Sr. Product Escalation Manager

ONWARDS TOGETHER!

Illumio is the leader in ransomware and breach containment, redefining how organizations contain cyberattacks and enable operational resilience. Powered by the Illumio AI Security Graph, our breach containment platform identifies and contains threats across hybrid multi-cloud environments - stopping the spread of attacks before they become disasters.

Recognized as a Leader in the Forrester Wave™ for Microsegmentation, Illumio enables Zero Trust, strengthening cyber resilience for the infrastructure, systems, and organizations that keep the world running.

LOCATION: 5 ON-SITE DAYS A WEEK IN SUNNYVALE, CA HEADQUARTERS.

OUR TEAM'S VISION:

Our Engineering team is shaping the future of cybersecurity. We thrive on visionary leadership, autonomy, and ownership, fostering a culture of innovation that propels us forward in the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape.

As a leader in Zero Trust Segmentation, we are redefining security for a world facing unprecedented cyber threats. You'll work with a highly scalable SaaS service built using cloud-native technologies while simultaneously shipping the solution on-premises.

Our guiding philosophy in Engineering is to get things right through practicing disciplined engineering, focusing, not cutting corners, and of course having fun while we are at it. We believe in enabling ownership at all levels of the organization and empowering teams. If you thrive in this culture, come join us!

YOUR IMPACT:

We are looking for a highly skilled and customer-focused Senior Escalation Manager to own the end-to-end management of customer-facing escalations that require engagement from Product, Engineering, Cloud Operations, SRE, Security, and Executive Leadership.

This role serves as the operational leader for critical issues affecting customers, ensuring that escalations are triaged effectively, routed to the appropriate teams, communicated consistently, and driven to resolution. The Senior Escalation Manager will also own post-incident governance, including Root Cause Analysis (RCA) tracking, corrective action management, and escalation program reporting.

The successful candidate combines a strong technical support background with exceptional program management, communication, and stakeholder management skills. They understand how enterprise customers experience problems, can effectively partner with engineering teams during high-pressure situations, and drive accountability across organizations to achieve customer outcomes.

This role is ideal for someone who has grown through Technical Support, Escalation Management, Technical Account Management, or Incident Management and wants to influence product and engineering execution at scale.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

Own the Escalation Lifecycle

- Act as the central coordinator for all escalations entering the Product & Engineering organization.

- Evaluate incoming escalation requests and ensure proper severity classification.

- Route issues to the appropriate Product, Engineering, Cloud Operations, Security, or Platform teams.

- Establish and maintain ownership, accountability, and visibility throughout the escalation lifecycle.

- Monitor escalation progress and proactively remove blockers.

Drive Cross-Functional Resolution

- Lead cross-functional meetings focused on critical customer issues.

- Coordinate activities across Support, Customer Success, Product Management, Engineering, SRE, Operations, and Leadership.

- Drive alignment on mitigation plans, customer commitments, and resolution strategies.

- Escalate unresolved blockers to leadership when needed.

Manage Executive and Customer Escalations

- Provide structured executive updates for high-priority issues.

- Ensure field teams have timely and accurate information to communicate with customers.

- Partner with Customer Success and Support leadership to manage high-visibility customer situations.

- Represent Product & Engineering interests while maintaining customer advocacy.

Own RCA and Corrective Action Governance

- Manage the Root Cause Analysis program for escalated incidents.

- Ensure RCA timelines, reviews, approvals, and customer commitments are met.

- Track corrective and preventative actions through completion.

- Identify recurring issue patterns and systemic risks.

- Partner with engineering leaders to drive long-term improvements and prevent recurrence.

Build Operational Excellence

- Develop escalation metrics, dashboards, and executive reporting.

- Measure escalation trends, aging, response times, SLA adherence, RCA completion, and corrective action closure.

- Establish consistent escalation processes, standards, and governance.

- Drive continuous improvement initiatives that improve customer experience and operational efficiency.

YOUR TOOLKIT:

Required

- 7+ years of experience in one or more of the following:

- Technical Support

- Escalation Management

- Technical A