Strategy & Operations Lead

ABOUT VINCI Vinci is building the intelligence layer for hardware engineering. Powered by the world's first foundation model for physics, our platform delivers deterministic, solver-grade physics simulation directly on native design and manufacturing geometry, at orders-of-magnitude higher throughput. Today, the world's most advanced semiconductors are still designed using workflows that assume physics is scarce, slow, and expert-gated. Vinci makes high-fidelity physics continuously available throughout the design process, so engineering teams can explore more of the design space, surface issues earlier, and accelerate design cycles across thermal, packaging, and system-level challenges. Vinci is already deployed on production engineering programs at leading semiconductor companies, with multiple pilots converting into commercial engagements. ROLE OVERVIEW As Product Lead, Cross-Functional Programs, you will be the connective function across Product, Engineering, Partnerships, and Go-to-Market, turning Vinci's highest-priority initiatives into working launches, proven customer results, and repeatable adoption. In this role, you will own how strategic initiatives are scoped, planned, built, validated, and launched, so that every team knows the objective, the next milestone, the owner, and the evidence that will prove success. You will move fluidly between semiconductor engineering, product strategy, partner relationships, and commercial execution, bringing structured problem-solving and executive communication together with deep semiconductor domain knowledge. You will work closely with leading semiconductor companies, ecosystem partners, and Vinci's technical teams to define success criteria up front and prove measurable value to customers, partners, and leadership. You will also build the operating mechanisms that allow Vinci to execute with increasing consistency as the company scales. This is a hybrid role, with the expectation of working 3 days per week in our Palo Alto office for close collaboration with Product, Engineering, Partnerships, and Go-to-Market. Travel is minimal. RESPONSIBILITIES - Own strategic initiatives end to end, converting company priorities into integrated plans with clear scope, milestones, decision points, risks, dependencies, and named owners—from strategy through launch and adoption. - Run the cross-functional operating cadence that aligns Product, Engineering, Partnerships, and Go-to-Market around one plan and one source of truth, surfacing risks early and escalating before dates slip. - Partner with Product and Engineering to define the problem, sequence the work, resolve trade-offs, and keep delivery moving. - Coordinate partner programs, including technical integrations, joint roadmaps, customer-sponsored work, and OEM or channel opportunities across the semiconductor ecosystem. - Drive go-to-market readiness, ensuring positioning, pricing, enablement, customer communications, and launch plans are ready when the product is ready. - Define and track value evidence, setting baselines and success criteria up front and measuring results to prove technical, customer, and commercial impact. - Deliver executive-ready communication and build Vinci's operating system, preparing concise updates and decision materials, and creating the trackers, decision logs, and review mechanisms that turn successful pilots into repeatable motions. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS - Experience: 8+ years in product management, program management, strategy consulting, business operations, or a related field. - Semiconductor domain: Deep experience in semiconductors, including one or more of chip design, EDA, manufacturing, packaging, equipment, materials, thermal or mechanical engineering, semiconductor software, or the semiconductor supply chain. - Cross-functional execution: Demonstrated success owning complex initiatives with technical, customer, partner, and commercial dependencies, backed by strong project-management fundamentals. - Technical fluency: Ability to understand technical concepts quickly and translate them for engineers, executives, customers, and partners. - Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication, including concise status reviews, executive updates, and decision materials. - Influence: Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive accountability without direct authority, with a hands-on approach and comfort operating in an ambiguous, high-velocity environment. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Consulting leadership: Experience as an Engagement Manager or equivalent at a top-tier strategy consulting firm. - Ecosystem exposure: Experience working directly with semiconductor executives, hyperscalers, OEMs, foundries, design houses, or EDA companies. - Launch track record: Experience taking products, platforms, integrations, or technical partnerships from concept through launch and adoption, ideally in a startup or high-growth environment. - Education: Technical degree (electrical, computer, or mechanical engineering, computer science, materials science, or related field); MBA or equivalent business training a plus. WHY JOIN US - Be part of a team defining the future of AI in hardware design. - Work at the center of the semiconductor ecosystem, with broad exposure to technical, customer, partner, and commercial decisions. - Shape how Vinci executes as it scales, turning successful pilots into repeatable motions across customers and partners. - Collaborate with world-class engineers and researchers in a fast-moving startup environment.