Hardware Project Manager – AI Data Center

Description

About the Company


DriveNets is a leader in large-scale networking solutions for AI infrastructure and service providers. The company’s disaggregated networking architecture transforms the economics of large-scale infrastructures while maximizing performance, utilization, and operational efficiency. Its high-performance AI fabric maximizes GPU utilization and accelerates deployments by optimizing the AI stack end-to-end, resulting in higher tokens-per-second and lower cost-per-token. DriveNets’ solutions power production networks for global tier-1 operators like AT&T and Comcast, and scale multi-vendor AI infrastructures at foundation model labs, NeoClouds, and enterprises.


Responsibilities and Duties

  • Join a new, fast-growing group at DriveNets chartered with building hardware infrastructure for AI-scale data centers.

  • Own hardware programs end-to-end: from initial requirements through validation, production, and deployment.

  • Manage the interaction between internal R&D teams and external hardware vendors (ODMs), ensuring hardware development aligns with DriveNets' software stack requirements and product timelines.

  • Collaborate cross-functionally with product management, systems architecture, software R&D, legal, and supply chain teams to align on requirements and execution plans.

  • Serve as the main technical point of contact with ODMs, managing technical discussions, tracking progress, and resolving issues.

  • Drive hardware and firmware planning, including schedule alignment with software integration cycles and overall AI data center rollout milestones.

  • Lead bug triage and resolution processes for hardware and firmware, including customer-reported issues.

  • Coordinate content and timelines for hardware and firmware releases, ensuring quality and timely delivery.

  • Identify and mitigate technical and schedule risks throughout the project lifecycle.

  • Provide technical guidance and hands-on engagement in board-level design issues, validation planning, hardware bring-up, and debugging.

  • Deliver regular status updates to executive stakeholders and drive decisions at critical project milestones.

  • Gather and communicate requirements in a collaborative manner across all stakeholders.


Requirements

Technical Skills

  • B.Sc. or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.

  • 7+ years of experience in hardware program/project management or systems engineering roles.

  • Proven experience managing hardware development with external ODMs or hardware vendors.

  • Strong technical knowledge of networking hardware, high-speed board design, firmware, and hardware/software integration.

  • Experience with hardware validation, bring-up, and debugging tools.

  • Track record managing the full product lifecycle for hardware- and software-based products, from requirements to launch.

  • Working knowledge of project management methodologies (Agile and Waterfall).

Soft Skills

  • Strong cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to align engineering, product, legal, and supply chain teams around a shared plan.

  • Excellent communication and negotiation skills, including the ability to translate technical hardware issues into business impact for executive stakeholders.

  • Proactive and comfortable operating with ambiguity, with the initiative to help stand up a new group and its processes from the ground up.

Nice to Have / Advantage

  • Experience in the telecom or networking industry.

  • Background in AI infrastructure, data center, or GPU networking hardware.

  • Familiarity with whitebox hardware development models.

  • Experience in Agile or hybrid hardware-software development environments.

  • Experience with customer-facing issue management and escalation handling.

  • PMP certification or equivalent project management credential.

  • Exposure to DevOps practices and tooling.


Summary

Own end-to-end hardware programs for AI-scale data centers, coordinating internal R&D and external ODMs from requirements through production and deployment. Requires a B.Sc. or higher in Electrical or Computer Engineering, 7+ years in hardware program/project management or systems engineering, and strong networking hardware, firmware, and hardware/software integration knowledge.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end hardware programs for AI-scale data centers from requirements through validation, production, and deployment; manage internal R&D and external ODM vendors; align schedules with software integration and rollout milestones; lead hardware and firmware bug triage, quality, and release coordination; identify and mitigate technical and schedule risks; deliver status updates to executive stakeholders.

Qualifications

B.Sc. or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field; proven experience managing hardware development with external ODMs or hardware vendors; track record managing the full product lifecycle for hardware- and software-based products; working knowledge of project management methodologies (Agile and Waterfall).

Education requirements

B.Sc. or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.

Experience requirements

7+ years of experience in hardware program/project management or systems engineering roles; proven experience managing hardware development with external ODMs or hardware vendors; track record managing the full product lifecycle from requirements to launch; working knowledge of Agile and Waterfall.