Staff Technical Program Manager

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Program Management: Align program schedules, manage timelines, and allocate resources to ensure successful delivery and production-quality.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Serve as the primary liaison between research, engineering teams, product management, and external stakeholders—including defense contractors and government entities.
• Technical Expertise: Understand the architecture, dependencies, and technical challenges of defense-related systems.
• Risk Management: Identify and mitigate risks proactively, including technical, schedule, and compliance-related risks.
• Stakeholder Management: Manage relationships with key suppliers, customers, partners, and government agencies, ensuring program alignment with contractual obligations and stakeholder expectations.
• Process Improvement: Implement and refine processes to enhance program execution and efficiency within a startup environment.

Job requirements

• Minimum 8+ years managing complex hardware development programs through all phases of the hardware development cycle
• At least 8+ years as Technical Program Manager, Product Manager, Engineering Manager, or Engineer for a commercial technology or aerospace and defense company
• Hands-on experience leading development of wearable, near-eye display systems, including head-mounted devices, AR/VR systems, or helmet-integrated platforms
• Proven experience leading end-to-end hardware device development across the full product development lifecycle (PDLC)—from concept and architecture definition through production validation and field deployment.
• Strong technical background with familiarity in hardware and software systems engineering, managing engineering budgets and tradeoffs to optimize across a complex system
• Exceptional organizational and communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical issues into clear business-impacting insights
• Experience leading the full development lifecycle of a hardware product or a critical hardware subsystem
• Proven experience in component sourcing and vendor management