Cloudflare

Senior Manager, Research

Cloudflare

full-time

Posted on:

Location Type: Hybrid

Location: Austin • Texas • United States

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Job Level

Senior

About the role

  • Multigenerational Leadership: Manage and mentor a diverse team of Junior, Mid, Senior, and Principal Researchers. You will tailor your management style to support early-career growth while providing high-level strategic partnership to industry-leading Principal scientists.
  • Research Strategy & Roadmap: Help define and execute the long-term research agenda for your domain. This will include aligning research initiatives with Cloudflare’s product roadmap, to ensure that today’s experiments become tomorrow’s core features - as well as leading initiatives that define tomorrow and help build a better internet.
  • Standards & External Impact: Support the team in contributing to global internet standards (e.g., IETF, W3C, NIST) and maintaining Cloudflare’s presence in top-tier academic conferences.
  • Cross-Functional Integration: Partner with Product and Engineering leaders to identify "research-shaped" problems within their stacks and deploy research-led solutions to production.
  • Scientific Rigor & Ethics: Ensure all research is conducted with the highest standards of integrity, particularly regarding data privacy and the ethical implications of AI and cryptography.
  • Evangelism: Help the team communicate their work to both internal and external audiences, such as through the Cloudflare Blog, white papers, and industry talks to maintain our status as a thought leader in the research community.

Requirements

  • Proven Leadership: A minimum of 10 years of experience managing high-performing technical or research teams.
  • Academic and Industry Fluency: An advanced degree or equivalent industry experience in Computer Science, focusing on one of our core areas (Cryptography, AI, Systems, or Networking).
  • Publication Record: Familiarity with the academic lifecycle - understanding how to guide a project from a hypothesis to a peer-reviewed publication or a standard proposal.
  • Operational Excellence: Ability to manage "research uncertainty." You can help researchers navigate blockers and pivot when a hypothesis isn't panning out, while still meeting organizational milestones.
  • Recruitment: A track record of identifying and hiring top-tier research talent from both academia and industry.
  • Communication: Exceptional ability to translate complex theoretical concepts into business value for non-technical stakeholders.
  • Technology: Experience working with/for a hyperscaler or SAAS provider on high impact projects.
Benefits
  • Health insurance
  • 401(k) matching
  • Flexible work hours
  • Paid time off
  • Professional development opportunities
Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools
CryptographyAISystemsNetworkingResearch StrategyData PrivacyEthical Implications of AIPublication ProcessResearch MethodologiesOperational Excellence
Soft Skills
LeadershipMentoringCommunicationProblem SolvingRecruitmentStrategic PartnershipCross-Functional CollaborationEvangelismAdaptabilityIntegrity