Staff/Senior Staff Technical Program Manager (Hardware Systems)

Lightmatter; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Commuter benefit

401(k)

Happy hour

Vacation policy

Learning opportunities

Job summary

Lightmatter in Mountain View seeks a Senior Technical Program Manager to drive hardware development programs across electrical, mechanical, and system engineering. You will own integrated schedules, resource planning, and cross-functional alignment from design to production.

The role requires coordinating with internal teams and external vendors, managing dependencies, and delivering clear project status to executives.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of program management experience in hardware engineering.
• Strong ability to coordinate with internal teams and external partners.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical field.

Responsibilities

• Drive program execution across HW Systems, balancing scope, schedule and resources.
• Maintain integrated schedules and surface priority conflicts for resolution.
• Coordinate with contract manufacturers, PCB/sheet metal fabricators and suppliers.
• Facilitate cross-functional meetings and ensure action items are tracked.
• Communicate program status and risks to engineering leadership and executives.
• Own hardware development lifecycle from design through production.

Skills

Program management

Hardware development

Cross-functional leadership

Stakeholder management

Scheduling

Resource planning

Vendor coordination

PM tools experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical field

Tools

Microsoft Project

Jira

Smartsheet

Job description

• We are hiring a Sr Technical Program Manager (TPM) to drive program execution across Lightmatter’s Hardware Systems team. You will drive schedules, resource planning, priorities, and cross-functional alignment for all projects and activities within the team - spanning electrical, mechanical, and system engineering.
• You will work closely with internal teams such as SI, PI, SW, supply chain, and with external partners, including contract manufacturers, PCB and sheet metal fabricators, assembly houses, and other suppliers, to keep programs on track from early design through production
• In this role, you will manage dependencies and trade-offs across concurrent workstreams, facilitate alignment across internal and external stakeholders, and maintain program visibility for engineering leadership. Your scope covers the full hardware development lifecycle, from design through production, including the engineering support programs, test infrastructure, and tooling that keep the broader team moving
• You will also serve as the team’s primary program interface to broader organizational programs, ensuring that schedule changes, material commitments, and engineering status are communicated accurately and on time to cross-functional program stakeholders
• Own program coordination across all HW Systems activities: maintain an integrated schedule across all concurrent projects and workstreams, surface priority conflicts, and drive resolution of resource contention with engineering leads
• Drive cross-functional alignment between HW Systems and other teams: setting agendas, facilitating meetings, capturing decisions, communicating delays and risks, and relentlessly following up on action items
• Manage team-wide resource loading and capacity visibility, partnering with engineering leads to flag overallocation risks and drive trade-offs discussions across concurrent programs
• Build and maintain integrated program schedules that reflect hardware development realities - bring-up milestones, NPI phases, EVT/DVT/PVT gates, and cross-team dependencies
• Own program scope that lives outside formal project charters: tester boards, demos, lab fixtures, calibration equipment, and internal engineering tools that teams depend on but that would otherwise lack dedicated ownership
• Coordinate material flow within the HW Systems team: track component orders, PCB fab runs, PCBA and mechanical assemblies, and engineering samples; partner with supply chain to ensure critical materials land on schedule
• Track and coordinate cross-functional teams’ HW deliverable dependencies including quantities and timelines, and ensure downstream teams are unblocked with accurate, up-to-date visibility into HW schedule and status
• Serve as the primary hardware program interface with external contract manufacturers, PCB and sheet metal fabricators, and assembly houses: managing schedules, tracking deliverables, facilitating technical alignment, and driving closure on open issues in partnership with Supply chain
• Represent the HW Systems team in company-wide program reviews and cross-functional planning cadences; own the team’s program interface to broader organizational stakeholders, communicating schedule changes, material needs, and engineering commitments proactively and clearly
• Track HW Systems budgets for engineering activities, prototype builds, and tooling; coordinate with finance and operations to ensure spend is planned, visible, and aligned with program milestones
• Adapt quickly to change: replan and realign when scope shifts, schedules move, or engineering realities force a pivot; maintain momentum and clarity even when the path forward is not fully defined
• Establish and maintain lightweight program management processes: status reporting cadences, risk registers, dependency tracking, and decision logs

Benefits

• Commuter benefit
• 401(K)
• Happy hour -Spend time together and build friendships
• Generous vacation policy and holidays
• Opportunity to learn from your peers and teach them what you know across electronics, photonics, machine learning, and more

This is a hands-on role that combines strong program management fundamentals with a working knowledge of hardware engineering. You will be equally at home in a design review, a supplier call, a resource planning discussion, and an executive status updateYou will also need to thrive in a fast-moving environment where requirements evolve, priorities shift, and not every process is fully established, and bring the clarity and structure that turns that ambiguity into forward progressExpert in project management tools such as Microsoft Project, Jira, Smartsheet, or equivalent platformsStrong written and verbal communicator, comfortable presenting program status and risk assessments to engineering leads and executivesProven experience coordinating with contract manufacturers (CMs) and ODMs to manage schedules, track deliverables, and resolve open issues5+ years of program management experience in hardware engineering, with direct exposure to electrical and mechanical development cyclesSkilled facilitator who drives productive meetings, captures critical context, and ensures action items are owned and closedProven track record managing concurrent engineering programs with shared resources and overlapping timelinesBachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical fieldThrives in fast-paced, ambiguous environments; proactively creates structure and drives clarity without waiting for complete informationStrong bias for action—consistently closes loops, follows up independently, and identifies potential slips before they impact project timelinesDeep familiarity with hardware development processes and terminology across the full lifecycle—including PCBA and mechanical enclosures, PCB fabrication, system integration, bring-up, EVT/DVT/PVT, and production—enabling clear communication with engineers and vendorsHands-on experience with material flow, component tracking, and BOM managementExperience managing programs for complex hardware developmentExperience defining and improving program management processes in a startup or new business unit