---
title: 'Senior Director, Business Operations & NPI at SambaNova Systems'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-director-business-operations-npi-sambanova-systems-san-jose-qbfdr4c6k5j2'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-10'
---

# Senior Director, Business Operations & NPI at SambaNova Systems

- **Company:** SambaNova Systems
- **Location:** San Jose, CA
- **Compensation:** $230k–$280k
- **Posted:** 2026-11-05
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-10
- **Apply:** https://sambanova.ai/sambanova-available-positions/?gh_jid=6242855004

## Job description

SambaNova is a leader in next-generation AI infrastructure, delivering a full-stack inference platform for customers worldwide. At the core of SambaNova's technology is the RDU (Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit) — a chip built on a dataflow architecture rather than the traditional GPU model. Its decode performance is especially strong for agentic workloads like multi-turn agents, code generation, and long-running applications. RDUs are packaged into SambaRack, rack-scale hardware that lets customers deploy state-of-the-art models with better performance, greater energy efficiency, and faster time to value.

The era of pervasive AI has arrived.  SambaNova builds the chips, systems, and cloud services that make high-performance AI inference practical at scale.  Our fifth-generation Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit (RDU), the SN50, is purpose-built for agentic AI and fast token generation, and our SambaRack systems are designed to run in the air-cooled data centers customers already have.  We work with NeoClouds, AI labs, sovereign AI providers, service providers, and enterprises that want faster tokens at a lower total cost of ownership.

SambaNova is growing quickly, and we are expanding our partner and ecosystem work to keep pace.  We are looking for people who want to help shape what comes next.

## About the Role

SambaNova is looking for a Senior Director of Business Operations and New Product Introduction (NPI) to help bring SambaNova's silicon and systems to market through a growing ecosystem of partners.  You will work directly with the Chief Corporate Development Officer, and you will have a visible, company-level impact from your first week.

We are at the forefront of heterogeneous disaggregated inference (HDI), where GPUs and SambaNova RDUs each do what they do best.  Interest from OEMs, ODMs, NeoClouds, hyperscalers, and sovereign customers is growing quickly, and we want every partner to have a clear, consistent experience working with us.  Many of our engagements today are tailored to the partner.  You will help turn what we learn from them into a repeatable playbook: a clear path from first conversation to signed agreement, from prototype to volume shipment, and from first order to lifecycle support.  That playbook will make SambaNova easier to work with and become a differentiating moat for the company.

This is a rare opportunity to shape how SambaNova works with its partners at a pivotal moment.  You will begin by listening to colleagues across the company to understand what is working, where the gaps are, and what each team needs to succeed.  From there, you will collaborate with those teams to fill the gaps, connect the pieces, and amplify the work already underway, and you will help create new opportunities across a range of partner and business models.  Your technical depth will let you translate what customers and partners need into clear priorities for SambaNova, and your judgment will help the company act on them with confidence.

## Responsibilities

Build the NPI framework and playbook

- Define and drive SambaNova's end-to-end NPI flow for partner and OEM engagements, covering partner engagement and agreements, architecture and reference design, development and validation (EVT/DVT/PVT), manufacturing readiness, customer proof of concept, workload validation, acceptance, mass production, and lifecycle support
- Set gate criteria, owners, templates, and checklists for each phase, and make them simple enough that teams actually use them
- Convert one-off deals into repeatable playbooks by business model and partner type, and keep improving them as we learn
- Define the metrics, dashboards, and executive reporting that show where every engagement stands

Lead technical project execution across engagements

- Run the plan, milestones, dependencies, risks, and action items for a growing number of concurrent OEM and partner engagements
- Work across silicon, hardware, rack and thermal, firmware, software, supply chain, QA, sales, support, marketing, finance, and legal to get the right people and decisions in place at the right time
- Help the team interpret customer and partner requirements, including architecture, BOM, power and cooling, form factor, test, and qualification, and translate them into clear SambaNova actions and trade-off decisions
- Understand and track architecture decisions alongside engineering leaders, and highlight early when a decision is blocking progress

Help drive the commercial lifecycle

- Partner with the CCDO, CFO, and Legal to shape customer and partner agreements, including deliverables, roles and responsibilities, milestones, audit functions, and support obligations
- Track every engagement from NDA, MOU, LOI, and MSA through orders, forecasting, pricing, delivery, QA support, returns, and revenue recognition
- Bring structure to supply and commercial terms such as NCNR commitments, MOQs, forecast commitments, lead times, and allocation

Develop the ecosystem and the go-to-market

- Work with sales, product, and marketing on sales enablement, reference architectures, co-sell motions, training, and joint launches with partners
- Define software, firmware, and technical support models for partners and their customers
- Help establish QA, RMA, failure analysis, and returns processes that match what partners expect from a silicon supplier

Base Salary Range:

Base Pay Range $230,000—$280,000 USD

Submission Guidelines Please note that in order to be considered an applicant for any position at SambaNova Systems, you must submit an application form for each position for which you believe you are qualified.

## EEO Policy

SambaNova Systems is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard basis of age (40 and over), color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, national origin/ancestry, race, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding), sexual orientation, and any other applicable status protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Benefits Summary for US-Based, Full-Time Employment Positions SambaNova offers a competitive total rewards package, including the base salary, plus equity and benefits. We cover 95% premium coverage for employee medical insurance, and 77% premium coverage for dependents and offer a Health Savings Account (HSA) with employer contribution. We also offer Dental, Vision, Short/Long term Disability, Basic Life, Voluntary Life, and AD&D insurance plans in addition to Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options like Health Care, Limited Purpose, and Dependent Care. Our library of well-being benefits available to you and your dependents includes a full subscription to Headspace, Gympass+ membership with access to physical gyms, One Medical membership, counseling services with an Employee Assistance Program, and much more.

