Senior Associate Program Manager - Engineering

Senior Associate Program Manager - Engineering

US - Headquarters

Program Management /

Reg - Full-Time /

On-site

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Why join Upscale AI

Upscale AI is building the high-performance infrastructure powering the next generation of artificial intelligence. Backed by over $300M in funding and rapid global adoption, we are scaling systems designed for the world's most demanding AI workloads.

We focus on first-principles engineering across silicon, systems, and networking-where performance, scale, and execution are critical. Our team is talent-dense and high-performing. We value ownership, technical rigor, and speed, and we offer the opportunity to work on foundational problems with immediate, real-world impact.

If you're looking to do high-impact work, move fast, and help define the infrastructure behind the future of AI-Upscale AI is where you can produce meaningful work at the frontier-and operate at a high standard.

Role Overview

The Senior Associate Engineering Program Manager (EPM) will own and drive cross-functional programs across hardware and software development for networking products including switches and ASICs. This individual will lead New Product Introduction (NPI) processes through software phase-gate milestones, own software release schedules, and drive alignment across engineering, product management, and executive stakeholders. This is an opportunity to shape and scale program management practices at a rapidly scaling company, with broad ownership from day one, direct visibility to executive leadership, and the expectation to mentor and grow a program management discipline as the team expands.

The ideal candidate thrives in fast-paced environments, brings exceptional organizational and leadership skills, and has deep expertise in networking technologies and operating systems. You are effective at leading teams with varying levels of systems and networking experience, and you can translate complex technical context into clear, actionable information for diverse stakeholders. You bring a track record of driving programs to successful outcomes and influencing without authority across engineering organizations.

Key Responsibilities

Program & Project Management

• Support end-to-end program execution for hardware NPI and/or software release programs, from concept through production release and customer delivery.

• Help develop and maintain integrated program schedules, track milestones, manage risks, and communicate status to stakeholders and executives.

• Coordinate software NPI phase-gate reviews (Phase 0: Concept, Phase 1: Commit, Phase 2: Execution, Phase 3: Testing, Phase 4: First Revenue Shipment) and ensure deliverables meet quality, cost, and schedule targets at each gate.

• Facilitate cross-functional meetings, capture action items, and drive accountability across teams.

• Contribute to defining and tracking program and release KPIs (e.g., release cadence, defect escape rate, schedule adherence) to support leadership decision-making.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Product Managers (PM), software engineering, QA, operations, and ASIC/silicon teams to align priorities and resolve dependencies.

• Serve as a coordination point between hardware and software workstreams, helping ensure integration readiness at each milestone.

• Bridge knowledge gaps across teams by translating hardware constraints, system-level dependencies, and NOS release requirements into actionable context for engineering leaders and stakeholders who may not have deep systems or networking backgrounds.

• Communicate program status, risks, and trade-offs to executive leadership, providing clear recommendations for decision-making.

Technical Coordination & Release Support

• Support software releases for network operating systems (e.g., SONiC) running on switches, including release readiness reviews, code freeze coordination, and integration testing.

• Track feature readiness, bug triage, and release criteria across software and firmware teams.

• Support ASIC bring-up and integration milestones by helping align hardware and software schedules.

• Maintain awareness of platform-level dependencies across network operating systems such as SONiC and related NOS environments.

• Assist in maintaining release governance processes, including branching strategies, freeze windows, and rollback procedures in collaboration with engineering leads.

• Support post-release retrospectives and help capture lessons learned to improve future release cycles.

Process Improvement

• Identify and recommend process improvements to increase program execution efficiency and predictability.

• Help develop dashboards, templates, and reporting mechanisms for program health and risk visibility.

• Contribute to building scalable program management practices as the organization grows.

