Senior Director, Program Enablement & Operations (Hardware Engineering)

Altera; United States; On-site; USD 232,000 - 341,000; Full time

Job summary

Altera is seeking a Senior Director of Program Enablement & Operations to serve as the operational nerve center of Hardware Engineering. You will own end-to-end program execution across silicon programs, from concept through production, driving milestones, governance, and cross-functional alignment.

You will lead a team of senior program leaders, collaborate with executives, and build scalable execution systems that translate ambitious roadmaps into predictable, high-quality delivery in a

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading large-scale silicon programs to production.
• Experience managing senior program managers or technical leaders.
• Ability to operate in high-ambiguity, high-speed environments.
• Strong understanding of end-to-end silicon lifecycle: Architecture → Design → Verification → Tapeout → Bring-up → Production.
• Familiarity with FPGA development cycles desirable.
• Excellent communication and collaboration with executive leadership.

Responsibilities

• Own End-to-End Program Execution across major silicon programs—from planning, architecture alignment, and design through bring-up, validation, and production. Ensure tight integration across pre-silicon and post-silicon phases, including boards and package development. Drive milestone definition, exit criteria, and execution discipline across all programs.
• Lead Program Management Organization Manage and develop a team of ~6 senior program leaders responsible for key product lines and initiatives. Establish a high-performance culture of accountability, transparency, and delivery excellence. Elevate program management from tracking to decision-driving and risk-owning leadership.
• Drive Operational Excellence at Scale Build and run the operating system of Hardware Engineering: Program governance frameworks Execution dashboards and KPIs Resource and dependency management Risk identification and mitigation systems Identify and implement efficiency opportunities across engineering, tooling, and workflows.
• Executive Alignment & Decision Support Partner closely with senior executives across engineering, product, and business units. Lead executive program reviews, providing clear visibility into status, risks, and trade-offs. Enable fast, high-quality decision-making by framing issues with clarity and data.
• External Ecosystem Coordination Work with external partners including: Foundries and manufacturing partners IP vendors and ecosystem partners Ensure alignment on schedule, deliverables, and quality expectations across the extended supply chain.
• Stakeholder Communication & Rhythm Establish a clear and consistent communication cadence across all levels of the organization. Ensure no surprises execution culture—issues are surfaced early, with actionable plans. Act as the connective tissue between engineering, product, operations, and leadership.

Skills

Leadership

Execution

Data-driven mindset

Executive communication

Stakeholder alignment

Job description

Job Details: Job Description

About the Role

Altera is undergoing a high-velocity transformation to re-establish leadership in the FPGA market. At the center of this transformation is execution excellence. We are seeking a Senior Director of Program Enablement & Operations to serve as the operational nerve center of Hardware Engineering, owning end-to-end program execution across all silicon programs, from concept through production.

This leader will drive execution rigor, operational scale, and cross-functional alignment across the largest and one of the most critical organizations in Altera, spanning architecture, silicon / IP development, validation, boards, and packaging. This is a high-impact, high-visibility leadership role working directly with executive staff, responsible for ensuring that ambitious product and roadmap commitments translate into predictable, high-quality delivery.

Why This Role Matters

This is not a traditional program management role. This role defines how execution happens at Altera. You will shape the systems, rhythms, and culture that determine whether we meet our commitments, and ultimately whether we win in the market. If you thrive in environments where speed, complexity, and impact intersect, this role puts you at the center of it.

What You Will Do

1. Own End-to-End Program Execution Lead execution across all major silicon programs—from planning, architecture alignment, and design through bring-up, validation, and production. Ensure tight integration across pre-silicon and post-silicon phases, including boards and package development. Drive milestone definition, exit criteria, and execution discipline across all programs.
2. Lead Program Management Organization Manage and develop a team of ~6 senior program leaders responsible for key product lines and initiatives. Establish a high-performance culture of accountability, transparency, and delivery excellence. Elevate program management from tracking to decision-driving and risk-owning leadership.
3. Drive Operational Excellence at Scale Build and run the operating system of Hardware Engineering: Program governance frameworks Execution dashboards and KPIs Resource and dependency management Risk identification and mitigation systems Identify and implement efficiency opportunities across engineering, tooling, and workflows.
4. Executive Alignment & Decision Support Partner closely with senior executives across engineering, product, and business units. Lead executive program reviews, providing clear visibility into status, risks, and trade-offs. Enable fast, high-quality decision-making by framing issues with clarity and data.
5. External Ecosystem Coordination Work with external partners including: Foundries and manufacturing partners IP vendors and ecosystem partners Ensure alignment on schedule, deliverables, and quality expectations across the extended supply chain.
6. Stakeholder Communication & Rhythm Establish a clear and consistent communication cadence across all levels of the organization. Ensure no surprises execution culture—issues are surfaced early, with actionable plans. Act as the connective tissue between engineering, product, operations, and leadership.

Salary Range

The 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.

$231.5K - $341.0K USD

We use artificial intelligence to screen, assess, or select applicants for the position.

Applicants must be eligible for any required U.S. export authorizations.

Qualifications

• Leadership & Execution Proven track record of leading large-scale silicon programs to successful production.
• Experience managing senior program managers or technical leaders.
• Demonstrated ability to operate in high-ambiguity, high-speed environments.
• Technical Depth Strong understanding of end-to-end silicon lifecycle: Architecture → Design → Verification → Tapeout → Bring-up → Production.
• Familiarity with FPGA development cycles and ecosystems is highly desirable.
• Ability to engage deeply with engineering teams and challenge assumptions constructively.
• Operational Excellence Experience building or scaling program management and operational frameworks.
• Strong data-driven mindset with ability to define and track meaningful execution metrics.
• Ability to identify systemic inefficiencies and drive measurable improvements.
• Executive Presence Exceptional communication skills with the ability to influence at all levels.
• Experience working directly with executive leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Ability to distill complex technical and programmatic issues into clear, actionable insights.
• Mindset High ownership and accountability Structured thinker with strong attention to detail Bias for action with disciplined execution Collaborative, transparent, and direct leadership style.

Bonus Points

• Experience in FPGA, ASIC, or high-performance compute silicon programs
• Background in both engineering and program/operations leadership roles
• Experience working through organizational transformations or scale-ups

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.