## About SambaNova Systems

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: SambaNova Systems provides a full-stack AI platform, from specialized Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit (RDU) chips to an agentic AI inference platform, designed for enterprises and governments.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series E)
- **Headquarters**: San Jose, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2017
- **Founders**: Rodrigo Liang (Co-founder & CEO), Kunle Olukotun (Co-founder & Chief Technologist)

## Core Business
- **Primary Industry**: Artificial Intelligence / Enterprise AI Infrastructure
- **Target Customers**: Developers, large enterprises, government agencies, and data centers (B2B)
- **Mission Statement**: To be the most efficient and adaptable AI platform on the planet, empowering enterprises to control the trajectory of their data and AI future.

## Products & Services
- **SambaNova Suite**: The company's core product, a fully integrated AI platform that includes hardware, software, and models. It provides OpenAI-compatible APIs for inference.
- **SambaRack (SN40 & SN50)**: A state-of-the-art, rack-scale system optimized for AI inference. The SN50 is the fifth-generation system designed for fast agentic inference with high energy efficiency (average of 10 kWh for SN40).
- **Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit (RDU)**: A custom-designed AI chip (SN40L, SN50) with a unique three-tier memory architecture that delivers high speed and throughput for large models while using less power than traditional GPUs.
- **SambaOrchestrator**: A management tool for deploying, monitoring, and auto-scaling AI models across data centers.
- **Sovereign AI Platform**: An offering for governments and enterprises to keep data secure and governed while enabling business teams to use AI.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (Private company).
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$1.484B** (raised over multiple rounds, including a $350M Series E in early 2026).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Intel, GV (Google Ventures), BlackRock, Redline Capital Management, Atlantic Bridge Capital.
- **Growth Signals**: 
    - Raised a $350M Series E in early 2026.
    - A launch partner for Meta's Llama 4 series.
    - First platform to support all three variants of Llama 3.1 (8B, 70B, and 405B).
    - Has filed 313 patents related to parallel computing, computer memory, and instruction processing.
    - Customers include Blackbox and Texas Advanced Computing Center.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Full-Stack Integration**: Unlike many competitors, SambaNova controls the entire AI stack from the chip (RDU) to the software and models, allowing for deep optimization.
- **Efficiency**: The RDU's dataflow architecture is designed for high performance with significantly lower power consumption (best tokens per watt), a key differentiator for scaling AI.
- **Open-Source Focus**: The company is a strong supporter of open-source AI models, being a launch partner for major releases like Meta's Llama 4.

## Strategic Focus
- **Agentic AI**: The company is heavily focused on enabling complex, multi-step agentic AI workflows, with the SN50 chip and SambaOrchestrator built for this purpose.
- **Sovereign AI**: Targeting government and enterprise clients who need secure, on-premises or private cloud AI solutions.
- **Scaling Inference**: Prioritizing high-speed, low-latency inference for the largest open-source models (e.g., DeepSeek, Llama) at scale.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as a "smart and motivated team" that values "talent first," "innovation that impacts," and "trust and integrity." The company emphasizes collaboration across departments and access to founders.
- **Work Environment**: Offers flexible working hours and a hybrid/remote-friendly policy (Flexible PTO in the U.S.).
- **Notable Perks**: 
    - Flexible PTO
    - Parental Leave
    - Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits
    - 401k/Pensions
    - Gym Access
    - Mentorship and buddy programs
    - Internship programs
- **Engineering Culture**: A deep-tech environment where you work on cutting-edge AI hardware (RDUs) and software, pushing the boundaries of AI performance.

## Sources
1. [SambaNova.ai](https://sambanova.ai/)
2. [SambaNova About Us](https://sambanova.ai/company/about)
3. [SambaNova Careers](https://sambanova.ai/company/careers)
4. [SambaNova Job Openings](https://sambanova.ai/company/careers/job-openings)
5. [CB Insights Profile](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/sambanova-systems)

## Other roles at SambaNova Systems

- [Senior Director of IT](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-director-of-it-sambanova-systems-austin-ghz3e4w4svze) — Austin, TX / San Jose, CA
- [Senior/Lead VLS Engineer - Global Circuits](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-lead-vls-engineer-global-circuits-sambanova-systems-san-jose-n0qmsm2q22sb) — San Jose, CA
- [Machine Learning Engineer - New Grad](https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-engineer-new-grad-sambanova-systems-austin-0mtfjwqptra2) — Austin, TX / San Jose, CA
- [Principal Place and Route (PnR) Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-place-and-route-pnr-engineer-sambanova-systems-austin-28ffhe4vwzd8) — Austin, TX / San Jose, CA
- [Senior Principal Model Bring-up Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-principal-model-bring-up-engineer-sambanova-systems-austin-36wbyenmwkjs) — Austin, TX / San Jose, CA
- [Program Manager, Grants & Project Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/program-manager-grants-project-operations-sambanova-systems-tokyo-ecv6wvdfrxhx) — Tokyo, Japan
- [Technical Project Manager / Engineering Lead – AI/ML Infrastructure](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-project-manager-engineering-lead-ai-ml-infrastructure-sambanova-0pky8kzczwqp) — Tokyo, Japan
- [Post-Silicon Validation Engineer, New Grad](https://feeny.ai/job/post-silicon-validation-engineer-new-grad-sambanova-systems-san-jose-y51xg1xsfqq1) — San Jose, CA
- [Physical Design Engineer, New Grad](https://feeny.ai/job/physical-design-engineer-new-grad-sambanova-systems-san-jose-gpg1cyrasqnf) — San Jose, CA
- [Design Verification Engineer, New Grad](https://feeny.ai/job/design-verification-engineer-new-grad-sambanova-systems-san-jose-kzcfe4xe6gxs) — San Jose, CA