Senior Technical Program Manager – PMO Lead, Hardware Strategy & Operations

Socket.dev; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 171,000 - 231,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon in Sunnyvale is seeking a PMO Lead to own the end-to-end Product Development Process (PDP) for Devices Hardware. You will drive phase definitions, gate criteria, and milestone templates, enabling hundreds of engineers to work with clarity and speed.

You will partner with System TPMs, Engineering leads, Operations, and Finance to implement improvements, maintain tools, and communicate changes to leadership. This role is foundational to delivering on time and at scale.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of technical product or program management experience.
• 7+ years of working directly with engineering teams experience.
• 5+ years of technical program management with software teams.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end Product Development Process (PDP) for Amazon Devices Hardware, incl. phase definitions, gates, templates, and tools.
• Identify, scope, and lead strategic process improvement initiatives with cross-functional stakeholders.
• Maintain and evolve PDP tools and templates to reduce friction and enable teams to move with speed.
• Serve as the primary PDP expert across Hardware, guiding TPMs and leads on process application and escalation paths.
• Drive cross-functional alignment and ensure the PDP Confluence space reflects current state.

Skills

Technical PM experience

Cross-functional collaboration

PM governance/tools

Education

Bachelor's in Engineering/CS

Tools

Confluence

JIRA

Jama

Job description

Do you want to shape how Amazon builds its next generation of consumer devices — not by building one product, but by building the system that makes all products better? As the Program Management Office (PMO) Lead and steward of Amazon Devices Product Development Process (PDP) within the Hardware Strategy & Operations team, you will own the framework that every hardware program at Amazon Devices runs on. You will drive the evolution of how we develop devices — from the earliest customer-focused working backwards documents through production validation — ensuring that hundreds of engineers across disciplines and geographies have the clarity, tools, and process they need to deliver on time, at quality, and at scale.

Key job responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end Product Development Process (PDP) for Amazon Devices Hardware, including phase definitions, gate criteria, milestone templates, approver matrices, and associated tools — ensuring the process remains current, scalable, and aligned with how programs actually execute.
• Identify, scope, and lead strategic process improvement initiatives from proposal through implementation, partnering with cross-functional stakeholders across engineering, operations, finance, and product management to drive adoption and measure impact.
• Maintain and evolve the suite of PDP tools and templates — including milestone documents (Product Assessment, Business Requirements Document, Development Commit, xVT Readiness Reviews, Announce Risk Review, OK2Ship), checklists, and the Milestone Manager — to reduce friction and enable program teams to move with speed and confidence.
• Serve as the primary point of contact and subject matter expert for PDP across the Hardware organization, providing guidance to System TPMs and functional leads on process application, change management, and escalation paths.
• Drive cross-functional alignment on process changes, communicating updates clearly to stakeholders at all levels and ensuring the PDP Confluence space reflects the current state of the process at all times.

A day in the life

You start your day reviewing feedback from System Technical Program Managers (TPMs) across multiple device programs about friction points in the milestone review process. By mid-morning, you are in a working session with engineering, operations, and finance stakeholders to align on a proposed update to the approver matrix for the Development Commit gate 4. In the afternoon, you are driving a process improvement initiative — evaluating how the phase-gate methodology can better accommodate programs that blend hardware and software development. You close the day by updating the PDP Wiki page with revised templates and publishing a summary of approved process changes to the broader Hardware organization.

No two days look the same. You operate across teams and functions — partnering with Product Managers, System TPMs, Engineering leads, Operations Program Managers, and executive stakeholders — to keep the process current, practical, and effective 7. You are equally comfortable writing a detailed process specification and presenting a strategic recommendation to senior leadership.

About the team

The Hardware Strategy & Operations team sits at the center of Amazon Devices hardware development. Our mission is to enable the Hardware organization to build the right products, the right way, at the right time. We own the mechanisms, processes, and tools that the broader Hardware organization depends on to execute — from pre-concept through production and sustaining.

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years of technical product or program management experience
• 7+ years of working directly with engineering teams experience
• 5+ years of technical program management working directly with software engineering teams experience
• Experience managing programs across cross functional teams, building processes and coordinating release schedules
• Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science or equivalent
• Experience leading process improvement, systems development, and project management
• Experience managing and maintaining program management tools, templates, or governance frameworks used by large engineering organizations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a Program Management Office (PMO) or equivalent central operations function within a hardware engineering organization.
• Familiarity with consumer electronics product development lifecycles, including hardware validation phases (Engineering Validation Test, Design Validation Test, Production Validation Test) and associated cross-functional deliverables
• Experience working with tools such as Confluence, JIRA, and Jama in a program management or process governance context

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, CA, Sunnyvale - 171,000.00 - 231,400.00 USD annually