R&D Manager, Project Leadership & Software
HP · Fort Collins, Colorado, United States
R&D Manager, Project Leadership & Software
Description -
HP creates technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere. Within the Advanced Compute & Solutions BU, Workstations R&D develops high-performance computing platforms for professional, technical, and enterprise customers. The Project Leadership and Software team is central to delivering secure, reliable, and differentiated HP Z Workstation experiences across hardware, firmware, software, and operating system ecosystems. Join the business bringing the future of advanced computing to professionals worldwide.
The R&D Manager for Project Leadership and Software leads teams of engineers and technical program managers responsible for workstation firmware development, Windows and Linux operating system readiness, platform software integration, and program execution for HP Z Workstations. The role manages multiple development and execution activities across product lifecycles, aligning resources, technical priorities, schedules, and business objectives to ensure successful delivery of workstation platforms.
The manager drives execution from early platform architecture and bring-up through product launch, sustaining updates, and lifecycle refreshes. This includes ownership of Remote System Controller (RSC) firmware strategy and execution, Windows and Linux operating system integration and Linux certification, and end-to-end program leadership for Value Workstations. The role ensures platform readiness, customer satisfaction, and on-time delivery through close collaboration with internal engineering organizations, global original design manufacturers, silicon partners, operating system vendors, and strategic technology suppliers.
This role combines people leadership, technical breadth, strategic planning, program execution, supplier management, and continuous improvement. It partners closely with Architecture, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, Security, Program Management, Quality, Manufacturing, Customer Support, and external development partners to assess risk, drive alignment, resolve cross-functional issues, and support product readiness. The fundamental outcome is the successful delivery of innovative workstation platforms that meet customer needs and expectations across a wide range of professional computing environments.
Key Responsibilities
Firmware, Operating Systems, and Platform Software Leadership
- Lead manageability firmware, and low-level platform software engineering teams supporting HP Z Workstation platforms.
- Lead Windows and Linux operating system engineering activities, including OS readiness, hardware enablement, driver integration, certification, platform optimization, security, and enterprise deployment support.
- Drive execution of firmware and operating system deliverables from early architecture and platform bring-up through launch, sustaining updates, and lifecycle refreshes.
- Establish firmware and OS development strategies, release plans, quality objectives, and execution frameworks aligned with business and platform roadmaps.
- Ensure platform readiness through comprehensive validation of firmware, operating system, manageability, and customer experience requirements.
- Drive timely identification, prioritization, root-cause analysis, and resolution of critical platform issues in partnership with engineering teams, ODMs, operating system vendors, and silicon suppliers.
- Champion engineering excellence through continuous improvement of development processes, automation, metrics, development velocity, and quality outcomes.
Technical Program Management Leadership
- Lead a team of R&D Technical Program Managers responsible for cross-functional execution of workstation platform development programs.
- Establish program governance, execution frameworks, decision-making processes, and risk management practices supporting complex hardware and software initiatives.
- Drive alignment of cross-functional teams across engineering, operations, quality, manufacturing, procurement, and business organizations.
- Ensure program plans, milestones, dependencies, and resource requirements are clearly defined, communicated, and actively managed.
- Lead program reviews, executive updates, issue escalations, and decision forums to maintain schedule predictability and delivery commitments.
- Drive risk identification, mitigation planning, and closure across multiple concurrent platform programs.
People and Organizational Leadership
- Provide direct and ongoing leadership for firmware engineers, operating system engineers, technical program managers, and external partners.
- Manage staffing and talent responsibilities including recruitment, onboarding, performance management, coaching, succession planning, and career development.
- Establish clear objectives, accountability, and development plans that support strong execution and continued growth of team capability. Manage team budget and resource planning.
- Build an engineering culture emphasizing collaboration, customer focus, technical innovation, ownership, disciplined execution, and continuous improvement.
- Foster effective communication and collaboration between team members, global development teams, and outsourced resources.
- Lead supplier and partner performance management, ensuring commitments, quality objectives, and service expectations are achieved.
- Develop organizational capabilities across firmware engineering, operating systems expertise, and program management disciplines to meet evolving business needs.
Program and Cross-Functional Leadership
- Manage deliverables, schedules, costs, and resource allocation across firmware, operating system, and platform programs; identify and mitigate technical, execution, quality, and schedule risks.
- Ensure engineering priorities, roadmaps, timelines, and budgets align with organizational and business objectives.
- Represent firmware, operating systems, and program execution organizations in leadership reviews, architecture reviews, readiness assessments, and Go/No-Go decisions.
- Communicate status, risks, dependencies, and escalation plans to leadership teams and development partners.
- Partner with Architecture, Hardware, Software, Security, Quality, Manufacturing, Customer Support, and Operations teams to assess readiness and execution risk.
- Support customer escalations and field issues, coordinating cross-functional investigation and resolution to maintain customer satisfaction.
- Lead recurring and ad hoc cross-functional reviews with global stakeholders to drive alignment, execution excellence, and business outcomes.
- Collaborate with Microsoft, Canonical, Red Hat, silicon providers, ODMs, and other ecosystem partners to ensure platform compatibility, certification, and customer readiness.
- Drive strategic initiatives focused on platform security, enterprise manageability, operating system innovation, AI workstation capabilities, and future technology enablement.
Education and Experience
· Bachelor’s or graduate degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline, or commensurate work experience and demonstrated competence.
· Typically 10+ years of job-related experience, including relevant experience in electronics or computer hardware/software development, technical program management, or a related technical development environment.
· Typically 8-10 years of management or technical leadership experience, including leadership of engineering functions, teams, and delivery across organizational or geographic boundaries.
· Demonstrated ability to manage project elements, resources, schedules, budgets, suppliers, and technical risks.
Preferred Qualifications
· Experience with workstation-class platforms, enterprise PCs, high-performance computing systems, or other complex computing products.
· Experience leading system-level function