• Help ensure systems are in place to capture and act on product feedback from customers and internal stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

Program & Project Management

• Own end-to-end program execution for software NPI and release programs, from concept through production release and customer delivery.
• Develop and maintain integrated program schedules, track milestones, manage risks, and communicate status to stakeholders and executives.
• Lead software NPI phase-gate reviews (Phase 0: Concept, Phase 1: Commit, Phase 2: Execution, Phase 3: Testing, Phase 4: First Revenue Shipment) and ensure deliverables meet quality, cost, and schedule targets at each gate.
• Lead cross-functional meetings, capture action items, and drive accountability across teams.
• Define and own program and release KPIs (e.g., release cadence, defect escape rate, schedule adherence) to drive leadership decision-making and continuous improvement.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Lead cross-functional alignment with Product Managers (PM), software engineering, QA, operations, and ASIC/silicon teams to drive priorities and resolve dependencies.
• Serve as the primary integration point between hardware and software workstreams, ensuring integration readiness at each milestone.
• Bridge knowledge gaps across teams by translating hardware constraints, system-level dependencies, and NOS release requirements into actionable context for engineering leaders and stakeholders who may not have deep systems or networking backgrounds.
• Own executive communication of program status, risks, and trade-offs, providing clear recommendations and escalation paths for decision-making.

Technical Coordination & Release Support

• Drive software releases for network operating systems (e.g., SONiC) running on switches, including release readiness reviews, code freeze coordination, and integration testing.
• Own feature readiness tracking, bug triage prioritization, and release criteria enforcement across software and firmware teams.
• Drive ASIC bring-up and integration milestones by aligning hardware and software schedules and proactively resolving cross-team blockers.
• Maintain deep understanding of platform-level dependencies across network operating systems such as SONiC and related NOS environments.
• Own release governance processes, including branching strategies, freeze windows, and rollback procedures in collaboration with engineering leads.
• Lead post-release retrospectives and ensure lessons learned are captured, tracked, and applied to improve future release cycles.

Process Improvement

• Drive process improvements to increase program execution efficiency, predictability, and scalability across the organization.
• Build and own dashboards, templates, and reporting mechanisms for program health and risk visibility.
• Establish and scale program management practices, frameworks, and tooling as the organization grows.
• Ensure systems are in place to capture and act on product feedback from customers and internal stakeholders.

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 7+ years of experience in engineering program management, technical project management, or a related role within a hardware, software, or networking company.
• Deep experience with software NPI phase-gate processes (e.g., Concept, Commit, Execution, Testing, FRS) or equivalent milestone-driven development in Agile environments.
• Strong command of the software release lifecycle, including feature planning, code freeze, regression testing, and GA releases.
• Proven track record of leading cross-functional programs involving software engineering, PM, QA, and executive leadership-particularly in environments where not all stakeholders share the same technical background.
• Executive presence with exceptional written and verbal communication skills; demonstrated ability to distill complex technical programs into clear status updates and executive summaries.
• Proficiency with project management tools such as Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated ability to influence without authority and drive accountability across teams and organizational boundaries.

Preferred

• Significant experience in the networking or data center infrastructure industry.
• Hands-on experience with network operating systems (e.g., SONiC, Cumulus, NX-OS, EOS) or Linux-based networking platforms.
• Experience with AI/ML infrastructure or high-performance computing networking environments.
• Strong background in Agile methodologies and SDLC practices adapted to hardware-coupled development cycles.
• Proven ownership of release governance processes, including branching strategies, freeze windows, and rollback procedures.
• Track record of building program/release KPI frameworks and driving continuous improvement initiatives.
• Deep understanding of open-source networking platforms (SONiC, Open Network Linux).
• Experience mentoring or growing junior program managers and establishing PM practices at scaling organizations.
• PMP or Agile/Scrum certification.

$160,000 - $167,000 a year

Where you fall within that range depends on your experience, skills, and impact-we benchmark against internal levels to keep things fair and consistent.

Equal Opportunity

Upscale AI is building a team that reflects a wide range of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. We're proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or veteran status.

Accessibility & Accommodations

We're committed to making our hiring process accessible to everyone. If you need accommodations at any stage, just reach out to us at [email protected]-we're happy to help. Note: This inbox is only for accommodation requests.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

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