Hardware Compatibility List & Ecosystem Lead

Vates SAS; Grenoble; Remote; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Employee discounts & cinema tickets

PEE savings plan

Annual bonus

Job summary

Vates is seeking a Hardware Compatibility Lead to own the design, evolution, and operation of the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) for XCP-ng. You will build a structured, scalable HCL system that becomes the reference for hardware compatibility across the platform.

You will define governance, drive validation activities across servers, storage, networking, and accelerators, and develop relationships with hardware vendors and the open-source community.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree to a Master’s degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Network & Systems, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Several years of experience.
• Autonomous and pragmatic. Pulls in the right people (engineering, product, alliances, support, community).
• Player-coach: as happy designing the model as plugging a server in to test it.
• Fluent English.

Responsibilities

• Own the Hardware Compatibility Program: Define and maintain the roadmap for the HCL system.
• Align priorities with product, engineering, alliances, and support.
• Identify gaps in coverage, validation depth, and tooling.
• Drive improvements in compatibility quality and system reliability.
• Ensure alignment with product strategy and release cycles.
• Design and Operate the 3-Level HCL Model: Define and maintain the Certified / Verified / Compatible model.
• Ensure consistent rules, data quality, and lifecycle across all tracks.
• Balance vendor, internal, and community validation sources.
• Define governance for acceptance, review, and publication.
• Lead and Perform Validation Activities: Actively contribute to hardware validation (servers, storage, networking, accelerators).
• Support certification efforts with vendors when applicable.
• Improve regression and compatibility testing practices.
• Use and shape early-stage tooling through real-world validation work.
• Build the HCL Ecosystem: Develop relationships with hardware vendors and technology partners.
• Work with alliances to expand coverage and engagement.
• Define processes for collecting and validating compatibility data.
• Integrate feedback from customers and the open-source community.
• Drive the HCL Platform: Define data model and workflows behind the HCL system.
• Work with engineering teams to prioritize and deliver platform features.
• Contribute directly to implementation when needed.
• Ensure the platform becomes the trusted source of compatibility information.
• Coordinate Across Stakeholders: Align engineering, product, alliances, support, vendors, customers, and community contributors.
• Facilitate discussions and drive decisions.
• Communicate progress, risks, and trade-offs clearly.
• Build alignment without relying on formal authority.

Skills

Cross-team program management

Vendor/partner relationship building

Open-source community collaboration

Infrastructure virtualization

Python/Ansible/Bash

Clear written and verbal communication

Education

Bachelor’s to Master’s in CS/Engineering

Tools

Python

Ansible

Bash

Job description

Hardware Compatibility List & Ecosystem Lead

Job opened

Missions

Vates is a French software company specializing in virtualization, offering a credible alternative to proprietary solutions on the market. Our Vates VMS solution enables companies to manage their IT infrastructures in a simple, efficient, and controlled way.

As Hardware Compatibility Lead, you own the design and evolution of the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) for XCP-ng.

Your mission is to define, build, and operate a structured HCL system that becomes the reference for hardware compatibility across the platform.

Your responsabilities:

Own the Hardware Compatibility Program

• Define and maintain the roadmap for the HCL system
• Align priorities with product, engineering, alliances, and support
• Identify gaps in coverage, validation depth, and tooling
• Drive improvements in compatibility quality and system reliability
• Ensure alignment with product strategy and release cycles

Design and Operate the 3-Level HCL Model

• Define and maintain the Certified / Verified / Compatible model
• Ensure consistent rules, data quality, and lifecycle across all tracks
• Balance vendor, internal, and community validation sources
• Define governance for acceptance, review, and publication

Lead and Perform Validation Activities

• Actively contribute to hardware validation (servers, storage, networking, accelerators)
• Support certification efforts with vendors when applicable
• Improve regression and compatibility testing practices
• Use and shape early-stage tooling through real-world validation work

Build the HCL Ecosystem

• Develop relationships with hardware vendors and technology partners
• Work with alliances to expand coverage and engagement
• Define processes for collecting and validating compatibility data
• Integrate feedback from customers and the open-source community

Drive the HCL Platform

• Define data model and workflows behind the HCL system
• Work with engineering teams to prioritize and deliver platform features
• Contribute directly to implementation when needed
• Ensure the platform becomes the trusted source of compatibility information

Coordinate Across Stakeholders

• Align engineering, product, alliances, support, vendors, customers, and community contributors
• Facilitate discussions and drive decisions
• Communicate progress, risks, and trade-offs clearly
• Build alignment without relying on formal authority

Required Skills :

• Can run a cross-team program from end to end: roadmap, priorities, and the calls on what gets validated and when. Builds alignment without having formal authority over the people doing the work.
• Knows how to build and keep working relationships with hardware vendors and partners (joint validation, lab access, certification), not just run tests in a corner.
• Comfortable around an open-source community: gathering and reviewing the results people submit, folding them into the HCL, and working with the Community Manager rather than around them.
• Broad infrastructure background across virtualization, storage (SAN/NAS/HCI) and networking (VLANs, bonding, 10/25/100G). Enough to design test plans and read results critically. Deep hardware or electronics expertise is not the point here.
• Hands-on, not only strategic. At ease with Python/Ansible/Bash, willing to shape the early tooling and write parts of the system until it can stand on its own.
• Reports clearly, in writing and out loud, to technical and non-technical people.

Nice to Have :

• Familiar with XCP-ng or Xen-based virtualization.
• Has run a hardware compatibility list, a certification program, or partner/QA engineering before.
• Has worked in an open-source environment.

Location :

Our offices are based in Grenoble or Paris, but we operate on a fully remote model to provide greater flexibility and daily work comfort.

You are free to work 100% remotely or come on-site occasionally, depending on your preferences.

Benefits :

• Health insurance coverage funded at 50% by the company
• Benefits provided by the Works Council (employee discounts, cinema tickets, etc.)
• Employee savings plan (PEE)
• Annual bonus

As part of our diversity and inclusion policy, this position is open to all candidates, regardless of gender.

Qualifications

We are looking for a technical and cross-functional professional who is comfortable with infrastructure, virtualization, and hardware environments, and who can bring teams and partners together around a strategic, high-impact project.

We are looking for someone with:

• Bachelor’s degree to a Master’s degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Network & Systems, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Several years of experience.
• Autonomous and pragmatic. Pulls in the right people (engineering, product, alliances, support, community).
• Player-coach: as happy designing the model as plugging a server in to test it.
• Fluent English.

Our Company

Vates is a French software company specializing in Open Source and virtualization with a deep commitment to open, collaborative development. Our main projects, Xen Orchestra and XCP-ng, span the full virtualization stack: from the hypervisor (Xen) and virtualization platform (XCP-ng) to management and VM backups (Xen Orchestra). Our team works across multiple countries, fully embracing remote work with transparent workflows and accessible communication channels. At Vates, we are driven by a strong, people-first culture that values benevolence, inclusivity, and a horizontal structure. Every member is empowered to contribute ideas, make decisions, and grow with the company. Our open-source model is core to everything we do, not just in our code, which is available on GitHub and GitLab, but in our collaborative approach with the community. We believe in "upstream first," dedicating our expertise and resources to support and advance foundational projects like Xen, and helping contributors of all levels join us on this journey.

Vates was born more than 10 years ago in the French Alps, in Grenoble. Our team is composed of more than 80 people, spread out in France and elsewhere in the world. Want to know more about our history? Our team? Thinking of joining us?