Senior Program Manager (Product Development)

VerticalCompute; Vlaams-Brabant; Remote; EUR 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Vertical Compute seeks a Program Manager to oversee the unified hardware and software platform, bridging development and production. You will own execution across silicon and software, aligning milestones with hardware, software, architecture and product teams.

This role sits in the operations team, with close collaboration across System & Product and Memory Design, and involves travel to client or partner sites as growth accelerates.

Qualifications

• Masters or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics or a related technical field.
• Proven track record as technical program manager in semiconductor industry delivering complex hardware-software products.
• Fluency in English with strong written and verbal communication abilities.

Responsibilities

• Own the cross-functional execution framework for silicon and software development programs from architecture to tapeout and bring-up.
• Partner with hardware, software, architecture and product teams to align milestones, roadmaps, and execution reviews.
• Establish scalable execution practices, manage dependencies and mitigate risks across hardware-software integration.
• Manage cross-functional delivery flow to ensure seamless execution across teams.

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional collaboration

Data-driven decision making

Education

Masters in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Hardware design tools

AI acceleration tech

Job description

Job description

About Us

AI compute is hitting a hard physical wall, and memory bottlenecks are throttling the entire industry. Founded in October 2024 and backed by €57M in funding, Vertical Compute is solving this with proprietary Vertical Integrated Memory (VIM™) chiplets, making AI hardware faster, greener, and vastly more scalable. We are an interdisciplinary team transforming breakthrough semiconductor physics into commercial reality.

Why Now

After 18 months of intensive R&D, Vertical Compute has reached a critical inflection point. Our underlying technology is validated, and we have successfully met our core technical milestones. Armed with a proven technical data package and ongoing system studies, we are now shifting from pure R&D to active engagement with global enterprise customers. As we prepare for our next phase of scale and growth starting in 2027, joining us today means taking direct ownership of the hardware foundation that will power the next era of AI compute.

About the role

You will oversee key technical initiatives to deliver our unified hardware and software platform. You will play a crucial role in transitioning products from initial development into commercial production. Taking full ownership of execution, you will bridge technology delivery with strategic commercial goals.

Key responsibilities

• Own the cross-functional execution framework for complex silicon and software development programs from early architecture through tapeout, post-silicon bring-up, and release.
• Partner closely with hardware, software, architecture, and product teams to drive alignment on milestones, roadmaps, and execution reviews.
• Establish scalable execution practices, manage program dependencies, and proactively mitigate risks across hardware and software integration efforts.
• Manage cross-functional dependencies and program delivery flow to ensure seamless execution.
• Drive regular program-level product demonstrations to validate milestones and gather stakeholder feedback.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to refine operational processes and team coordination.
• Proactively identify and resolve architectural or organizational blockers, managing risk and maintaining relentless progress from initial exploration to customer acceptance.
• Identify execution risks, lead risk mitigation plans, and drive trade-off decisions across scope, schedule, resources, and quality

About the team

This role is part of the operations team, partnering closely with our cross-functional engineering teams in System & Product and Memory Design. We foster a highly collaborative, inclusive environment where strong alignment, high transparency and seamless team coordination are central to our shared success.

Job requirements

• About who you are:
• Masters or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics or a related technical field. Ability to understand the system and the sub-systems.
• Strong technical foundation in hardware design, memory architecture, advanced packaging, chiplets, and AI acceleration technologies.
• Proven track record in technical program management within the semiconductor industry, with experience delivering complex products that integrate novel hardware with firmware.
• Data-driven; actively leveraging AI tools in daily workflows.
• Relentless Improvement Mindset.
• Adaptive and servant leadership style and problem-solving fluency in a cross-functional organization working on complex hardware-software integration.
• Fluency in English with strong written and verbal communication abilities.

Location

Leuven (Belgium) / Grenoble (France) / Remote. Regular travel is expected to support effective and efficient collaboration and keep pace with our rapid growth.