Customer Program Manager

Karman; Oregon; Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision benefits

Employer-match 401k

Flexible paid time off

Mentorship and growth opportunities

Job summary

Karman is a fast-growing NVIDIA-backed AI company enabling AI data centers to dynamically orchestrate power and unlock more compute capacity from existing energy infrastructure. We are seeking an experienced Customer Program Manager to lead customer-facing programs from initial engagement through pilot deployment and scale-out.

In this role you will own program plans, manage cross-functional teams across Engineering, Product, and Sales, and maintain trusted advisor relationships with executives.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in program or project management.
• Strong customer communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Proven ability to navigate cross-functional teams and drive accountability across Sales, Solutions Architecture, Engineering, and Product.
• Willingness to travel up to 30% for on-site engagements.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary point of contact and single point of accountability for customer programs from engagement through pilot deployment and scale‑out.
• Develop and maintain integrated project plans across Engineering, Product, and Operations; track status, risks, and dependencies.
• Establish trusted advisor relationships with customer stakeholders at technical, business, and executive levels; translate requirements into internal deliverables.
• Coordinate joint planning sessions and program update meetings with customers throughout the pilot lifecycle.
• Partner with Solutions Architects and Application Engineers to align resources for customer success; relay feedback to influence roadmap priorities.
• Collaborate with Customer Success and Support to ensure smooth transition from pilot to operation.
• Track KPIs (adoption, performance, ROI) and communicate progress.
• Identify risks early, develop mitigations, and escalate critical issues with solutions.

Skills

Program management

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional leadership

Customer communication

Travel up to 30%

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Jira

Smartsheet

MS Project

Slack

Teams

Confluence

HubSpot

Grafana

Job description

Karman is a fast-growing NVIDIA-backed AI company enabling AI data centers to dynamically orchestrate power and unlock more compute capacity from existing energy infrastructure. For over a decade, we have applied AI to the electric grid — bringing real-time visibility and power-flow control to complex energy infrastructure. Our Karman platform, built on a custom NVIDIA module, brings that same capability to AI data centers, giving operators a way to better use the power already available to them. We are seeking an experienced Customer Program Manager to lead customer-facing programs for the Karman platform, from initial evaluation through pilot deployment, design win, and long-term adoption. This role combines program management discipline with strong customer engagement skills, acting as the single point of accountability across customers, Engineering, Product, Sales, and executive teams. You'll join a diverse team of experts who are mission-driven, collaborative and adaptive, working at the intersection of AI infrastructure and power systems.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary point of contact and single point of accountability for Karman customer programs, ensuring deliverables, timelines, and milestones are met from initial engagement through pilot deployment, design win, and scale-out.
• Develop and maintain integrated project plans across Engineering, Product, and Operations; track program status, risks, and dependencies, and proactively drive resolution.
• Establish trusted advisor relationships with customer stakeholders at technical, business, and executive levels, driving clarity in customer requirements and translating them into actionable internal deliverables.
• Coordinate joint planning sessions and program update meetings with customers throughout the Karman pilot lifecycle.
• Partner with Solutions Architects and Application Engineers to align resources for customer success, and interface with Product Management to relay customer feedback and influence roadmap priorities.
• Collaborate with Customer Success and Support teams to ensure a smooth transition from pilot deployment to operational excellence.
• Ensure Karman proof-of-concept, pilot, and deployment activities are executed successfully; track KPIs (adoption, performance, ROI) and communicate progress internally and externally.
• Manage change control across customer programs, ensuring scope, cost, and schedule integrity.
• Identify program risks early, develop mitigation strategies, and elevate critical issues with context and recommended solutions.
• Maintain transparency with customers on program status and next steps across all phases of the Karman pilot engagement.

Minimum Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in program or project management, including timeline management, risk tracking, and reporting, ideally within a technology or hardware-adjacent environment.
• Strong customer communication and stakeholder management skills, with a demonstrated ability to align technical execution with business outcomes.
• Proven ability to navigate cross-functional teams and drive accountability across Sales, Solutions Architecture, Engineering, and Product.
• Working knowledge of data center operations, AI/ML systems, or edge computing environments.
• Understanding of solution integration lifecycles, including evaluation, proof-of-concept, deployment, and scale.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience producing status reports, program plans, and executive-level updates.
• Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent practical experience in program management, technical account management, or customer-facing technical roles.
• Willingness to travel up to 30% for on-site customer engagements, pilot deployments, and program reviews.

Enhanced Qualifications (Nice to Have)

• Hands‑on experience with project management software such as Jira, Smartsheet, or MS Project.
• Experience with collaboration tools such as Slack, Teams, and Confluence.
• Experience with CRM, KPI, and reporting/telemetry dashboards such as HubSpot or Grafana.
• Prior experience supporting pilot or early-access programs for hardware/software co‑designed products.

Salary Range: $140,000 to $190,000 base compensation depending on experience, plus stock options. Salary will be commensurate with an individual's skills, training, years of experience, and in line with internal compensation bands.

Location: This position can be performed remotely from anywhere in the United States.

Our Commitments:

Karman values the diversity of our team. We provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy or childbirth, sexual orientation, genetics, genetic information, marital status, or status as a covered veteran or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state and local laws.

• Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace that is welcoming, supportive, affirming and respectful
• Empowering employees to solve problems and work together to make a difference
• Providing mentorship and growth opportunities as part of a collaborative team
• A flexible work environment with flexible paid time off
• Competitive compensation and benefits, including health, dental, vision, and employer-match 401k