Senior Program Manager

Job Summary

Engineering Mindset & Culture

• Champion an engineering culture centered on reliability, performance, and carrier-grade quality.
• Institutionalize rigorous code review, static/dynamic analysis, and secure-coding practices for network software.
• Drive DevSecOps adoption - CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code, automated performance and regression testing.
• Instill engineering discipline around non-functional requirements - availability, latency, and fault tolerance - appropriate to telecom SLAs.

Delivery Leadership & Technical Governance

• Own end-to-end technical delivery for Ericsson's AD/Transformation workstreams across network and OSS/BSS platforms.
• Set up architecture governance - design reviews, standards, and NFR/availability sign-off - for carrier-grade systems.
• Drive modernization toward cloud-native network functions, microservices, and containerization (Kubernetes/OpenShift).
• Own technical risk and technical-debt management for systems operating under strict SLA and regulatory constraints.
• Track and report engineering health metrics (availability, defect leakage, deployment frequency, MTTR) to account leadership.

Client & Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as the primary engineering counterpart to Ericsson's engineering and product leadership.
• Translate Ericsson's network evolution and 5G roadmap into actionable engineering delivery plans.
• Represent HCLTech in technical governance forums, steering committees, and architecture councils.
• Build trusted-advisor relationships that grow HCLTech's engineering footprint within the account.
• Lead delivery from an offshore location, ensuring seamless collaboration with onshore/client stakeholders through structured governance, overlap hours, and communication cadences.

Team Building, Coaching & Talent

• Build, mentor, and retain an engineering team with strong telecom domain skills across development, QE, and DevOps.
• Define skilling plans and technical career paths aligned to network engineering and cloud-native technologies.
• Foster ownership, continuous learning, and engineering craftsmanship across the pods.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Drive adoption of network automation, AI/ML for network operations, and observability practices.
• Lead pilots for tooling and automation accelerators relevant to NFV/CNF and 5G network software.
• Contribute learnings back into HCLTech's engineering Centre of Excellence.

Key Responsibilities

Engineering Mindset & Culture

• Champion an engineering culture centered on reliability, performance, and carrier-grade quality.
• Institutionalize rigorous code review, static/dynamic analysis, and secure-coding practices for network software.
• Drive DevSecOps adoption - CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code, automated performance and regression testing.
• Instill engineering discipline around non-functional requirements - availability, latency, and fault tolerance - appropriate to telecom SLAs.

Delivery Leadership & Technical Governance

• Own end-to-end technical delivery for Ericsson's AD/Transformation workstreams across network and OSS/BSS platforms.
• Set up architecture governance - design reviews, standards, and NFR/availability sign-off - for carrier-grade systems.
• Drive modernization toward cloud-native network functions, microservices, and containerization (Kubernetes/OpenShift).
• Own technical risk and technical-debt management for systems operating under strict SLA and regulatory constraints.
• Track and report engineering health metrics (availability, defect leakage, deployment frequency, MTTR) to account leadership.

Client & Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as the primary engineering counterpart to Ericsson's engineering and product leadership.
• Translate Ericsson's network evolution and 5G roadmap into actionable engineering delivery plans.
• Represent HCLTech in technical governance forums, steering committees, and architecture councils.
• Build trusted-advisor relationships that grow HCLTech's engineering footprint within the account.
• Lead delivery from an offshore location, ensuring seamless collaboration with onshore/client stakeholders through structured governance, overlap hours, and communication cadences.

Team Building, Coaching & Talent

• Build, mentor, and retain an engineering team with strong telecom domain skills across development, QE, and DevOps.
• Define skilling plans and technical career paths aligned to network engineering and cloud-native technologies.
• Foster ownership, continuous learning, and engineering craftsmanship across the pods.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Drive adoption of network automation, AI/ML for network operations, and observability practices.
• Lead pilots for tooling and automation accelerators relevant to NFV/CNF and 5G network software.
• Contribute learnings back into HCLTech's engineering Centre of Excellence.

Skill Requirements

Required Skills & Experience

• 16-20 years in IT with substantial experience in Application Development / Digital Transformation delivery.
• Proven track record leading engineering teams of 20+ engineers in a telecom or network-software environment.
• Strong hands-on engineering background - Java, C++, or Python, in high-availability system contexts.
• Deep expertise in cloud-native technologies - Kubernetes, Docker, containerized network functions (CNFs).
• Strong command of DevSecOps practices - CI/CD pipelines, IaC, automated performance/regression testing.
• Demonstrated experience with telecom domain concepts - OSS/BSS, network management, or NFV.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, including experience working with global telecom client teams.
• Solid grounding in Agile/Scaled Agile delivery models within regulated, SLA-driven environments.
• Proven track record successfully leading offshore delivery pods for global/onshore clients, with strong asynchronous communication and governance discipline.

Preferred / Good to Have

• Direct experience with 5G network software, network function virtualization (NFV), or network automation.
• Familiarity with telecom industry standards and frameworks (e.g., 3GPP, TM Forum).
• Experience with carrier-grade availability engineering (five-nines uptime targets).
• Relevant certifications - cloud architect (AWS/Azure/GCP), CKA, TOGAF, SAFe, or equivalent.
• Exposure to AI/ML-assisted engineering productivity or network operations tools.
• Experience in a global delivery / GCC (Global Capability Center) model, with prior offshore leadership for UK/EU/global clients.

What Success Looks Like (First 6-12 Months)

• Clear engineering standards and carrier-grade quality governance established across all pods.
• Measurable improvement in availability, defect leakage, and release cadence for network software.
• Recognized by Ericsson stakeholders as a credible engineering thought leader on network transformation.
• A stable, motivated, and upskilled engineering team with strong telecom domain depth.

Other Requirements