Lead Technical Program Manager

DigitalOcean

$148K — $186K *
Telecommunications & Hardware
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 10+ years of experience as a Technical Program Manager in hardware or data center projects.
  • Strong understanding of hardware deployment workflows from cloud providers or colocation facilities.
  • Familiarity with basic data center concepts like rack space and power requirements.
  • Solid grasp of the procurement lifecycle, including tracking and demand forecasting.
  • Basic knowledge of AI/ML hardware and differences in requirements for training vs. inference workloads.
  • Experience coordinating with external vendors and colocation facility managers.
  • Strong risk management skills with ability to identify and mitigate deployment risks early.
  • Cross-functional teamwork capabilities to bridge technical and operational teams.
  • Proficiency in project management tools for tracking and reporting.
  • Excellent communication and organization skills for managing diverse teams.

Responsibilities

  • Support hardware deployment projects for high-density GPU clusters from planning to final installation.
  • Manage hardware delivery schedules and vendor lead times with the supply chain team.
  • Coordinate physical installations with colo providers, remote hands, and internal teams.
  • Act as the central communication hub to align various stakeholders on deployment schedules.
  • Translate customer AI needs into deployment plans for hardware and facilities teams.
  • Identify logistical roadblocks and build repeatable deployment processes for faster GPU online times.

Benefits

  • Hybrid work environment for flexibility.
  • Opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI technologies.
  • Collaborative team culture focused on innovation.
  • Engagement with diverse technical and operational teams.
Full Job Description
We are looking for a Lead Technical Program Manager to lead the data center build-outs for our high-density GPUs. You will be a driving force between hardware vendors, Data Center Architects, and the end to end oversight of doing a GPU Deployment. You'll join a fast-paced team dedicated to scaling our Agentic AI Cloud, making sure our physical hardware is deployed quickly and correctly to meet our customers' heavy compute needs.
What You'll Be Doing:
  • Support hardware deployment projects for high-density GPU clusters, coordinating the steps from early site planning all the way through the final rack-and-stack.
  • Manage hardware delivery schedules tracking vendor lead times and working closely with the supply chain team to ensure servers and equipment arrive at the data center exactly when needed.
  • Coordinate physical installations by partnering with colocation providers, remote hands, and internal networking teams to make sure space, power, and cables are prepped before hardware arrives.
  • Act as the central hub of communication keeping supply chain, facilities, hardware engineers, and outside vendors aligned to keep deployment schedules on track.
  • Help translate customer AI needs like the difference between building for training versus inference into clear deployment plans for our hardware and facility teams.
  • Build repeatable deployment processes identifying logistical roadblocks and fixing them so we can consistently get new GPUs online faster.
What We'll Expect From You:
  • 10+ years of experience as a Technical Program Manager, successfully coordinating hardware, facilities, or data center infrastructure projects.
  • Strong understanding of hardware deployment workflows, ideally from working at a cloud provider, colocation facility, or specialized AI company.
  • Familiarity with basic data center concepts, meaning you understand the fundamentals of rack space, power limits, and cooling requirements needed for dense AI hardware.
  • A solid grasp of the procurement lifecycle, including tracking orders, forecasting demand, and managing long lead times to ensure hardware shows up on time.
  • Basic familiarity with the AI/ML hardware space, understanding why customers use GPUs and the high-level physical differences required for training versus inference workloads.
  • Experience with external vendor coordination, effectively working with colocation facility managers or remote hands to guide physical work happening off-site.
  • Strong risk management skills, with a proven ability to spot deployment risks early, whether it is a delayed hardware shipment or a facility constraint, and build plans to keep the project moving.
  • Cross-functional teamwork capabilities, acting as a reliable bridge between deeply technical teams (like network and data center engineering) and operational teams (like supply chain).
  • Proficiency in project management tooling, feeling comfortable using standard tracking and ticketing systems to document deployment steps, track hardware inventory, and report on progress.
  • Excellent communication and organization skills, with a proven ability to bring order to fast-moving environments and keep diverse teams focused on a shared timeline.
Compensation Range:
  • $148,000 - $186,000

*This is a hybrid role



#LI-Hybrid


Application Limit: You may apply to a maximum of 3 positions within any 180-day period. This policy promotes better role-candidate matching and encourages thoughtful applications where your qualifications align most strongly.

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at DigitalOcean

More Telecommunications & Hardware Jobs

Find similar Lead Technical Program Manager jobs: