Technical Program Director

Summary

HPS (Hardware Platform Solutions), part of Celestica, designs and delivers data center hardware with leading hyper scale and technology customers. As Technical and Customer Facing Program Director, you are the single accountable technical owner of a strategic customer program, from concept through new product introduction (NPI) to volume ramp.

You report to VP of Operations Engineering, act as the customer's primary technical contact, and lead a matrixed team of hardware, software, systems engineering, program management and new product development teams as one program team. You also work closely with supplier development, manufacturing and site NPI.

Location: Thailand · Travel: regular travel to customer and HPS sites

Detailed Description

Key responsibilities

• Program delivery: own the integrated program plan (schedule, milestones, phase gates, budget, risks) and drive it through EVT/DVT/PPVT/PVT/Optimization, NPI and ramp to agreed quality, cost and time targets.
• Phase-gate governance: ensures alignment at phase gate reviews with clear entry and exit criteria and make go/no-go recommendations.
• Customer engagement: serve as the customer's primary technical contact; set and run the engagement cadence, from weekly technical syncs to quarterly business reviews.
• Escalation: own the customer escalation path and resolve issues at the lowest effective level.
• Cross-functional leadership: lead engineering and program teams through a matrix; set priorities and resolve trade-offs on design, resources and schedule.
• Operating model: define and apply the program RACI, decision rights, change control and reporting.
• Manufacturing readiness: bring design-for-manufacturability and design-for-test input in early, and confirm test readiness and process capability before each build.
• Supply chain alignment: align supplier qualification, material readiness and line readiness with the program schedule.
• Reporting: report program health to senior leadership and the customer, and close review actions on time.

What success looks like

• Phase gates and customer milestones met on plan.
• Strong first-pass yield at each build, with manufacturability and test findings closed before NPI.
• Program cost on budget.
• High customer satisfaction and escalations resolved quickly.

Knowledge/Skills/Competencies

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Computer or Systems Engineering, or equivalent.
• 15+ years in hardware product development, including 7+ years leading complex technical programs.
• Experience delivering data center, server, storage or networking hardware for hyperscale or tier-1 OEM customers.
• Proven track record taking products through EVT/DVT/PVT, NPI and volume ramp in a JDM, ODM or EMS environment.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams across multiple sites and time zones.
• Strong working knowledge of DFM, DFT, test strategy and manufacturing process capability.
• Customer-facing experience at senior technical and executive level.

Preferred

• Master's degree in engineering or an MBA.
• PMP or equivalent certification.
• Experience working with manufacturing partners in Asia.

What we look for

• Ownership: you treat the product quality as your own.
• Systems thinking: you see how hardware, software, test and manufacturing decisions affect each other.
• Influence: you lead teams and partners through clarity and credibility, not reporting lines.
• Customer credibility: you earn trust with senior customer stakeholders and raise problems early, with a plan.
• Decisiveness and discipline: you make trade-off calls with incomplete information and run a tight operating cadence.
• Global mindset: you work well across North American and Asian teams.

Typical Experience

15+ years in hardware product development, including 7+ years leading complex technical programs.

Typical Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Computer or Systems Engineering, or equivalent.

COMPANY OVERVIEW:

Celestica, Inc. (NYSE: CLS; TSX: CLS) is a technology leader dedicated to driving customer success and market advancements. With deep expertise in design, engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and platform solutions, Celestica enables critical data center infrastructure for AI, cloud, and hybrid cloud and advances technologies in high-growth markets. With a talented team and a strategic global network, Celestica helps its customers achieve competitive advantages.

Today, Celestica delivers innovative supply chain solutions globally to customers in strategic two operating and reporting segments: Advanced Technology Solutions (ATS) and Connectivity and Cloud Solutions (CC):

ATS: This segment serves customers in complex, regulated and high-reliability markets such as Industrial & Smart Energy, Aerospace & Defense, Semiconductor Capital Equipment, and HealthTech. It is engineering led, with deep expertise in design, manufacturing and lifecycle solutions.

CCS: Th