Saba Naghipour
Customer Engineering Manager & TPM
la jolla
Summary
An accomplished U.S. citizen with a combined 18 years of education and work experience, including an MBA and a degree in Electrical Engineering from top-tier U.S. institutions. Brings 13 years of leadership in storage and server programs across global, fast-paced, and large-scale cross-functional environments, offering a unique 360-degree perspective across OEM/ODM partners and CSP customers. Proven track record in developing and maintaining marketing assets, driving both short- and long-term strategic initiatives, and managing end-to-end product lifecycle strategies (NPI and sustainment). Demonstrates broad cross-functional leadership spanning sales and marketing, product development, strategic planning, supply chain, operational excellence, and process improvement. Successfully built and managed strategic partnerships with Tier 1 cloud service providers including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Oracle, Cisco, and Facebook. Additionally, OEM engagement from the CSP side with major technology partners such as Samsung, Intel, Micron, and Qualcomm. Actively seeking a principal or director-level role that delivers significant strategic impact and drives strong ROI.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
6
6
Certifications
Work History
Technical Program Manager
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
01.2022 - Current
- Leverage dual-sided leadership experience—driving strategic initiatives for Samsung, Intel, and Micron as a vendor, and now managing these accounts as a customer at AWS. Built and executed a comprehensive account management portfolio while spearheading cross-functional collaboration across AWS teams, OEMs, ODMs, CSPs, and core cloud services including EBS, EC2, and S3.
- Strategically position and market products by applying insights from both vendor and customer perspectives. Drive measurable business outcomes by identifying gaps, capitalizing on opportunities, and leading both short- and long-term initiatives from strategy through execution.
- Deliver OEM-facing demos utilizing AWS tools such as Agile and Windchill; facilitated the seamless integration of OEM tools into the AWS environment.
- Manage product and customer-facing webpages including wiki pages and operational dashboards, overseeing creation and continuous updates. Published executive reports on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis, covering product updates, customer requirements, business goals, project statuses, escalations, and operational KPIs.
- Led training initiatives on marketing content creation by developing unified documentation templates to support hardware-software integration, product concept development, performance analysis, firmware release notes, data center failure debug task force reports, and executive meeting summaries.
- Review and enhance technical marketing collateral, including slide decks for market analysis, strategic planning, and monthly roadmap presentations. Aligned messaging with OCP and NVMe standards and supported Quarterly Technical Reviews (QTRs) and Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs).
- Lead the development of key product launch and operational documents, such as FAQs, RFIs/RFQs for sales enablement, and Statements of Work (SOWs) detailing program scope, deliverables, milestones, budgets, stakeholder roles, and sign-off requirements.
- Successfully launched numerous products under resource constraints by applying strategic leverage planning and meeting tight deadlines. Addressed gaps in NPI processes, supply chain, sourcing strategy, and supply forecasting, managed Bills of Materials involving single-source suppliers, and sustained platforms with inconsistent firmware versions across millions of drives in data centers.
- Reduced time to market and costs, while improving supply chain logistics, quality, and execution by enhancing end-to-end workflow visibility. Identified and addressed process gaps through Correction of Error (COE) reviews and implemented enterprise automation solutions to drive operational excellence.
Manager, Customer Engineering (Senior Staff)
Samsung
10.2019 - 09.2021
- Established, led, and managed pre- and post-marketing strategies, roadmap planning and execution, account portfolio development, supply chain demand generation/forecasting, and end-to-end product launches for multiple generations of Samsung SSDs across large-scale cloud business units at Microsoft.
- Effectively leveraged remote resources from Korea and limited internal support from the San Jose office—while operating from a newly established sales and marketing office in Seattle—to achieve sales and marketing objectives. Successfully built customer relationships, developed strategic short- and long-term technical sales and qualification plans, and created marketing documentation tailored to Microsoft, ensuring alignment with sales targets and market trends.
- Led the development, logistics, and sales contracting to establish a new Acceleration Qualification Lab (AQL), enabling Samsung to maintain market leadership as a premium supplier, accelerate new product launches with reduced time to market, and meet supply demands by enhancing compatibility and resolving qualification failures within the lab environment—both pre- and post-product release. This success was driven by fostering strategic partnerships and collaboration across Sales, Finance, Engineering Design, Validation, and Customer teams. The strategic logistics considered market trends, supply continuity, time-to-market, cost, risk, product features, performance, and trade-offs.
- Ensured successful marketing, qualification, and seamless integration of new product generations and form factors into customer data center environments, meeting stringent requirements—including pioneering new software and specifications such as OCP for the first time. This involved addressing technical queries, leading customer meetings and presentations, acting as a trusted technical marketing advisor, and serving as a Technical Program Manager (TPM).
- Led strategic marketing sessions and managed all related activities, including aligning complex, dynamic monthly roadmaps for storage, server, CPU, and feature planning; overseeing Quarterly Technical Reviews (QTRs) and Customer Scorecard Reviews; and developing FAQs, RFIs/RFQs for sales initiation, validation debug checklists, and Statements of Work (SOWs). Also conducted weekly customer meetings and coordinated data center Task Force failure debugging, significantly enhancing communication, collaboration, and alignment of expectations between Microsoft and Samsung Korea teams over time.
Customer Mapped Quality Engineer (CMQE)
Micron
01.2019 - 09.2019
- Managed RMAs for various products such as DRAM, SSD, NAND Wafer, MCP at data center OEM customers and their ODMs. Managed root cause identification, corrective actions, and prevention actions of product quality issues arising from manufacturing processes (Wafer Fab & Assembly/Test issues) or business process. Managed and reviewed failure Analysis (FA) and 8D report, factory audit with customers, ensuring closure of issues, contributing to customer experience.
