Senior Technical Program Manager – NAND / SSD Programs

Location: California (US)

Experience Level: Senior

Description

We are seeking an experienced Senior Technical Program Manager (TPM) with strong NAND/SSD expertise to lead complex hardware programs across the full product lifecycle. This role will drive cross-functional execution for SSD/NAND qualification, integration, sustaining engineering, supplier engagement, and new product introduction (NPI) activities.

The ideal candidate has a strong technical understanding of enterprise storage technologies, solid-state drive architectures, qualification processes, and manufacturing operations, combined with exceptional program management, organizational, and communication skills.

This role requires a highly organized and execution-focused leader who can manage multiple priorities, drive schedules, coordinate engineering and operations teams, and proactively identify and mitigate risks.

 This is a great opportunity to be part of one of the fastest-growing infrastructure companies in history, an organization that is in the center of the hurricane being created by the revolution in artificial intelligence.

VAST Data is the data platform company for the AI era. We are building the enterprise software infrastructure to capture, catalog, refine, enrich, and protect massive datasets and make them available for real-time data analysis and AI training and inference. Designed from the ground up to make AI simple to deploy and manage, VAST takes the cost and complexity out of deploying enterprise and AI infrastructure across data center, edge, and cloud.

Our success has been built through intense innovation, a customer-first mentality and a team of fearless VASTronauts who leverage their skills & experiences to make real market impact. This is an opportunity to be a key contributor at a pivotal time in our company’s growth and at a pivotal point in computing history.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional hardware programs from development through production launch and sustaining support.
• Manage schedules, milestones, risks, dependencies, and executive status reporting to ensure successful program execution.
• Drive product lifecycle activities including NPI, qualification, sustaining engineering, component transitions, and EOL management.

NAND / SSD Program Leadership

• Lead NAND and SSD qualification programs across multiple suppliers and hardware platforms.
• Coordinate technical activities related to SSD validation, reliability, interoperability, firmware, and field quality.
• Manage supplier engagement, technical escalations, failure analysis, and corrective action tracking.
• Create documentation; test requirements, product performance, return and FA requirements, etc

Cross-Functional Execution & Communication

• Drive alignment across engineering, operations, manufacturing, quality, and supplier teams.
• Facilitate technical reviews, executive updates, and issue resolution meetings.
• Ensure clear ownership, accountability, and execution of deliverables across all stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain project plans, dashboards, status reports, and operational metrics.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field.
• 7+ years of Technical Program Management experience in enterprise hardware, storage, or data center technologies.
• Strong experience with NAND, SSD technologies, and enterprise storage systems.
• Experience managing hardware qualification, validation, and NPI programs.
• Strong understanding of hardware product lifecycle management and supplier coordination.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and executive presentation skills.
• Proven ability to manage multiple complex programs simultaneously.
• Strong problem-solving, risk management, and execution skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with enterprise server, storage, or AI infrastructure platforms.
• Familiarity with NVMe, PCIe, SSD firmware qualification, and interoperability testing.
• Experience working with manufacturing operations, quality systems, and supplier management.
• Experience with Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet, or similar project management tools.
• PMP certification preferred.
• Experience working in an start up environment, facepaced, adapt well to change management/control
• Collaborative leadership style with strong communication skills.

Requirements