Staff Product Manager

NetApp CPTO office is seeking a visionary and execution-driven Staff Product Manager of Startup Ecosystems & Developer Initiatives to lead the engagement with broader startup ecosystem and digital native companies to accelerate the NetApp Excellerator program for NetApp.  

In this role, you will be the driving force behind our startup adoption strategy, building programs that empower early-stage and high-growth digital natives to build on our platform.

The role also involves designing, launching, and scaling high-impact hackathons that inspire developers, surface innovative use cases, and foster a vibrant technical community. In this role,  will bridge the gap between engineering, product, and go-to-market teams to ensure we are the platform of choice for the next generation of builders.

• 12+ years of experience in program management, strategic alliances, customer relations, product marketing, or technical ecosystem development within the technology industry.
• Proven track record of designing and executing large-scale developer events, hackathons, and technical summits.
• Deep understanding of the startup lifecycle and the technical needs of cloud-native digital businesses.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to influence cross-functional teams, including product, engineering, and marketing leadership.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into compelling business value propositions.

Key Responsibilities

Startup & Digital Native Strategy

• Program Leadership: Design and execute end-to-end go-to-market (GTM) programs tailored for digital native businesses, early-stage startups, and incubators.
• Ecosystem Building: Develop relationships with venture capital firms, startup accelerators, and technology hubs to position company technologies as foundational infrastructure for emerging ventures.
• Strategic Alignment: Partner with executive leadership, product, and engineering teams to align offerings with the rapid-scaling needs of digital-native organizations.

Hackathon & Developer Engagement

• Hackathon Management: Lead global and regional hackathons, both virtual and in-person, from concept through execution. Manage themes, platform setup, judging criteria, and prize distribution.
• Community Engagement: Build and nurture an active developer community while serving as a key liaison between external developers and internal engineering teams.
  Content & Enablement: Collaborate with Developer Relations (DevRel) to create technical content, quick-start guides, and API documentation that streamline onboarding and hackathon participation.

Cross-Functional Execution & Metrics

• KPI Management: Define, track, and report on key success metrics, including hackathon participation, startup onboarding,developer growth, and pipeline generation.
• Voice of the Startup: Represent startup and developer feedback internally by sharing product insights, feature requests, and market trends with engineering and product teams to influence roadmap decisions.

• Typically requires a minimum of 12 years of related experience.
• BE/B.Tech or Masters degree required