Lead Technical Program Manager

191 Altera Corporation; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 187,000 - 271,000; Full time

Job summary

Altera is seeking a Lead Technical Program Manager to provide strategic leadership for next-generation FPGA product development across silicon, architecture, IP, hardware, software, and manufacturing readiness.

This cross-functional role drives execution from definition through production, partnering with senior engineering leaders, product management, and executives to translate complex technical challenges into actionable plans.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in Technical Program Management or engineering leadership roles.
• 8+ years leading cross-functional semiconductor/FPGA/silicon programs.
• Strong silicon/hardware domain expertise with HW/FW/SW interactions.
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders without direct authority.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic technical program leadership for FPGA product development across architecture, silicon, IP, hardware, software, firmware, validation, and production.
• Own program strategy, milestones, and cross-functional alignment from definition through silicon bring-up and production release.
• Translate product and business objectives into integrated roadmaps, execution plans, schedules, and milestones.
• Drive alignment across multiple engineering organizations and distributed teams with clear ownership and dependencies.
• Lead the resolution of complex technical and organizational challenges, including schedule constraints and resource conflicts.
• Establish and manage program risk frameworks and mitigation strategies to protect quality, schedule, and cost.
• Coordinate execution across RTL, design verification, architecture, physical design, firmware, software, system engineering, validation, and operations.
• Develop executive-level program reporting for visibility into schedule and technical health.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Cross-functional teamwork

Technical program management

FPGA design awareness

Risk management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

Job description

About the Role

Altera is seeking a Lead Technical Program Manager to provide strategic technical program leadership for the development and delivery of next-generation FPGA products. This is a high-impact, cross-functional leadership role responsible for driving execution across complex, multi-disciplinary engineering programs spanning silicon, architecture, IP, hardware, software, firmware, validation, and manufacturing readiness. The Lead Technical Program Manager will operate across organizational boundaries to establish program strategy, drive execution against critical business and engineering objectives, and ensure alignment across highly technical teams. This individual will partner closely with senior engineering leaders, product management, and executive stakeholders to translate complex technical challenges into actionable execution plans and deliver products from early definition through production. The ideal candidate brings deep silicon/hardware design background (or deep FPGA and semiconductor domain expertise), exceptional technical program leadership capabilities, and a proven ability to lead complex programs where success requires influence across multiple organizations rather than direct authority.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic technical program leadership for complex, high-visibility FPGA product development programs spanning architecture, silicon, IP, hardware, software, firmware, validation, and production.
• Own program strategy, execution frameworks, critical milestones, and cross-functional alignment from early product definition through silicon bring-up, validation, sampling, and production release.
• Partner with senior engineering and product leaders to translate product and business objectives into integrated technical roadmaps, execution plans, schedules, and measurable milestones.
• Drive alignment across multiple engineering organizations and geographically distributed teams, establishing clear ownership, accountability, dependencies, and decision-making mechanisms.
• Lead cross-functional resolution of complex technical and organizational challenges, including integration issues, schedule constraints, resource conflicts, technical trade-offs, and critical-path risks.
• Establish and manage program-level risk frameworks, proactively identifying issues that could impact product quality, schedule, cost, or business objectives and driving mitigation strategies.
• Coordinate execution across RTL, design verification, architecture, physical design, firmware, software, system engineering, validation, and operations teams.
• Drive technical readiness and execution across pre-silicon and post-silicon phases, including design completion, verification, tape-out, silicon bring-up, validation, debug, customer readiness, and production ramp.
• Develop executive-level program reporting that provides clear visibility into schedule, technical health, risks, dependencies, resource requirements, and key decisions.
• Facilitate senior leadership reviews and drive timely decision-making on issues requiring organizational alignment or executive escalation.
• Establish and continuously improve program management methodologies, operating mechanisms, tools, and reporting frameworks that increase predictability and execution discipline across engineering.
• Identify opportunities to improve development processes, cross-functional collaboration, and organizational execution across the broader product development lifecycle.
• Mentor and provide guidance to other Technical Program Managers and program leaders, helping establish consistent best practices across the organization.
• Represent program execution and technical program management in senior leadership forums and cross-functional planning activities.

Leadership Profile

The successful candidate will operate as a strategic technical leader and program execution partner to Altera's engineering organization. This role requires someone who can move comfortably between high-level product strategy and detailed technical execution, understand the engineering challenges well enough to challenge assumptions and facilitate decisions, and create alignment across organizations that may have competing priorities. The Lead Technical Program Manager will be expected to lead through influence, establish clarity in ambiguous situations, anticipate execution challenges before they become critical, and create the operating mechanisms necessary to deliver complex FPGA products predictably and successfully.

Salary Range

Pay range below is for Bay Area California only. Actual salary may vary based on a number of factors including job location, job-related knowledge, skills, experiences, trainings, etc. We also offer incentive opportunities that reward employees based on individual and company performance. $187,000 - $270,700 USD

Qualifications

• Minimum Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related technical discipline, with 12+ years of experience in Technical Program Management, Engineering Program Management, or technical engineering leadership roles.
• 8+ years of experience leading complex, cross-functional semiconductor, FPGA, ASIC, silicon, or hardware/software development programs involving multiple engineering organizations.
• Strong silicon/hardware design domain expertise with a deep understanding of HW/FW/SW interactions, enabling effective engagement across architecture, RTL, design verification, physical design, firmware, software, system, and validation teams.
• Proven leadership across the full Product Lifecycle (PLC), from product definition and architecture through development, verification, tape-out, silicon bring-up, validation, debug, sampling, and production.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical challenges into structured execution strategies, establish program priorities, manage critical paths and dependencies, and drive organizations toward measurable outcomes.
• 7+ years of experience leading programs across multiple organizations and geographically distributed international teams, with a demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive accountability without direct authority.
• Proven experience identifying and managing technical, schedule, resource, integration, and execution risks, including the ability to evaluate trade-offs and drive mitigation strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical and program issues effectively to senior engineering leaders, executives, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Preferred Qualifications
• 5+ years of technical experience in one or more of the following areas: Transceivers, Embedded Systems (particularly ARM), Config and Security, PCIe, Ethernet, or ASIC Design / Design Verification (DV).
• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of experience working directly with FPGA, ASIC, semiconductor, or silicon-based product development.
• Deep experience with pre- and post-silicon execution, including verification, validation, silicon bring-up, debug, characterization, and production readiness.
• Experience leading programs involving next-generation or highly complex semiconductor products with significant technical dependencies and cross-organizational execution challenges.
• Experience establishing program governance, operating mechanisms, and execution frameworks across large engineering organizations.
• Experience working directly with executive leadership to communicate program health, strategic risks, technical trade-offs, resource requirements, and major program decisions.
• Experience mentoring Technical Program Managers or serving as a technical/program leadership resource across an organization.
• Familiarity with Agile, hybrid Agile/Waterfall, or other scaled execution methodologies within hardware and semiconductor development environments.

Job Type

Job Type: Regular Shift: Shift 1 (United States of America) Primary Location: San Jose, California, United States Additional Locations:

Posting Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military and veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by local law, regulation, or ordinance.

About Altera

Altera: Accelerating Innovators Altera provides leadership programmable solutions that are easy-to-use and deploy in applications from cloud to edge, offering limitless AI possibilities. Our end-to-end broad portfolio of products including FPGAs, CPLDs, Intellectual Property, development tools, System on Modules, SmartNICs and IPUs provide the flexibility to accelerate innovation. Altera is helping to shape the future through pioneering innovation that unlocks extraordinary possibilities for everyone on the planet.