Director / Senior Program Manager, AI Accelerator

Job Title

Director / Senior Program Manager, AI Accelerator

Role Summary

Lead program management for Quadric’s AI accelerator chips and embedded systems, managing software and hardware product releases across the full product lifecycle. Accountable for planning, execution, cross-functional coordination, delivery, and safety certification.

Work closely with software, hardware, silicon, product, sales, operations and customers. Preference for candidates in the California Bay Area able to collaborate regularly from the Burlingame office on a hybrid schedule.

Experience Level

Senior-level — requires 15+ years of progressive program management experience in technical programs involving AI acceleration chips, embedded systems, software, and hardware.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include release management, program execution, cross-functional leadership, customer engagement, and safety certification.

• Own and program-manage complex software releases to ensure on-time delivery, quality, and scope adherence.
• Drive and track progress across engineering and cross-functional teams; identify bottlenecks and mitigate risks.
• Champion and enforce program management methodologies and best practices.
• Facilitate alignment among software, hardware, silicon, product, sales, operations, and external partners.
• Serve as primary technical program contact for key customers; translate customer needs into actionable engineering tasks.
• Manage requirements and defect funnels, ensuring clear prioritization and timely resolution.
• Communicate program status, risks, and dependencies to executive leadership, technical teams, and external stakeholders.
• Lead end-to-end safety certification programs (e.g., ISO 26262, IEC 61508), including required documentation and engineering rigor.

Requirements

Must-have technical program management experience and tooling proficiency. Education requirements are listed under Education Requirements.

• 15+ years of progressive program management experience on technical programs involving AI acceleration chips, embedded systems, software, and hardware.
• Proven experience managing distributed teams and programs across multiple geographies and time zones.
• Strong domain knowledge in AI/ML and embedded processing with a track record of driving complex technical projects.
• Deep expertise with program management tools such as JIRA, GitHub Issues, and Quality Center (QC), including advanced reporting and workflow management.
• Demonstrated experience leading safety certification and compliance activities.
• Ability to collaborate in-person regularly from the Burlingame, CA office (hybrid model).

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with AI compilers (TVM, MLIR, LLVM, IREE).
• Familiarity with AI frameworks and kernel development (JAX, PyTorch, ONNX, TensorFlow).
• Program management certifications (PMP, PgMP, CSM, SAFe).

Education Requirements

Master’s degree (MS) in Computer Science or a related technical field is required. Professional program management certifications (PMP, PgMP, CSM, SAFe) are listed as desirable. No explicit equivalent-experience alternative is provided in the posting.

About the Company

Company: Quadric

Headquarters: Burlingame, California, United States

Quadric is building the world’s first supercomputer designed for the real-time needs of edge devices. Founded in 2016, the company empowers developers across industries with innovative general-purpose neural processing unit (GPNPU) architecture for neural network workloads. Co-founded by technologists from MIT and Carnegie Mellon, Quadric aims to enable groundbreaking technology development.