Startup Program Manager Jobs in Texas (NOW HIRING)

The Startup Business Manager serves as NI's business and technical leader within the U.S. MedTech startup ecosystem. This role is responsible for establishing NI as a trusted, longterm platform partner to venturebacked startups and accelerator programs-starting from early R&D through validation, scale, and commercialization. 

This is a handson, externally facing role that blends ecosystem relationship management, technical enablement, and early commercial ownership. The ideal candidate brings strong credibility with engineers and startup leaders, understands earlystage MedTech development realities, and can navigate internally across engineering, applications, and sales teams to remove friction for customers. 

The role is designed for a professional with 5+ years of experience who can operate independently, influence without authority, and represent NI with confidence across accelerators, investors, and startup leadership teams. 

In This Role, Your Responsibilities Will Be:

1. Build Trust and Presence in the MedTech Startup Ecosystem 

• Establish and maintain an embedded NI presence within priority U.S. MedTech accelerators. 
• Act as NI's primary interface to accelerator leadership, technical mentors, and cohort companies. 
• Participate in accelerator activities including cohort kickoffs, office hours, workshops, and recurring technical sessions. 
• Provide early technical guidance, ecosystem connections, and practical R&D perspectives to startup teams. 
• Broker structured access to NI Application Engineering and domain experts (e.g., design reviews, architecture sanity checks). 
• Capture ecosystemlevel insights, patterns, and unmet needs to inform NI positioning, offerings, and internal enablement. 

2. Reduce Barriers to Entry for EarlyStage R&D Engineers 

• Drive the creation of NI's startupfocused onboarding motion, including accelerator kits, OEM starter configurations, loaner hardware, and sponsorship programs. 
• Define and maintain startupfriendly hardware configurations, software bundles, and reference architectures. 
• Coordinate access to shortterm demo or loaner hardware for early prototyping and feasibility work. 
• Partner with internal teams to provide extended or acceleratoraligned NI software licensing. 
• Serve as the primary technical and operational point of coordination during early NI adoption. 
• Identify common friction points experienced by startups and proactively drive improvements across tools, documentation, patterns, and processes. 
• Lead the commercial conversion motion from evaluation to purchase using predefined configurations, pricing, and procurement paths. 
• Coordinate closely with NI Sales & BU Leadership to ensure startupappropriate pricing and buying experiences. 

3. Enable Startup Scale, Validation, and Investment Readiness 

• Guide startups in defining scalable test architectures that support progression from early R&D to validation and OEM use-without replatforming. 
• Provide continuity as NI's point of coordination as startups mature, helping prevent latestage technology resets. 
• Support investorready technical positioning by helping startups anticipate diligence expectations from investors and acquirers. 
• Optimize test and verification workflows to accelerate iteration, validation cycles, and timetomarket, including regulatory readiness. 
• Enable reuse of validated NI software, configurations, and test systems as startups scale. 
• Identify risks that could delay commercialization, validation, or acquisition readiness and work crossfunctionally to mitigate them. 
• Capture successful startup journeys as internal and external case studies to support future enablement and ecosystem growth. 

For This Role, You Will Need: 

• Bachelor's in engineering or other technical discipline
• Excellent communication, relationshipbuilding, and stakeholder management skills
• 30% travel required
• Legal authorization to work in the US - visa sponsorship is not provided

 Preferred Qualifications That Set You Apart:

• 5 years of professional experience in technical business development or related expertise, or 3 years with a Master's degree 
• Experience with NI Technology
• Experience in MedTech, life sciences, or regulated hardware/software environments
• Familiarity with accelerator programs, venture capital expectations, or startup funding stages
• Experience supporting validation, verification, or compliancedriven development workflows
• Prior exposure to test automation, instrumentation, or embedded systems platforms
• Demonstrated experience working directly with startups, R&D engineers, or earlystage product teams
• Experience navigating matrixed organizations and coordinating across engineering, sales, and commercial teams
• Startup ecosystem or accelerator engagement 
• Applications engineering, systems engineering, or technical program management 
• MedTech, test & measurement, or regulated product development environments 
• Strong technical fluency-able to engage credibly in system architecture, test strategy, and platform discussions (handson coding not required)
• Proven ability to operate independently in externally facing roles with ambiguous problem spaces
• Comfortable owning earlystage commercial motions without traditional quota pressure

