Principal Technical Program Manager (TPM) - AI Infrastructure Operations

Nscale; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Base salary + equity

Career growth

Dynamic startup environment

Job summary

Nscale is seeking a Technical Program Manager to lead AI infrastructure and HPC operations in a high-scale data center environment in Houston. You will drive cross-functional programs spanning hardware, network, software, and vendor partnerships to ensure stability and growth of GPU fleets and InfiniBand networks.

You will implement robust KPI tracking (availability, uptime) and dashboards, mentor teams on incident and change processes, and shape readiness roadmaps for new hardware deployments.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in a Technical Program Management role driving large-scale infrastructure or software programs.
• Strong foundational knowledge of data center infrastructure, distributed systems, Linux, and networking concepts.
• Experience with modern program management methodologies (Agile, Scrum); PMP is a plus; excellent communication and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning, execution, and delivery of strategic operational programs for AI infrastructure and HPC environments.
• Define and track KPIs (Availability, Uptime) and build dashboards for real-time leadership visibility.
• Standardize incident, change, and postmortem processes to reduce toil and MTTR.
• Coordinate cross-functionally between Hardware, Compute Platform, Network, and Data Center Operations; manage dependencies and risks.
• Translate capacity planning into delivery roadmaps; ensure new hardware is integrated into the control plane.
• Identify technical, schedule, and resource risks; communicate impacts to stakeholders.

Skills

Technical Program Management

Data Center Infrastructure

Linux & Networking

Agile / PMP

Stakeholder Communication

SRE / CI–CD

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/Engineering

Tools

CI/CD tooling

Networking tooling

SRE tooling

Job description

As a Technical Program Manager (TPM) for AI Infrastructure Operations, you will be the operational backbone of our high-scale, high-performance AI and High-Performance Computing (HPC) environment. You will be responsible for driving complex, cross-functional programs that ensure the stability, availability, and growth of our cutting-edge GPU fleet and Infiniband network fabrics. This role requires a blend of deep technical understanding, rigorous program management, and a relentless focus on delivering against key operational metrics (SLAs, Uptime, Availability). You will bridge the gap between engineering execution and strategic business goals, directly impacting our ability to serve customer workloads at scale.

Key Responsibilities

• Program Leadership: Own the planning, execution, and delivery of strategic operational programs, including new data center AI infrastructure build-outs, large-scale fleet software/firmware rollouts, and the implementation of new operational tooling (in partnership with SRE).
• Metrics and Reporting: Establish, track, and drive accountability against critical infrastructure KPIs, specifically focusing on Availability (Target 97.5%) and Uptime (Target 99%). Develop clear dashboards and communication rhythms to provide leadership with real-time visibility into operational health, program status, and risk.
• Process Engineering: Analyze and optimize operational workflows across Fleet Operations, Network Operations, and SRE teams. Drive the standardization of incident management, change management, and postmortem processes to reduce toil and improve Mean Time to Recovery (MTTR).
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Serve as the primary liaison between engineering teams (Hardware, Compute Platform, Network), Data Center Operations, and external vendors (GPU, Network hardware). Proactively identify and resolve dependencies, risks, and roadblocks.
• Capacity and Readiness: Partner with Data Science/Operation Programs to translate capacity planning models into actionable infrastructure delivery and readiness roadmaps. Ensure that new hardware (GPUs, NICs, switches) is successfully integrated into the operational control plane and meets go-live criteria.
• Risk Management: Proactively identify technical, schedule, and resource risks related to AI infrastructure scaling and stability. Develop mitigation strategies and communicate impacts clearly to stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

• Experience: 5+ years of experience in a Technical Program Management role, successfully driving large-scale, complex infrastructure or software engineering programs.
• Technical Domain Knowledge: Strong foundational understanding of data center infrastructure, distributed systems, Linux, and networking concepts.
• Program Management Rigor: Proven expertise in modern program management methodologies (Agile, Scrum, PMP certification preferred). Exceptional organizational, communication, and presentation skills.
• Metrics-Driven Approach: Demonstrable experience in defining, tracking, and improving system performance based on operational metrics (e.g., Uptime, Availability, MTTR, SLOs/SLIs).
• Execution in Ambiguity: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth environment, managing multiple priorities and adapting to evolving technical requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience managing programs related to data center infrastructure build-outs and hardware commissioning processes.
• Specific domain knowledge of AI/HPC infrastructure, including NVIDIA GPUs, InfiniBand/RDMA networks, and the challenges of tightly-coupled systems.
• Experience in a hyperscale or public cloud environment supporting 24/7 mission-critical services.
• Familiarity with SRE principles, automation tooling, and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines for infrastructure.
• A Bachelor's or Master's degree in a technical field (Computer Science, Engineering, etc.) or equivalent practical experience.

What We Can Offer You

• Highly competitive package (base + equity) with reviews every 12 months.
• Join the fastest-growing tech startup, your chance to push boundaries, collaborate with brilliant minds, and make your mark on cutting-edge AI.
• Expect a dynamic progression plan tailored to your ambitions. Grow by trying new things, leading, challenging the status quo, and owning your impact, always with our full support.

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