Sr. Technical Product Manager, Networking and Switches

Black Box•United States,

11d

About The Position

The Senior Technical Product Manager, Networking and Switches owns technical portfolio strategy and execution across networking, converter, and console server products. The role evaluates the portfolio for SKU rationalization, bill-of-materials optimization, and margin improvement, determining which products to consolidate or sunset and which high-margin product lines to grow. This position serves as the primary technical interface with global OEM/ODM manufacturing partners, influencing their roadmaps, negotiating technical service-level agreements, and driving root-cause analysis and supplier quality corrections. It owns firmware and hardware validation, including New Product Introduction testing, regulatory compliance verification, and automated test frameworks. The role is also the final technical escalation point for complex field failures, conducting hands-on lab debugging and turning field data into engineering requirements and vendor corrective actions. The role translates compliance mandates into hardware and firmware requirements, evaluating vendor bills of materials and architectures to ensure changes do not invalidate standards such as FIPS, TAA, UL, and NERC CIP. It manages products from NPI through End-of-Life and creates technical documentation, training materials, troubleshooting guides, firmware test checklists, and compatibility matrices for support, Product Operations, and product managers. As the networking subject matter expert for the broader product organization, it also supports Sales and Product Marketing with technical content. The position may be based in Plano, Texas; Lawrence, Pennsylvania; India (preferred for direct access to hardware labs); or remotely in the United States. Travel is 20%.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer science, telecommunications, or a related technical field, or equivalent hands-on experience with a proven track record in hardware validation and network engineering.
Hands-on expertise in Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking, including VLANs, spanning tree protocols, link aggregation, QoS/CoS, static and OSPF routing, IGMP snooping, 802.1X, and ACLs.
Knowledge of optical and copper interfaces, SFP/SFP+, RJ-45, single-mode and multimode fiber, wavelength specifications, Power over Ethernet, and rate matching.
Knowledge of PoE PSE/PD classification and power-budget validation across 802.3af and 802.3at, intelligent detection, backward compatibility, and downstream-device power profiling.
Knowledge of industrial networking requirements, including wide operating temperatures, EMC/EMI immunity, redundant power, ring redundancy, and DIN-rail or panel-mount deployment.
Knowledge of console server architectures, secure out-of-band access, terminal emulation, serial-over-IP encapsulation, and USB extension technology.
Understanding of networking security and compliance implementation, including TPM 2.0, FIPS 140-2/3 cryptographic modules, TAA-compliant supply chains, NERC CIP-supporting features, AAA frameworks, VPN technologies, ZTP, RESTful APIs, SNMP, LLDP, and NTP.
Knowledge of serial interfaces RS-232, RS-422, and RS-485; V.35/Coax signal conversion; and signal attenuation, impedance matching, and long-distance copper extension.
Knowledge of Modbus ASCII/RTU over RS-422/485 and serial line conditioning, including bias, termination, isolation, and surge protection.
Experience managing OEM/ODM relationships and holding external engineering teams accountable to quality and firmware standards.
Ability to combine market and portfolio strategy with hands-on hardware validation, lab debugging, BOM optimization, and technical sustainment.

Nice To Haves

CCNA, CCNP, CompTIA Network+, or equivalent industrial networking certification; certifications may substitute for formal education requirements.
Equivalent hands-on experience in place of a bachelor’s degree, supported by a proven track record in hardware validation and network engineering.

Responsibilities

Evaluate networking, converter, and console server products for SKU rationalization, bill-of-materials optimization, and margin improvement.
Identify products to consolidate or sunset and high-margin product lines to scale.
Serve as the primary technical interface with global OEM/ODM manufacturing partners.
Influence manufacturing partner roadmaps, negotiate technical SLAs, and drive root-cause analysis and supplier quality corrections for field failures.
Own firmware and hardware validation gates, including NPI testing, regulatory compliance verification, and automated test frameworks.
Act as the final technical escalation point for complex field failures; debug issues in the lab, translate field data into engineering requirements, and enforce vendor corrective actions.
Translate compliance mandates into hardware and firmware requirements and evaluate vendor BOMs and architectures to prevent changes from invalidating certifications or standards.
Manage the product lifecycle from NPI through End-of-Life.
Create technical documentation, training materials, troubleshooting guides, firmware test checklists, and compatibility matrices for support, Product Operations, and adjacent product managers.
Serve as the networking subject matter expert across the product organization and support Sales and Product Marketing with technical content.