Sr. Manager of Operations Product Management

NetApp, Inc.; San Jose (CA); Hybrid; USD 148,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

NetApp in San Jose seeks a Sr Manager of Operations Product Management to lead a team responsible for NPIs and sustaining portfolio launches, coordinating with engineering, supply chain and product management to meet cost, schedule and quality goals.

You will drive process improvements, manage risks, deliver feedback to product design, and align manufacturing with strategic objectives, while communicating status to leadership.

Qualifications

• Electronics and electromechanical design experience required.
• Experience leading teams and managing product lifecycles.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and PM/BI skills.
• Knowledge of PLM and program management principles.
• Understanding of hardware, manufacturing and supply chain.

Responsibilities

• Lead Operations Product Management for all NPI and sustaining portfolio launches.
• Set build plans, coordinate with supply chain, and manage risks.
• Collaborate with engineering and product management to optimize design for cost and manufacturability.
• Communicate program status and risks to executives.
• Drive cost reduction and sourcing strategies across product lifecycle.

Skills

Team leadership

Program management

Product lifecycle management

Cross-functional collaboration

BI analytics

Financial analysis

Electronics knowledge

Enterprise/cloud architecture

DFx knowledge

Education

Electrical/Computer HW degree

Job description

Job Summary

Lead a team of seasoned Operations Product Managers responsible for driving the successful release of products from development through launch, and drive for continuous improvement and agility in the sustaining process ensuring that program timelines are met or accelerated. As a Sr Manager of Operations Product Management, you must be a self-initiator, natural team leader with excellent communication/collaboration skills to influence cross- functional teams, be responsive, flexible and able to succeed within a collaborative team environment managing competing work priorities, multiple work streams, identifying risk, implementing action plans to enable successful execution of the business strategy.

The Sr. Manager of Operations Product Management must possess a deep knowledge of hardware architecture, strong understanding of technology trends/sweets spots, design for simplicity, manufacturing and supply chain, product structure and product support complexity, as you will work closely with operations, supply chain, engineering, and other business teams to implement, adapt, and maintain systems which facilitate the management of the entire product lifecycle.

A successful Sr Manager of Operations Product Management is expected to drive Engineering and Product Management to optimize the product design and architecture for cost, testability, manufacturability, and quality while ensuring that the BOM is supply chain friendly through the selection of components that are dual sourced and are produced in high volume. This individual is dynamic, results-driven, organized and detail-oriented; excels in program management; proficient in analyzing/using business data and developing business strategy as well as managing tactical tasks, strong team player who can communicate with ease at all levels; thrives in an ambiguous environment and is adept at facilitating actions and resolving conflicts.
Furthermore, this team leader within Operations is the primary operations interface to the core product and development teams, Product Life Cycle Management processes and other functional organizations within NetApp. Overall mission is a successful product launch defined by meeting stated schedule, availability, and customer experience goals.

Job Requirements

Lead Operations Product Management team that is responsible for all aspects of NPI and sustaining portfolio management with the cross functional team to execute product launches; manage project schedules, identify risks and clearly communicate goals to project stakeholders.
Participate in early-stage product development discussions with engineering, product management and communicate expectations and ensure the Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, Test, & Service requirements and alignment with the current operational objectives of fulfillment, cost savings and manufacturability.
Work with Engineering and Product Management to optimize the product design and architecture for cost, testability, manufacturability, and quality while ensuring that the selection of components that are dual sourced and are produced in high volume.
Set initial build plans, drive material readiness with supply chain and evaluate constraints.
Drive the optimization of sustaining product and provide a feedback loop to Engineering, Product management and Supply Chain to capture lessons learned from product rollouts and provide recommendations for future designs and processes.

Demonstrate the ability to:

• Effectively evaluate performance against customer and business requirements
• Define and implement risk mitigation.
• Drive continuous improvement objectives against program issues with management and coordinate resources and implementation with other teams.
• Partner with Operations Strategic Sourcing team to drive cost reduction and component sourcing strategies throughout the product lifecycle.

Actively participates in Hardware Engineering design discussions to provide input on DFx (manufacturing, quality, sourcing, service and cost) methods to be incorporated into new product designs.
Use your technical expertise to drive engineering and the supply chain team to meet program cost targets at a product and commodity level for your project.
Develop and maintain PLM processes and policies for effective product transition management; incorporate BOM risk analysis, supply continuity, and E&O risk concepts into the product roadmap plan for NPI and transition of sustaining products to end of life.
Establish clear mechanisms to communicate program status and change with program team and other staff. Must be able to effectively communicate risk and status clearly and succinctly to management, calling out key issues and presenting options for resolution to the cross-functional executive team through new product reviews and other executive forums.
Excellent understanding of financial principles, including analysis of P&L and ROI data.
Excellent understanding of market, field sales, customer, product roadmap and product positioning.
Excellent understanding of Six sigma, continuous process improvement concepts
Strong analytics skills using BI tools such as Tableau/PowerBi and ability to deliver business insights for key stakeholders.

Experience Desired

• Experience with electronics, electromechanical design and knowledge in manufacturing processes.
• Demonstrated team leadership, program management and/or product lifecycle management experience.
• Extensive cross-functional technical knowledge and demonstrates working knowledge of Product Lifecycle Management and Program Mgmt/Business principles, recognized expert in their field.
• A solid foundation in hard enterprise and cloud architectures, and solution strategy is highly desired.

Education

Education
Typically requires a minimum of 15 years of related experience with a bachelor’s degree in an Electrical Engineering, Computer HW Engineering discipline or 12 years and a Master's degree or A PhD with 10 years’ experience or equivalent experience.

Compensation:
The target salary range for this position is 147,900 - 220,000 USD. The salary offered will be determined by the candidate's location, qualifications, experience, and education and may be outside of this range. The range is based on 'On Target Earnings’ (OTE) representing the total potential earnings, which is the sum of the base salary and potential commission earned when performance targets are achieved. Final compensation packages are competitive and in line with industry standards, reflecting a variety of factors, and include a comprehensive benefits package. This may cover Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Retirement or Pension Plans, Paid Time Off, various Leave options, employee stock purchase plan, and/or restricted stocks (RSU’s). These offerings are subject to regional variations and governed by local laws, regulations, and company policies. We will provide detailed information about the specific benefits for your region during the recruitment process.

At NetApp, we embrace a hybrid working environment designed to strengthen connection, collaboration, and culture for all employees. This means that most roles will have some level of in-office and/or in-person expectations, which will be shared during the recruitment process.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

NetApp is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and to compliance with all federal, state and local laws that prohibit employment discrimination based on age, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, disability or genetic information, pregnancy, protected veteran status, and any other protected classification.

Why You'll Thrive at NetApp

At NetApp, you won't wait for the perfect moment—you'll make it. The early planning, the extra thought, the bold idea that turns good into great: That's how our people operate and how we continue to push the boundaries of data infrastructure.

NetApp is the trusted partner for organizations transforming data into opportunity. As the only enterprise-grade storage service natively embedded in Google Cloud, AWS, and Microsoft Azure, we empower customers to run everything from traditional workloads to enterprise AI with unmatched performance, resilience, and security.

Our culture

We celebrate mold breakers, bold thinkers, and problem solvers. We reward initiative, impact, and ownership. We provide flexibility so you can balance professional ambition with your personal life. Here, differences are not just welcomed—they drive everything we do.

AI Disclosure

For select roles, some stages of our hiring process may use artificial intelligence tools to help evaluate applications and candidate selection. These tools support - rather than replace - human decision-making.