emerging risks early, and present clear options and trade-offs to senior leadership.

• Demonstrated competency in managing technical project workflows within tools like Jira to maintain clear accountability and visible tracking.

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with the versatility to tailor messages effectively for software engineers, security practitioners, and executive leadership.

 

Must Have

 

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent practical technical leadership experience) required.

• Proven track record in technical program or project management within an information security or engineering organization.

• Experience managing cross-functional technical projects that intersect with software development lifecycles, CI/CD pipelines, or SRE/IT operational workflows.

• Hands-on experience utilizing project management and issue-tracking platforms (such as Jira) to manage complex backlogs, dependencies, and delivery timelines.

• Experience coordinating deliverables across multiple security disciplines or managing vendor engagements aligned with internal project schedules.

• Strong communication skills, including executive-level reporting capabilities.

 

Compensation & Benefits

The compensation that we reasonably expect to pay for this role is: $152,000 - $190,000 base pay. The actual compensation for this role will be determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s skills, education, experience, and internal equity.

Please note that compensation is just one aspect of a comprehensive Total Rewards package. The compensation range listed here does not include additional benefits or any discretionary bonuses you may be eligible for based on your role and/or employment type.

Regular full-time employees are eligible for benefits - see here.

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