Hardware Product Lifecycle Manager

VAST Data; Campbell (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology company in California is seeking a Hardware Product Lifecycle Manager. The role involves driving the lifecycle strategy of hardware products, ensuring alignment across multiple teams, and managing transitions and risks. Ideal candidates will have over 8 years in hardware-related fields, strong problem-solving skills, and the ability to communicate effectively with senior stakeholders. This position offers a chance to make a significant impact in a fast-growing industry focused on AI.

Qualifications

• Deep understanding of product lifecycle phases, HW manufacturing, validation, and reliability.
• Proven success leading complex cross-functional hardware programs across multiple product generations.
• Ability to orchestrate many teams in a high-pressure environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop multi-year HW roadmap and lifecycle strategy aligned with business requirements.
• Own transitions from one generation to the next (EOL planning, last-time-buy).
• Drive alignment across engineering, operations, and customer teams.

Skills

Risk management

Structured problem-solving

Communication skills

Cross-functional leadership

Detail-oriented

Education

8–12+ years in hardware-related fields

Job description

Join to apply for the Hardware Product Lifecycle Manager role at VAST Data

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.

Our success has been built through intense innovation, a customer-first mentality and a team of fearless VASTronauts who leverage their skills and 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.

Role Overview

The Senior Hardware Lifecycle Manager is responsible for driving the end-to-end lifecycle of hardware products—from early concept and feasibility, through development and launch, and across sustaining, transitions, and end-of-life planning.

This leader ensures the company has the right hardware portfolio at the right time, balancing technical feasibility, supply chain readiness, cost, quality, customer requirements, and long-term reliability.

You will own the lifecycle strategy across multiple product lines, orchestrating engineering, operations, supply chain, quality, finance, and go-to-market teams to ensure seamless product evolution and predictable outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop multi-year HW roadmap and lifecycle strategy aligned with business requirements and needs
• Own transitions from one generation to the next (EOL planning, last-time-buy, replacement readiness)
• Track component obsolescence risks and drive mitigation plans
• Provide strategic recommendations on product continuation, refresh, or retirement
• Partner with hardware engineering to define requirements, specifications, and success metrics for new products
• Ensure manufacturability, test strategy, qualification, and reliability meet product goals
• Drive alignment across engineering, operations, quality, sustaining, supply chain, and customer teams
• Own: readiness, quality, cost, technical maturity, risks, issues, and actions
• Facilitate decision-making at exec reviews with clear status, dependencies, and trade-offs
• Evaluate lifecycle cost: COGS, margin, cost-downs, amortization, tooling refresh needs
• Communicate lifecycle plans, product transitions, and risk mitigation strategies to customers and partners
• Support strategic suppliers with roadmap alignment and long-term planning

Required Qualifications

• 8–12+ years in hardware-related fields: electrical/mechanical engineering, systems engineering, HW operations, or technical program management
• Deep understanding of product lifecycle phases, HW manufacturing (PCBA, mechanical, system build), validation, qualification, and reliability
• Familiarity with BOM management, ECO processes, HW test and quality metrics
• Proven success leading complex cross-functional hardware programs across multiple product generations
• Strong risk management, structured problem-solving, and root-cause analysis experience
• Ability to orchestrate many teams in a high-pressure environment with shifting priorities
• Experience with HW roadmap planning, EOL management, supply chain interfaces, and cost modeling
• Ability to influence senior leaders and drive decisions across stakeholders
• Skilled at presenting technical and business trade-offs in executive forums
• Highly organized, structured, and detail-oriented
• Clear communicator with strong narrative and data-driven storytelling skills
• Ability to build trust across engineering, operations, GTM, and customer teams
• Leadership presence; strong ownership mentality

Preferred Experience

• Experience with server, storage, networking hardware, or complex electromechanical systems
• Background in vendor management or partner hardware ecosystems (ODM/JDM/EMS)
• Experience with component/part obsolescence management
• Familiarity with regulatory, safety, and compliance for hardware products