Customer Program Manager

Karman • Ann Arbor, MI

4d • Remote

About The Position

Karman is a fast-growing, NVIDIA-backed AI company that applies AI to electric grids and enables AI data centers to dynamically orchestrate power. The Customer Program Manager leads customer-facing programs for the Karman platform from initial evaluation through pilot deployment, design win, and long-term adoption. The role combines program management with customer engagement and serves as the single point of accountability across customers, Engineering, Product, Sales, and executive teams. The position works with a diverse, collaborative, mission-driven team at the intersection of AI infrastructure and power systems. It can be performed remotely from anywhere in the United States and requires willingness to travel up to 30% for customer engagements, pilot deployments, and program reviews.

Requirements

• At least 4 years of experience in program or project management, including timeline management, risk tracking, and reporting, ideally in a technology or hardware-adjacent environment.
• Strong customer communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to align technical execution with business outcomes.
• Ability to navigate cross-functional teams and drive accountability across Sales, Solutions Architecture, Engineering, and Product.
• Working knowledge of data center operations, AI/ML systems, or edge computing environments.
• Understanding of solution integration lifecycles, including evaluation, proof-of-concept, deployment, and scale.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience producing status reports, program plans, and executive-level updates.
• Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent practical experience in program management, technical account management, or customer-facing technical roles.
• Willingness to travel up to 30% for on-site customer engagements, pilot deployments, and program reviews.

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on experience with project management software such as Jira, Smartsheet, or MS Project.
• Experience with collaboration tools such as Slack, Teams, and Confluence.
• Experience with CRM, KPI, and reporting or telemetry dashboards such as HubSpot or Grafana.
• Prior experience supporting pilot or early-access programs for hardware/software co-designed products.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary point of contact and single point of accountability for customer programs, ensuring deliverables, timelines, and milestones are met from initial engagement through pilot deployment, design win, and scale-out.
• Develop and maintain integrated project plans across Engineering, Product, and Operations; track program status, risks, and dependencies; and drive resolution proactively.
• Build trusted advisor relationships with customer stakeholders at technical, business, and executive levels; clarify customer requirements and translate them into actionable internal deliverables.
• Coordinate joint planning sessions and program update meetings with customers throughout the pilot lifecycle.
• Partner with Solutions Architects and Application Engineers to align resources for customer success, and relay customer feedback to Product Management to influence roadmap priorities.
• Collaborate with Customer Success and Support teams to transition customers from pilot deployment to operational excellence.
• Ensure proof-of-concept, pilot, and deployment activities are successful; track adoption, performance, and ROI KPIs; and communicate progress internally and externally.
• Manage change control to maintain scope, cost, and schedule integrity.
• Identify program risks, develop mitigation strategies, and escalate critical issues with context and recommended solutions.
• Maintain transparency with customers about program status and next steps throughout the pilot engagement.

Benefits

• Stock options.
• Flexible work environment with flexible paid time off.
• Competitive compensation and benefits, including health, dental, and vision coverage and an employer-match 401(k).
• Mentorship and growth opportunities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level