Program Manager – Emerging Technology

This position is based onsite at our Westerville, OH location.

About the Role

The Program Manager – Emerging Technology coordinates and manages complex, multi-disciplinary research programs that span multiple business units, research domains, and external partnerships. The role’s primary purpose is to remove organizational and logistical friction so domain scientists can focus on research, and ensure dependencies, budgets, and timelines across teams stay visible and aligned.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end delivery of 2–3 large research programs; establish timelines, milestones, and cross-team dependencies; escalate blockers to leadership.
• Facilitate planning meetings across Research Scientists, Research Engineers, Data Engineers, and external partners (universities, vendors, contract labs); ensure alignment on objectives and resource needs.
• Coordinate with external labs, academic partners, vendors, and contract researchers; manage SOWs, timelines, deliverables, and communication.
• Monitor program spend, resource allocation across internal and external teams, and forecast variances.
• Maintain program dashboards; provide leadership with visibility on health, risks, and upcoming milestones.
• Work with product/commercial teams to ensure research roadmaps align with business priorities; unblock resource conflicts between business units.
• Identify dependencies, critical path risks, and resource constraints early; develop mitigation plans.

Preferred Areas of Technological Focus

• Thermal Management and Advanced Cooling Systems
• Data Center Infrastructure and Architecture
• Power Systems and Power Conversion
• Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Solutions
• High-Performance Computing (HPC) Environments
• Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Requirements

• Bachelor Degree in Engineering, Technology Management, or related technical discipline.
• MBA or advanced technical degree preferred.
• 5-7 years of program or project management experience in technology, critical infrastructure, data center, power systems, energy storage, thermal management, or related industries.
• Experience leading complex cross-functional technology development or product commercialization programs.
• Strong understanding of data center infrastructure technologies including power, thermal, digital management, or energy systems.
• Experience with NPDI methodologies.
• Strong executive communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Knowledge of DFSS, FMEA, requirements traceability, and technology readiness frameworks preferred.
• PMP certification preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365, Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, and Power BI.

Preferred Background

• Background in engineering, science, or technical field (degree or 5+ years hands-on experience).
• Experience managing research programs or innovation initiatives.
• Familiarity with academic partnerships or contract research organizations.
• Background in data center, thermal management, power systems, or related industries.

About Us

The successful candidate will embrace Vertiv’s Core Principles & Behaviors to help execute our Strategic Priorities.

• Our Core Principles: Safety. Integrity. Respect. Teamwork. Inclusion.
• Our Strategic Priorities: High-Performance Culture, Customer Focus, Operational Excellence, Innovation, Financial Strength.
• Vertiv Behaviors: Own it, Act with urgency, Foster a customer-first mindset, Think big and execute, Lead by example, Drive continuous improvement, Learn and seek out development, Promote transparent & open communication.

Vertiv (NYSE: VRT) brings together hardware, software, analytics and ongoing services to enable its customers’ vital applications to run continuously, perform optimally and grow with their business needs. Vertiv solves the most important challenges facing today’s data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial facilities with a portfolio of power, cooling and IT infrastructure solutions and services that extend from the cloud to the edge of the network. Headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, USA, Vertiv employs around 34,000 people and does business in more than 130 countries.

Vertiv will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States. This is not a position for which sponsorship will be provided.