Sr Customer Program Manager - 2245

Company DescriptionKIOXIA America, Inc. (formerly Toshiba Memory America, Inc.) is the US-based subsidiary of KIOXIA Corporation, a leading worldwide supplier of flash memory and solid state drives (SSDs). From the invention of flash memory to today's breakthrough BiCS FLASH™ 3D technology, KIOXIA continues to pioneer cutting-edge memory solutions and services that enrich people's lives and expand society's horizons. The company's innovative 3D flash memory technology, BiCS FLASH™, is shaping the future of storage in high-density applications, including advanced smartphones, PCs, SSDs, automotive and data centers.

Job DescriptionThe Senior Customer Program Manager (Sr. CPM) is the accountable program owner for assigned strategic customer accounts across all qualification and sustaining activities. This role maintains comprehensive ownership of the customer's product portfolio — including legacy products in sustaining, active Pre-JQ and JQ programs, and future roadmap introductions.

The Sr. CPM serves as the primary point of contact between the customer and KIOXIA for qualification-related matters, ensuring structured planning, disciplined execution, and consistent communication throughout the product lifecycle. While CSE, JQE, and CQE teams execute technical validation and quality activities, the Sr. CPM owns program coordination, milestone control, and alignment to customer acceptance requirements.

This is a senior-level role defined by scope, complexity of account ownership, customer-facing leadership, and independent program control.

Key ResponsibilitiesEnd-to-End Customer Product Portfolio OwnershipOwn the complete qualification roadmap for assigned accounts, including:

Sustaining products (past generations)Active Pre-JQ and JQ programsFuture product introductions aligned to customer roadmapsMaintain a master, forward-looking qualification plan covering all product generations.

Ensure continuity across firmware revisions, sustaining updates, and next-generation transitions.

Track product lifecycle status and customer adoption progression.

Primary Qualification Interface Between Customer and KIOXIAAct as the single program owner for all Pre-JQ, JQ, and sustaining qualification communications.

Lead all recurring customer program meetings related to qualification and sustaining activities.

Establish structured agendas, document key decisions, and ensure follow-through on action items.

Coordinate internal updates across Sales, Engineering, and CTS while maintaining ownership of qualification messaging.

Ensure consistent, accurate, and timely communication of milestones, risks, and deliverables.

Subject Matter Expertise on Customer Product RequirementsDevelop deep understanding of:

Products qualified or planned by the customerCustomer-specific platform requirementsAcceptance criteria and validation gatesFirmware constraints and integration dependenciesServe as the internal CTS subject matter expert on customer qualification expectations.

Validate that CSE, JQE, and CQE activities align with defined customer acceptance requirements.

Identify and resolve requirement misalignments before they impact qualification schedules.

Qualification Planning & Execution ControlBuild and maintain the master qualification schedule integrating:

Customer timelinesEngineering release checkpointsFirmware readiness gatesSample planning and delivery sequencingIdentify and manage critical path dependencies.

Coordinate Pre-JQ, JQ, and Post-Sales sample planning and tracking.

Provide milestone forecasting and schedule confidence assessments.

Risk Management & EscalationMaintain a structured risk register for assigned accounts.

Proactively identify risks related to:

Firmware readinessValidation timingSample availabilitySustaining stabilityCustomer schedule shiftsLead mitigation planning within CTS and escalate appropriately when required.

Provide clear impact assessments tied to qualification timing and customer commitments.

Executive & Account-Level ReportingDevelop and maintain dashboards summarizing:

Qualification status across all active and sustaining productsMilestone adherenceRisk posture and mitigation statusSample readinessPrepare milestone reviews for CTS leadership.

Create customer-facing milestone trackers that accurately reflect program status.

Collaboration Within CTSThe Sr. CPM integrates and aligns execution across:

Customer Support Engineers (CSE): Align technical debug, firmware updates, and readiness status with qualification milestones.

Joint Qualification Engineers (JQE): Integrate regression testing timelines and qualification execution progress into the master schedule.

Customer Quality Engineers (CQE): Ensure quality metrics, FA reporting inputs, and compliance documentation align with sustaining and qualification gates.

The Sr. CPM does not perform technical validation work but ensures proper sequencing, visibility, and coordination across functions.

Qualifications6-10+ years of experience in program or project management within enterprise hardware, firmware, storage, or semiconductor environments.

Demonstrated experience managing multi-generation product portfolios within a strategic customer account.

Proven experience serving as the primary customer-facing lead for structured technical programs.

Strong understanding of NVMe and/or SAS product lifecycles and firmware release workflows.

Advanced competency in schedule management, dependency tracking, and risk forecasting.

Strong communication and presentation skills with the ability to synthesize complex technical updates into structured program reporting.

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or related field (or equivalent experience).Additional InformationReq#2245; #LI-CB1; The expected salary for this position is $124,440.00 - $207,400.00. At KIOXIA, we value the following:

Investment in youOffering opportunities for career growth and personal development trainingOpen-minded managementEmpowering employees by listening and responding to ideas, issues, and approachesFlexible work-life balanceOffering a generous PTO allotment, holiday shutdown, and flexible work optionsDiversity of cultures, perspectives, backgrounds and experiences of all our team membersThrough our diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, our focus is to strengthen our company culture to create more inclusion and belonging for allBenefits for our team membersExcellent medical and non-medical benefits, 401(k) matching, pet insuranceKIOXIA America, Inc. provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.