Associate Technical Program Manager – AI Infrastructure

American IT Systems•Houston, TX

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Associate Technical Program Manager – AI Infrastructure supports the coordination, planning, and day-to-day operational management of enterprise AI factory and private cloud infrastructure programs within HPE's Professional Services delivery environment. This role operates directly under a senior Program Director and serves as the connective tissue across multi-team, multi-supplier program coordination — ensuring priorities are tracked, blockers are surfaced and communicated, governance meetings are organized, and the director's capacity is focused where it matters most. The role does not require hands-on technical implementation. It requires enough technical literacy to participate meaningfully in engineering discussions — following the nature of progress and blockers raised by GPU infrastructure, HPC, and container platform teams — and to translate that context into clear, organized communication for the director and broader stakeholder group. Role Positioning Junior individual contributor operating under direct supervision of a Program Director No independent decision-making authority — key decisions remain with the director; this role enables and informs them Not the primary external client contact; may represent the director in internal supplier and team coordination meetings when the director is unavailable Technical understanding expected at a conceptual and contextual level — not hands-on engineering or architecture High-growth role designed for early-career engineers who want to develop into full program leadership over time

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related technical field (recent graduates welcome; 0–2 years of professional experience)
Demonstrated organizational leadership track record — student governance, youth programs, technical clubs, hackathon organizing, sports captaincy, or equivalent structured team environments where the candidate coordinated people and drove outcomes
Strong written and verbal communication skills; comfortable engaging with both senior engineers and non-technical stakeholders
Highly organized with strong attention to detail, reliable follow-through, and the ability to juggle multiple concurrent workstreams without losing threads
Willingness to pursue formal project management certification (CAPM, PMP, CSM, or equivalent) within the first year in role
Conceptual-level understanding of AI Factory architecture and HPE Private Cloud AI — GPU clusters, NVIDIA AI Enterprise, training vs. inference workloads, and what these environments are designed to deliver
Conceptual-level understanding of HPC fundamentals — workload schedulers (Slurm, PBS Pro), cluster management tools (HPCM, NVIDIA Base Command Manager), and high-speed networking concepts (InfiniBand)
Conceptual-level understanding of container platform concepts — Kubernetes, Red Hat OpenShift, SUSE Rancher; understanding what these platforms do in an AI/HPC delivery context and why they matter
Conceptual-level understanding of HPE GreenLake — consumption model basics and how it shapes delivery commitments and customer conversations
Conceptual-level understanding of Hybrid cloud and on-premises infrastructure concepts at a high level — sufficient to understand where decisions and trade-offs arise across supplier boundaries
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related technical field (required)
Recent engineering graduate who gravitated toward coordination, leadership, and communication throughout their academic career rather than deep technical specialization
Has led structured teams — student government, technical or engineering clubs, hackathon organizing, sports captaincy, community programs — and knows how to keep people aligned and moving toward a shared goal
Technically curious and comfortable in rooms with senior engineers; asks good questions, captures accurately, and knows when to listen
Exceptionally organized — treats structure, documentation, and follow-through as professional instincts, not imposed constraints
Poised and professional with senior stakeholders; capable of representing the director's position clearly in a meeting without overstepping on decisions
High growth trajectory — this role is designed for someone who intends to grow into a full Technical Program Manager or Program Director role over a 2–4 year horizon

Nice To Haves

PMI Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), PMP, or Agile / Scrum certification: preferred; willingness to pursue within 12 months of joining is expected if not already held
Cloud, infrastructure, or AI-adjacent coursework, academic projects, or certifications are a plus (e.g., AWS Cloud Practitioner, NVIDIA DLI, Linux Foundation Certified IT Associate)

Responsibilities

Support the Program Director in monitoring delivery progress across AI infrastructure, GPU platform, HPC, and container platform workstreams.
Maintain and update program plans, milestone trackers, risk logs, and action item registers across all active workstreams.
Ensure the director has a timely, accurate, and consolidated view of program health across all workstreams and supplier tracks.
Own scheduling, agenda preparation, pre-read distribution, and minutes/action item capture for all program governance meetings, team standups, and supplier touchpoints.
Track and follow up on open action items across engineering teams and suppliers on the director's behalf.
Step in as the director's proxy in routine coordination and status meetings when the director is unavailable — escalating decisions rather than making them.
Participate in engineering standups, technical reviews, and supplier calls.
Build sufficient familiarity with AI factory architecture, GPU cluster operations, HPC workload management, and container platforms to accurately capture technical status and blockers.
Relay technical context to the director clearly and without distortion; flag issues proactively without needing to resolve them.
Maintain a live consolidated view of program priorities and outstanding decisions; surface these to the director on a defined cadence.
Prepare concise status summaries, escalation briefs, and decision-ready materials that allow the director to act quickly and confidently.
Track supplier commitments and engineering team deliverables against agreed timelines; highlight variances before they become escalations.
Maintain all program documentation in a structured, current, and accessible state — including program plans, decision logs, RAID logs, and supplier trackers.
Ensure program artifacts are consistently formatted and ready for director review or stakeholder distribution at short notice.
Support onboarding of new team members or suppliers by providing organized program context documentation.
Actively build familiarity with HPE's AI infrastructure portfolio, GreenLake delivery model, and professional services delivery practices.
Pursue project management certification (PMI-CAPM, PMP, CSM, or equivalent) ideally within the first year in role.
Contribute observations and improvement suggestions to the director to continuously refine program coordination practices.