Success Profile 

• NI is viewed by founders and accelerator leaders as a trusted, pragmatic partner, not just a vendor. Startups can onboard quickly and confidently onto NI platforms with minimal friction. 
• Fewer startups replatform away from NI as technical and organizational complexity increases. 
• Internal teams benefit from clearer insight into startup needs and ecosystem trends. 
• The role creates measurable pipeline, longterm design wins, and scalability. 

Our Culture & Commitment to You:

At Emerson, we prioritize a workplace where every employee is valued, respected, and empowered to grow. We foster an environment that encourages innovation, collaboration, and diverse perspectives-because we know that great ideas come from great teams. Our commitment to ongoing career development and growing an inclusive culture ensures you have the support to thrive. Whether through mentorship, training, or leadership opportunities, we invest in your success so you can make a lasting impact. We believe diverse teams, working together are key to driving growth and delivering business results. 

We recognize the importance of employee wellbeing. We prioritize providing flexible, competitive benefits plans to meet you and your family's physical, mental, financial, and social needs. We provide a variety of medical insurance plans, with dental and vision coverage, Employee Assistance Program, 401(k), tuition reimbursement, employee resource groups, recognition, and much more. Our culture offers flexible time off plans, including paid parental leave (maternal and paternal), vacation and holiday leave.

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WHY EMERSON 

Our Commitment to Our People

At Emerson, we are motivated by a spirit of collaboration that helps our diverse, multicultural teams across the world drive innovation that makes the world healthier, safer, smarter, and more sustainable. And we want you to join us in our bold aspiration.

We have built an engaged community of inquisitive, dedicated people who thrive knowing they are welcomed, trusted, celebrated, and empowered to solve the world's most complex problems - for our customers, our communities, and the planet. You'll contribute to this vital work while further developing your skills through our award-winning employee development programs. We are a proud corporate citizen in every city where we operate and are committed to our people, our communities, and the world at large. We take this responsibility seriously and strive to make a positive impact through every endeavor.

At Emerson, you'll see firsthand that our people are at the center of everything we do. So, let's go. Let's think differently. Learn, collaborate, and grow. Seek opportunity. Push boundaries. Be empowered to make things better. Speed up to break through. Let's go, together.

Work Authorization

Emerson will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States. This is not a position for which sponsorship will be provided. Individuals with temporary visas such as E, F-1(including those with OPT or CPT) , H-1, H-2, L-1, B, J or TN, or who need sponsorship for work authorization now or in the future, are not eligible for hire.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Emerson is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, age, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status. We are committed to providing a workplace free of any discrimination or harassment.

Accessibility Assistance or Accommodation

If you have a disability and are having difficulty accessing or using this website to apply for a position, please contact: idisability.administrator@emerson.com.   

ABOUT EMERSON 

Emerson is a global leader in automation technology and software. Through our deep domain expertise and legacy of flawless execution, Emerson helps customers in critical industries like life sciences, energy, power and renewables, chemical and advanced factory automation operate more sustainably while improving productivity, energy security and reliability.

With global operations and a comprehensive portfolio of software and technology, we are helping companies implement digital transformation to measurably improve their operations, conserve valuable resources and enhance their safety.

We offer equitable opportunities, celebrate diversity, and embrace challenges with confidence that, together, we can make an impact across a broad spectrum of countries and industries. Whether you're an established professional looking for a career change, an undergraduate student exploring possibilities, or a recent graduate with an advanced degree, you'll find your chance to make a difference with Emerson. Join our team - let's go!

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