AI Infrastructure & Platform Ops Manager

Cognichip, Inc.; Redwood City (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognichip, Inc. seeks an AI Infrastructure & Platform Ops Manager to lead readiness for enterprise deployments, securing architecture reviews, provisioning, and production go-lives.

You will ensure a smooth path for Forward-Deployed Engineers by aligning IT, security, and cloud teams. Ideal candidates bring deep infrastructure credibility, strong security governance knowledge, and the ability to translate complex requirements into actionable platform plans for private cloud, on-premises, and

Qualifications

• 10+ years of infrastructure, cloud, or solutions architecture experience.
• 5+ years in customer-facing roles with enterprise customers.
• Hands-on experience with AWS, Azure or GCP; professional cloud certifications are a plus.
• Strong security and IT governance knowledge (SAML, OIDC, SSO; SOC 2, ISO 27001, and NIST).
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Python or Bash.
• Proven ability to lead conversations with CISOs and IT leaders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience deploying AI/ML platforms or GPU workloads is a plus.
• Familiarity with semiconductor or EDA IT environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead platform readiness from architecture review through security approval, environment provisioning, and production go-live of Cognichip ACI Enterprise solutions.
• Architect reference deployments for private cloud, VPC, and on-premises environments with IAM, network isolation, data residency, encryption, and GPU provisioning.
• Navigate security and IT governance reviews—map controls to SOC 2, ISO 27001, and NIST; address IP and export-control requirements.
• Partner with Account Executives to scope infrastructural requirements early in the sales cycle and plan deployment blockers.
• Deliver a clean, validated environment and documented handoff so Forward-Deployed Engineers can begin design-flow integration.
• Diagnose and resolve connectivity, authentication, licensing, and performance issues across networks, cloud accounts, and compute clusters.
• Create repeatable playbooks: deployment guides, security docs, and architecture templates for onboarding.

Skills

Infrastructure leadership

Cloud architecture

Security governance

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Scripting (Python/Bash)

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science/Engineering

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

Job description

Job Title

AI Infrastructure & Platform Ops Manager

Job Description

• At Cognichip, we're enabling our customers to harness Artificial Chip Intelligence (ACI) to transform their silicon design workflows—and every successful deployment starts with a secure, compliant foundation. As an AI Infrastructure & Platform Readiness lead on our AI Solutions team, you'll own the technical engagement with customer IT, information security, and cloud teams to get Cognichip ACI Enterprise solutions approved, provisioned, and production-ready. Your work clears the path so our Forward-Deployed Engineers (FDEs) can focus on design flows rather than access requests, security reviews, and platform implementation. If you combine deep infrastructure credibility with a talent for earning the trust of security and IT stakeholders, this is your stage.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead platform readiness. Serve as the technical management lead for customer infrastructure engagements, owning the path from initial architecture review through security approval, environment provisioning, and production go-live of Cognichip ACI Enterprise solutions.
• Architect deployments. Design reference architectures for private cloud, VPC, and on-premises deployments, including identity and access management, network isolation, data residency, encryption, and GPU compute provisioning.
• Navigate security and compliance. Act as Cognichip's technical authority in customer security and IT governance reviews—completing security questionnaires, mapping controls to frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, and NIST, and addressing IP protection and export-control requirements specific to semiconductor customers.
• Partner with the field. Work hand-in-hand with Account Executives to scope infrastructural requirements early in the sales cycle, identify deployment blockers, and build realistic deployment plans that shorten time to value.
• Enable the FDEs. Deliver a clean, validated environment and a documented handoff so Forward-Deployed Engineers can begin design-flow integration without friction, and remain the escalation point for infrastructure issues throughout the engagement.
• Diagnose and solve. Troubleshoot connectivity, authentication, licensing, and performance issues across customer networks, cloud accounts, and compute clusters, working with internal platform and engineering teams to resolve root causes.
• Build repeatable playbooks. Create deployment guides, security documentation packages, and architecture templates that standardize and accelerate onboarding, and relay customer infrastructure requirements to product and engineering to shape the platform roadmap.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field.
• 10+ years of experience in infrastructure, cloud, or solutions architecture, including at least 5 years in customer-facing roles with enterprise customers.
• Deep hands-on expertise with at least one major cloud platform (AWS, Azure, or GCP), plus working knowledge of the others; professional-level cloud architecture certifications are a plus.
• Strong grounding in enterprise security and IT governance, including identity federation (SAML, OIDC, SSO), network security, encryption and key management, and compliance frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, and NIST.
• Experience with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes), infrastructure-as-code (Terraform or equivalent), and scripting languages such as Python or Bash.
• Proven ability to lead technical conversations with CISOs, IT directors, and security architects, and to guide large organizations through procurement, security review, and deployment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce clear architecture documentation and translate security and infrastructure requirements into actionable plans.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience deploying AI/ML platforms or GPU-accelerated workloads in enterprise or regulated environments.
• Familiarity with semiconductor or EDA (Electronic Design Automation) customer IT environments, including high-performance compute clusters, license servers, and strict IP-protection policies.
• Background in pre-sales solutions engineering or technical account management within a high-growth startup.