Technical Product Director, Foundations, News Product

Company: The New York Times
Location: New York City
Posted on: April 2, 2026

Job Description:

The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for. Mission Overview & Responsibilities : The New York Times is looking for a Technical Product Director to lead our Foundations team within the News Product Mission. Our goal is to be the entry point for news for tens of millions more people around the world by being their first read, watch or listen—every day. The Foundations team is dedicated to making our app and website as performant and intuitive as possible. We want to reduce friction so readers can access critical news seamlessly, ensuring our digital products reflect the same level of excellence as our journalism. Over the next few years, you will lead the charge in elevating the quality of our core web and mobile experiences to ensure they are among the fastest and most reliable in the industry. The Foundations team and the News Product mission work on editorially-grounded initiatives at the speed of the news cycle. We want a leader who is passionate about the news, technically fluent, and committed to building a digital experience where technical performance and intuitive design work together to empower our readers. You will report to the VP of News Product and will manage a small team of product managers. You will partner closely with engineering and product leaders, the Developer Platforms mission, and peer teams within the News Product mission to shape strategy and deliver high-quality web and app experiences. Responsibilities: Define and drive a multi-quarter roadmap to ensure our web and app experiences are as performant and intuitive as possible, focusing on speed, reliability and ease of use. Collaborate with Engineering and Data to define performance expectations and track progress Scale and evolve foundational backend services, such as personalization and sitemaps, so they can be expanded into new product contexts Manage the mobile app release process in collaboration with Engineering, ensuring a stable but flexible delivery cadence for our readers Partner closely with the Developer Platforms mission and peer teams within the News Product mission to align on standards and ensure foundational improvements benefit the entire organization Identify and reduce reader friction, using qualitative and quantitative insights to prioritize improvements that make navigating our journalism effortless. Lead, coach and develop a team of product managers, setting clear goals, operating rhythms and a high bar for product management and cross-functional collaboration. Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world. Basic Qualifications : 7 years of technical product management experience, including ownership of product strategy and roadmap for high-traffic consumer web or mobile products. People management experience leading and developing product managers. Consumer app and web experience (iOS/Android/Web), including iterative shipping in a live product environment. Experience leading complex, cross-functional work and align stakeholders across missions, including senior technical and newsroom leaders. Analytical expertise and a data-informed approach to prioritization, balancing technical quality with immediate user needs. Experience communicating complex technical concepts to a variety of audiences, with experience in clear decision-making in ambiguous spaces. Preferred Qualifications : Experience managing frontend optimization, accessibility, and modern web architectures (e.g., SSR, edge rendering) for high-traffic sites using observability tools like DataDog RUM. Experience defining technical roadmaps for foundational mobile app architecture, managing complex release cycles, and establishing incident response protocols. Experience architecting and scaling web personalization or recommendation systems within a high-traffic environment. Experience working in native app environments including specific features built using hybrid (web-in-native) technologies. Demonstrated experience working in or closely with a newsroom, editors or content creators. REQ-019458 LI-Hybrid The annual base pay range for this role is between: $188,000 - $225,000 USD For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs. For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process. The New York Times Company is committed to being the world’s best source of independent, reliable and quality journalism. To do so, we embrace a diverse workforce that has a broad range of backgrounds and experiences across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Know Your Rights Poster is available here . The New York Times Company will provide reasonable accommodations as required by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. Individuals seeking an accommodation for the application or interview process should email reasonable.accommodations@nytimes.com. Emails sent for unrelated issues, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response. The Company encourages those with criminal histories to apply, and will consider their applications in a manner consistent with applicable "Fair Chance" laws, including but not limited to the NYC Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act. For information about The New York Times' privacy practices for job applicants click here . Please beware of fraudulent job postings. Scammers may post fraudulent job opportunities, and they may even make fraudulent employment offers. This is done by bad actors to collect personal information and money from victims. All legitimate job opportunities from The New York Times will be accessible through The New York Times careers site . The New York Times will not ask job applicants for financial information or for payment, and will not refer you to a third party to do so. You should never send money to anyone who suggests they can provide employment with The New York Times. If you see a fake or fraudulent job posting, or if you suspect you have received a fraudulent offer, you can report it to The New York Times at NYTapplicants@nytimes.com. You can also file a report with the Federal Trade Commission or your state attorney general .

Keywords: The New York Times, Clifton , Technical Product Director, Foundations, News Product, IT / Software / Systems , New York City, New Jersey