Principal Program Manager - Networking - US
About Nscale
Nscale is the GPU cloud engineered for AI. We provide cost-effective, high-performance infrastructure for AI start-ups and large enterprise customers. Nscale enables AI-focused companies to achieve superior results by reducing the complexity of AI development. Our GPU cloud bolsters technical capabilities and directly supports strategic business outcomes, including cost management, rapid innovation, and environmental responsibility.
We thrive on a culture of relentless innovation, ownership, and accountability, where every team member takes pride in their work and drives it with excellence and urgency. As an Nscaler, you'll build trust through openness and transparency, where everyone is inspired to do their best work. If you join our team, you'll be contributing to building the technology that powers the future.
About the Role
We're seeking a Principal Program Manager for Networking to lead the strategic vision, design, and delivery of Nscale's networking infrastructure and services. This is a high-impact, early-stage role where you'll own the end-to-end product strategy for both internal management platforms and customer-facing cloud networking capabilities—spanning internet transit, WAN connectivity, data center networking, Ethernet, and InfiniBand technologies.
You'll work at the intersection of infrastructure, engineering, and customer needs, translating complex technical requirements into compelling product strategies that drive competitive advantage and customer success. This role reports to the VP of Product and partners closely with the Network Engineering team, Infrastructure leadership, and key customers to define roadmaps, prioritize initiatives, and ensure our networking platform scales reliably and cost-effectively.
What You'll Do
Strategic Vision & Roadmap
- Define and evolve the long-term product strategy for Nscale's networking infrastructure, balancing customer needs, technical feasibility, and business impact.
- Own the datacenter networking and structured cabling roadmap across our global locations.
- Identify market opportunities, competitive gaps, and emerging customer pain points in HPC, AI, and cloud networking.
- Partner with Engineering leadership to assess technical feasibility, prioritize initiatives, and manage trade-offs between innovation and operational excellence.
Customer Discovery & Advocacy
- Conduct deep customer research and discovery to understand networking requirements, pain points, and use cases across AI builders, enterprises, and hyperscalers.
- Build strong relationships with key vendors , AI partners and internal stakeholders; act as their voice in product decisions.
- Translate reference designs and architectures into clear, actionable networking requirements and specifications.
- Validate product hypotheses through customer interviews, pilots, and feedback loops.
Product Definition & Execution
- Write clear, compelling product specifications and requirements that guide engineering teams.
- Define success metrics, KPIs, and OKRs for networking initiatives; track and communicate progress.
- Lead cross-functional initiatives involving Engineering, Infrastructure, Sales, and Customer Success to deliver networking features and improvements.
- Manage product launches, go-to-market strategies, and customer communication for major networking initiatives.
Technical Depth & Collaboration
- Develop deep technical understanding of Ethernet, InfiniBand, WAN, BGP, MPLS, SD-WAN, and HPC networking topologies (Fat Tree, Rail, etc.).
- Partner closely with the Network Engineering team to understand architectural constraints, performance trade-offs, and operational considerations.
- Participate in architecture reviews and technical discussions; challenge assumptions and drive pragmatic solutions.
- Support sales and customer success teams with technical positioning and customer enablement.
Data-Driven Decision Making
- Establish telemetry, monitoring, and analytics to measure networking performance, reliability, and customer satisfaction.
- Use data to inform prioritization, validate product decisions, and identify optimization opportunities.
- Conduct competitive analysis and market benchmarking to inform strategy.
Thought Leadership & Communication
- Communicate networking strategy, roadmap, and value proposition clearly to internal teams, customers, and the market.
- Contribute to external thought leadership through blogs, talks, and customer case studies.
- Build and maintain documentation that helps teams understand networking strategy and customer context
About You
- 10+ years of product management experience, with substantial depth in infrastructure, networking, or cloud platform products.
- Proven track record shipping complex, high-impact networking infrastructure in the cloud, or HPC environments.
- Deep technical understanding of networking technologies: Ethernet, InfiniBand, WAN, routing protocols (BGP, OSPF, EVPN,VXLAN), and HPC networking topologies.
- Experience managing products across multiple technical layers (physical, transport, application) and balancing competing priorities.
Technical Acumen
- Strong grasp of networking fundamentals: cabling design , datacenter rack/row design, MMR, MDFs
- Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and their networking services.
- Understanding of GPU/HPC infrastructure, distributed systems, and high-performance computing workloads.
- Ability to engage deeply with engineers and architects on technical trade-offs and feasibility.
Customer & Market Insight
- Demonstrated ability to conduct customer discovery, synthesize feedback, and translate it into product strategy.
- Experience working with enterprise and hyperscale customers; comfort navigating complex, long sales cycles.
- Strong market sense: ability to identify emerging trends, competitive threats, and white-space opportunities.
Strategic & Analytical Skills
- Proven ability to define clear strategy, set priorities, and drive execution in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; comfort with data-driven decision making.
- Experience with OKRs, metrics frameworks, and product analytics.
Communication & Leadership
- Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to explain complex technical concepts clearly to diverse audiences.
- Strong stakeholder management and influence without authority; comfort navigating cross-functional teams.
- Ability to inspire and align teams around a compelling vision.
- Experience mentoring junior PMs or product teams.
Mindset & Culture Fit
- Ownership mentality: you take end-to-end responsibility for outcomes and drive them relentlessly.
- Pragmatism: you balance perfection with shipping; you know when to iterate and when to invest.
- Curiosity: you're energized by learning new domains and staying ahead of industry trends.
- Collaboration: you thrive in fast-paced, high-ownership environments where you partner closely with engineering, design, and go-to-market teams.
Nice to Have
- Experience with Palantir Foundry, data platforms, or observability tools.
- Background in GPU/AI infrastructure, ML systems, or inference optimization.
- Familiarity with open-source networking projects or communities (e.g., DPDK, OVS, Cilium).
- Experience scaling products from early-stage to enterprise adoption.
- Knowledge of sustainability and energy efficiency in data center operations.
- Security and compliance expertise (SOC 2, ISO 27001, etc.).
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. ✨
- 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.
- Human-First Flexibility: We treat you as humans first. 🫶🏽 Our flexible workplace trusts Nscalers to deliver, giving you the autonomy to shape your day around life's moments.
- Remote-first team: Geography is no barrier to impact or connection. We build seamless virtual collaboration, empowering you wherever you work.
Equal Opportunities Statement
At Nscale, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse, and equitable workplace. We believe that a variety of perspectives enriches our work environment, and we encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, experiences, and abilities. We strongly encourage applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, parents, carers, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
If there's anything we can do to accommodate your specific situation, please let us know.
The responsibilities outlined in this job description are not exhaustive and are intended to provide a general overview of the position. The employee may be required to perform additional duties, tasks, and responsibilities as assigned by management, consistent with the skills and qualifications required for the role.
