What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Technical Program Manager position at Nokia?
Job Description
As a Technical Program Manager within the Global Customer Engineering / Services organization, you will lead end-to-end New Product Introduction (NPI) onboarding for hyperscaler and critical accounts. You will act as the central program owner driving cross-functional alignment across Product Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Customer Delivery teams.
The role requires strong execution discipline, technical depth in optical networking, and the ability to proactively identify risks, resolve escalations, and influence decision-making across internal and external stakeholders. You will own the onboarding lifecycle from planning through execution, ensuring programs are delivered on time with high quality and customer satisfaction.
How You Will Contribute And What You Will Learn
Program Leadership & Execution
Program & Execution Excellence
As a Technical Program Manager within the Global Customer Engineering / Services organization, you will lead end-to-end New Product Introduction (NPI) onboarding for hyperscaler and critical accounts. You will act as the central program owner driving cross-functional alignment across Product Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Customer Delivery teams.
The role requires strong execution discipline, technical depth in optical networking, and the ability to proactively identify risks, resolve escalations, and influence decision-making across internal and external stakeholders. You will own the onboarding lifecycle from planning through execution, ensuring programs are delivered on time with high quality and customer satisfaction.
How You Will Contribute And What You Will Learn
Program Leadership & Execution
- Lead NPI onboarding programs for hyperscaler and strategic customers from concept to delivery
- Define detailed onboarding plans in collaboration with NPI, Engineering, and Operations teams
- Continuously refine plans based on evolving constraints (technical, supply chain, customer timelines)
- Establish milestones, track progress, and ensure timely delivery of commitments
- Identify program risks early and define mitigation strategies
- Proactively manage escalations and drive issue resolution across cross-functional teams
- Maintain clear visibility of risks, dependencies, and blockers for stakeholders
- Intervene effectively during critical situations to ensure program continuity
- Drive alignment across internal teams and external customer stakeholders
- Lead discussions, negotiate priorities, and influence decisions to resolve conflicts
- Control and steer conversations during critical program reviews or issue scenarios
- Ensure clear communication and expectation management at all levels
- Work closely with Product Management, Engineering, QA, Supply Chain, and Customer Delivery teams
- Secure commitments on deliverables and timelines
- Drive accountability across teams for execution and closure
- Create and maintain detailed action trackers with clear ownership
- Drive rigorous follow-up to ensure closure of all action items
- Establish governance cadence (weekly / executive reviews, customer syncs)
- Develop executive-level dashboards and reports for senior leadership
- Create high-quality PowerPoint presentations for program status, risks, and milestones
- Provide clear, data-driven updates to cross-functional teams and leadership
Program & Execution Excellence
- Strong experience in NPI / product onboarding programs
- Ability to develop structured project plans and execute under ambiguity
- Proven ability to manage multiple complex programs simultaneously
- Strong negotiation and conflict resolution skills
- Ability to intervene, influence outcomes, and steer discussions during challenging situations
- Excellent stakeholder management across global and cross-functional teams
- Expertise in identifying program risks and driving mitigation strategies
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities
- Solid understanding of networking systems with emphasis on:
- Optical DWDM technologies (preferred)
- Layer 1 networking concepts
- Ability to work with engineering teams on system-level integration challenges
- Strong executive communication skills (written and verbal)
- Ability to create structured dashboards and presentations for leadership
- Experience presenting to senior management and external customers
- Strong action tracking and follow-through capabilities
- Ability to drive closure across distributed teams
- 5 years of experience in Technical Program Management
- 12–15 years of experience in Software and/or Hardware product environments
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline