Engineering Program Manager (Hardware)

Skip; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Skip is building a wearable robotic device and seeks a seasoned engineering program manager to unify hardware, firmware, software and operations toward shipping 10,000+ units in 18 months.

You will own the integrated program plan, drive milestone cadence, manage cross-disciplinary interfaces, and foster a culture of documentation and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of engineering program management experience.
• Experience with consumer hardware product development.
• Ability to work across hardware, firmware, software and operations teams.
• Experience managing CM relationships, sourcing risk, and ramp planning.
• Willingness to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Responsibilities

• Own the integrated hardware program plan across mechanical, electrical, firmware and software.
• Roadmap hardware delivery milestones for multiple products over 5 years.
• Lead milestone reviews, risk registers and decision logs.
• Collaborate with hardware engineers to evaluate subsystem tradeoffs.
• Coordinate software-hardware interfaces across firmware, embedded, mobile and cloud teams.
• Help establish processes for a fast-paced team shipping a wearable robot.

Skills

Engineering program management

Consumer hardware product development

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

CM relationships and sourcing risk

Production ramp planning

Relocation to Bay Area

Job description

Skip is on a mission to make life joyful through powered movement.

Movement is a powerful way to build physical, mental and social health. Yet it is elusive for 2 billion people due to age, injury, or disability. We are building productsthat will restore mobility for millions and enable a new frontier of joyful movement experiences. We want to build a future where a grandparent can easily outrun their grandkids and no one is left behind at the trailhead.

Skip is a 28-person early-stage start-up that spun out of Google X in 2023. With deep cross-disciplinary expertise and key partnerships (e.g. with Arc'teryx) we are uniquely positioned to launch the first commercially successful wearable robotic device, the MO/GO, develop a platform to launch future Movewear products and transform millions of lives in the coming years.

The Role

We are seeking a highly motivated and adaptable individual who will explore the peaks and valleys of all problems that may come up while building a new category of consumer product.

You will be the connective tissue across our hardware, firmware, software, and operations teams - the person who keeps a complex, cross-disciplinary program moving without losing the details that matter. You'll own the integrated program plan and milestone cadence that gets the MO/GO into customers' hands.

Some of the specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Own the integrated hardware program plan across mechanical, electrical, firmware, software, and supply chain - from early prototypes through EVT, DVT, PVT, and ramp to 10,000+ units shipped in the next 18 months
• Roadmap our hardware and cross-functional delivery milestones for the next 5 years, including support for multiple products
• Drive structured milestone reviews, risk registers, and decision logs so nothing important is left undocumented or unresolved
• Partner with hardware engineers to understand subsystem tradeoffs - actuators, sensors, power systems - and translate them into program-level decisions and schedule impacts
• Manage the software-hardware interface: coordinate firmware, embedded systems, mobile app, and cloud teams to ensure tight integration across the full stack
• Define the processes that let a small team ship a product as complex as a wearable robot without slowing each other down. Contribute to a culture of continuous improvement, documentation, and knowledge sharing
• Wear prototypes several hours a week to participate in data collection, test new builds, and provide product feedback

Basic Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in engineering program management
• 4+ years of experience with consumer hardware products
• Fluency across hardware and software disciplines - credible in a room with mechanical, electrical, firmware, and software engineers
• Experience managing CM relationships, component sourcing risk, and production ramp planning
• Ability to relocate to work at the Skip Bay Area office
• Sense of humour, tolerant of Aussie & Canadian spelling

Bonus Points

• Experience with wearables, exoskeletons, soft robotics, or any product that physically interacts with the human body
• Background in regulated product development (FDA, CE) or extensive field reliability programs
• Familiarity with embedded firmware development and software-hardware co-development cycles
• Experience in start-up environments
• Personal motivation to improve human movement
• Bring joy to the team, participate in embarrassing team events, tolerate KZ's terrible music choices

This is a full time hybrid position working at the Skip office in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco.

Skip is an equal opportunity employer. Our hiring decisions are based on need and competence to satisfy said need. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other legally protected status.

Any and all offers of employment extended by Skip are conditional on candidates' ability to provide satisfactory proof of eligibility to maintain full-time employment in the United States.