Jack Dorsey, Twitter's co-founder, is talking with Twitter about returning to the company in a product leadership role, according to three sources briefed on the discussions.
Mr. Dorsey would remain chief executive of Square, the mobile payment start-up that he co-founded in 2009, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak because Mr. Dorsey's new role is not yet final.
The move would be a triumphant return for Mr. Dorsey, who conceived the idea for Twitter but was ousted as chief executive of Twitter in 2008. He has remained on Twitter's board of directors, and in the last six months has been spending more time at Twitter's headquarters, talking with employees and brainstorming product ideas.
It would also mean a closer working relationship between Mr. Dorsey and Evan Williams, who recently stepped down as chief executive of Twitter to take more active role on product design. Their relationship has been tense in the past.
Twitter declined to comment on Mr.Dorsey's potential new role, but said in a statement,
"We're fortunate that our chairman, Jack Dorsey, has been able to get even more engaged in the company. His assistance has and will continue to be invaluable."
And there is room for another executive focusing on product, because Jason Goldman, who was vice president of product at Twitter, recently left the company.
Mr. Williams and Mr. Dorsey founded Twitter along with Biz Stone, who also remains at the company as an evangelist. Twitter celebrated its five-year anniversary this week, and Mr. Dorsey has been waxing nostalgic about the beginnings of the service.
The discussions were first reported by Business Insider, an industry blog.