Principal Technical Program Manager (TPM) - AI Infrastructure Operations
At a glance
Senior ML Platform & Ops role at Nscale. Houston · no salary stated · we estimate $180,000–$245,000 across the United States.
Nscale has not published a salary for this role. The figure below is our estimate, not theirs.
aimlroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Lead delivery of data center build-outs, fleet software and firmware launches, and new operations tools with SRE
- Set infrastructure health measures, track availability and uptime, and give leaders live views of progress and risk
- Improve fleet, network, and SRE workflows by standardizing incident, change, and post-incident reviews
- Coordinate hardware, compute, network, data center, and vendor teams to clear dependencies and delivery blockers
- Turn capacity forecasts into readiness plans and confirm new GPUs, NICs, and switches meet launch criteria
What you bring
- At least five years leading complex infrastructure or software programs in a technical program management role
- A solid grasp of data center systems, distributed computing, Linux, and networking
- Experience defining and improving operational measures such as uptime, availability, MTTR, and SLOs or SLIs
- Strong program execution, communication, organization, and presentation skills
Who this fits
This senior role suits a technical program manager who can connect engineering delivery with operational health measures and manage competing priorities as requirements shift. The position is based in Houston, United States.
From the employer
Role Overview
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
At Nscale, you'll find a collaborative, supportive, and innovative environment where your contributions spark real impact. We're building something extraordinary, and we want you at the core.
- 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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