- Led weekly customer calls, providing comprehensive updates and insights. Led Customer Quality and Reliability Escalation Process including stop shipment when necessary. Drove the development and implementation of Quality/Reliability score improvement plan, ensuring continuous enhancement of the quality culture.
Application Engineer
Intel Corporation
12.2016 - 01.2019
- Managed pre- and post-technical sales and marketing initiatives, including documentation, product launches, SSD/server roadmap planning and execution, account portfolio development, qualification strategy, and supply chain demand forecasting. Oversaw the full SSD product portfolio—including SATA, NVMe, and 3D XPoint (Optane)—for leading enterprise and cloud data center customers such as Oracle and Cisco, as well as their ODM partners. Fostered close collaboration with customers to co-architect next-generation platforms aligned with the SSD roadmap, serving as a trusted technical advisor while simultaneously acting as a Technical Program Manager (TPM), account manager, and customer-focused technical marketing lead.
- Maintained customized technical documentation tailored for Cisco and Oracle requirements, including a combined Intel SSD and customer server roadmap, QTR/QBR, firmware release notes, white papers, RFIs, RFQs, First Article Inspection (FAI) and electronic FAI (eFAI), product concept and feature reviews, Spec requirements, data sheets, customized labeling and packaging, Product Change Notices (PCNs), quality matrix requirements, manufacturing and factory audit protocols, Return Merchandise Authorizations (RMAs), sales contracts, market trend analysis, supply continuity assessments, and supply transition plans.
- Led the development and maintenance of marketing assets, including webinars and exhibition booths. Consistently awarded VIP passes to major industry conferences such as Oracle OpenWorld and Cisco Live, where I supported product marketing initiatives and engaged with customers at the booth.
- Provided leadership to cross-functional teams composed of Marketing, Field Application Engineering (FAE), Design, Product Engineering, Validation, Operations, and Quality Control, utilizing frameworks within software as a service environments to drive project success.
- Maintained strong collaboration with the customer's development and executive teams to clarify requirements, set priorities, manage expectations, and handle complex engineering or customer engagement challenges during the project. This collaborative approach ensured a smooth and efficient project execution, enhancing customer satisfaction and nurturing long-term partnerships.
- Delivered comprehensive training and demo to customers on a range of Intel customer tools, such as the Intel Configuration Manager Tool, Intel Data Center Tool, Intel Quick Screen Tool, and On-Site Validation Testers (OSV). Additionally, provided on-site support during customer RQT testing within regions in China and the US, facilitating expedited data collection, issue replication, isolation, and root cause analysis.
Application Engineer
CalAmp
08.2015 - 11.2016
- Managed a diverse portfolio of advanced vehicle Telematics customers within a small sales office, fulfilling various roles such as Application Engineer (AE), Business Development Manager (BDM), Technical Program Manager (TPM), Sales Manager, and Account Manager. In this capacity, my primary objective was to support both existing and prospective customers in the successful implementation of Mobile Resource Management technology. This technology encompassed Embedded IoT Cellular Modem, Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS solutions, designed to optimize resource utilization, enhance operational efficiency across multiple industries, and maximize productivity.
- Took the lead in deploying Wireless GPS tracking and Data Communications products for customer applications in the automotive industry. By overseeing the entire deployment lifecycle, starting from initial planning through to final implementation, I ensured the seamless integration and effective utilization of these products within the customer's operations. This involved closely collaborating with customers to fully comprehend their specific requirements, providing them with technical expertise and guidance, and diligently managing project timelines and deliverables.
- Developed Programmable Event Generation (PEG) scripts tailored to control the behavior of the LMU product line, customizing it to suit customer-specific applications. By crafting these scripts, I facilitated the adaptation of our products to meet the precise needs of our customers, resulting in enhanced functionality and seamless integration within their overall telematics systems.
Electrical Engineer
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
09.2012 - 01.2015
- Liaised with OEMs such as Samsung, Micron, and Hynix Technology regarding the testing and analysis of DRAM devices on Qualcomm SOC platforms. Selected the best memory vendor based on eye training, DIT values, and software supplementation.
- Supported outside teams with product selection in the setting of aggressive deadlines for primary project deliveries. Implemented methods that enhanced collaboration and time management across teams.
- Tested and debugged a variety of 20nm SoCs for analysis and characterization of USB2.0 PHY devices, including testing of high-speed termination impedance, CDR stress, receiver sensitivity, PHY cross talk, PLL performance, and signal intensity, as well as calibration and trim bit characterization.
Education
MBA: Master of Business Administration -
University of Southern California Marshall School of Business
Los Angeles, CAB.S: Bachelor of Science - Electrical Engineering
Washington University in Saint Louis
St. Louis, MOCertification
Career Essentials in Generative AI, Microsoft & LinkedIn, Certificate
Timeline
Technical Program Manager
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
01.2022 - Current
Manager, Customer Engineering (Senior Staff)
Samsung
10.2019 - 09.2021
Customer Mapped Quality Engineer (CMQE)
Micron
01.2019 - 09.2019
Application Engineer
Intel Corporation
12.2016 - 01.2019
Application Engineer
CalAmp
08.2015 - 11.2016
Electrical Engineer
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
09.2012 - 01.2015
B.S: Bachelor of Science - Electrical Engineering
Washington University in Saint Louis
MBA: Master of Business Administration -
University of Southern California Marshall School of Business
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