Staff Technical Program Manager, Machine Development

Divergent; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 156,000 - 214,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Compensation package

Equity plan

Incentive bonus opportunities

Paid vacation & holidays

Parental leave

Health & wellness benefits

Learning and development reimbursement

Collaborative environment

Job summary

Divergent is building the new industrial age in Los Angeles. The Staff Technical Program Manager will translate complex hardware and software objectives into clear plans, cross-functional ownership, milestones, and decisions.

You’ll manage risks, drive scalable processes, and coordinate readiness for major releases and deployments. Join a fast-paced, mission-driven team delivering production-ready systems for demanding industries.

Qualifications

• Ability to lawfully access information and technology that is subject to US export controls.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related technical field.
• 6+ years of technical program, engineering, manufacturing, or product development experience.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, cross-functional technical programs.
• Strong program planning, scheduling, risk management, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to translate ambiguous technical problems into clear plans, owners, milestones, and decisions.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication with technical teams and senior leadership.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced hardware development and manufacturing environment.
• Ability to work additional hours as required by the business.
• Ability to spend time in laboratory, manufacturing, and production environments as required.

Responsibilities

• Own integrated program schedules, roadmaps, milestones, dependencies, risks, and high-level development & execution plans.
• Identify and actively manage program risks, issues, blockers, and dependencies.
• Build and continuously improve scalable business processes, operating cadences, tools, and program controls.
• Drive cross-functional execution including triage and coordination such as change requests.
• Drive action-item ownership, escalation, decision-making, and closure.
• Enable successful change and configuration management.
• Provide clear program status, performance, tradeoffs, and recovery plans to stakeholders and leadership.
• Support coordination of technical and operational readiness for major releases, builds, qualifications, and deployments.
• Lead ad hoc, high-priority initiatives that require additional structure, coordination, or cross-functional execution.

Skills

Program planning

Scheduling

Risk management

Cross-functional collaboration

Clear communication

Hardware development environment

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related technical field

Tools

Jira

PLM

ERP

MES

Requirements management

Program-management tools

Job description

Divergent is building the new industrial age. Every day, our teams design, manufacture, and assemble advanced systems for some of the world’s most demanding industries. Our integrated engineering and manufacturing platform transforms complex designs into production-ready solutions, helping customers move faster, build smarter, and deliver critical systems when they matter most. Divergent is a qualified Tier 1 supplier to global automotive OEMs and supports leading U.S. aerospace and defense companies.

Join us and help push the boundaries of what can be built.

Purpose

Machine Development operates at the intersection of complex hardware, software, manufacturing, and operations, where successful execution depends on many teams moving together against shared technical and business outcomes. The Staff Technical Program Manager exists to create the clarity, structure, and operating discipline needed to make that happen.

This role drives the integrated execution of Machine Development programs by translating complex and often ambiguous objectives into clear plans, priorities, ownership, milestones, and decisions. The Staff TPM connects work across functions, ensures risks and issues are surfaced and resolved early, and gives teams and leaders the visibility needed to understand performance and make informed tradeoffs.

Success in this role means Machine Development executes more predictably, problems are identified and closed faster, cross-functional teams stay aligned, and the processes and operating systems supporting execution become increasingly scalable and effective over time.

The Role

• Own integrated program schedules, roadmaps, milestones, dependencies, risks, and high-level development & execution plans.
• Identify and actively manage program risks, issues, blockers, and dependencies.
• Build and continuously improve scalable business processes, operating cadences, tools, and program controls.
• Drive cross-functional execution including triage and coordination such as change requests.
• Drive action-item ownership, escalation, decision-making, and closure.
• Enable successful change and configuration management.
• Provide clear program status, performance, tradeoffs, and recovery plans to stakeholders and leadership.
• Support coordination of technical and operational readiness for major releases, builds, qualifications, and deployments.
• Lead ad hoc, high-priority initiatives that require additional structure, coordination, or cross-functional execution.

Basic Qualifications

• Ability to lawfully access information and technology that is subject to US export controls
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related technical field.
• 6+ years of technical program, engineering, manufacturing, or product development experience.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, cross-functional technical programs.
• Strong program planning, scheduling, risk management, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to translate ambiguous technical problems into clear plans, owners, milestones, and decisions.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication with technical teams and senior leadership.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced hardware development and manufacturing environment.
• Ability to work additional hours as required by the business.
• Ability to spend time in laboratory, manufacturing, and production environments as required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with complex capital equipment, industrial automation, additive manufacturing, aerospace, or advanced manufacturing.
• Experience managing reliability, qualification, commissioning, or production-readiness programs.
• Experience with engineering change control, RCCA, configuration management, and product lifecycle processes.
• Working knowledge of Jira, PLM, ERP, MES, requirements management, and program-management tools.
• Demonstrated ability to establish new processes and operating systems in rapidly evolving organizations.

Work Environment

• Onsite

Pay Range: $155,500 USD - $213,810 USD

What We Offer Our Regular, Full-Time Employees:

• Holistic Compensation Package: Enjoy a world-class compensation package that includes a competitive salary, equity plan, and discretionary results-based incentive bonus opportunities, ensuring you're truly valued for your contributions.
• Wellness and Time Off: Embrace a healthy lifestyle with paid vacation, sick time, and company holidays, including a year-end shutdown to recharge. We support growing families with paid parental leave, recognizing the importance of bonding time.
• Comprehensive Health and Wellness: Prioritize your well-being with our comprehensive health and wellness benefits, offering both HMO and Premium PPO options. Additionally, benefit from company-sponsored life insurance and short and long-term disability coverage for peace of mind.
• Investment in Growth: We're committed to your professional development. Take advantage of reimbursement opportunities for learning and development initiatives, empowering you to continuously expand your skill set and reach peak performance.
• Collaborative and High-Performing Environment: Join our collaborative, dynamic, and high-performing team within a fast-paced, mission-driven company. Together, we're disrupting the traditional manufacturing industry, fostering innovation, and integrating people and technology to reduce our footprint.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Divergent is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any other applicable state or federal protected characteristic. Divergent provides affirmative action in employment for qualified Individuals with Disabilities and Protected Veterans in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act.

EEO Poster

In order to adjust to changes in our business, it may become necessary to add, remove or modify certain duties and responsibilities, or to reassign you to another job position. From time to time you may be asked to work on special projects or to assist with other work. Your cooperation and assistance in performing such additional work is expected.

E-Verify: Right to Work

Our company participates in E-Verify. E-Verify is a program that electronically confirms a candidate’s eligibility to work in the United States after completing the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I‑9). The information provided on the Form I‑9 is compared to the records contained in the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) databases. This helps employers verify the identity and employment eligibility of newly hired employees.

Eligibility to Work Poster (English) | Eligibility to Work Poster (Spanish)

Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (FCIHO)

Pursuant to the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (FCIHO), we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.