Technical Program Manager

HorseShoe Beverage Company; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

BurnBot is building remote-operated machines for prescribed fire, with fielded fleet across California, Oregon, and Washington. The role focuses on end-to-end hardware programs from concept to deployment, balancing schedules with real-world blockers and field operations.

The candidate will own program plans, manage BOMs and long-lead items, drive risk reduction, and maintain change control. Onsite work in South San Francisco with occasional field visits.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of technical program management on hardware programs that shipped.
• Fluency with BOMs, supply chain, build phases, test campaigns, and change control.
• Excellent written communication and ability to write updates read by others.
• Comfort in the shop and on field sites, not just in meetings.

Responsibilities

• Own hardware programs end to end—from concept through build, test, and fielded fleet.
• Develop program plans and schedules across mechanical, electrical, autonomy, manufacturing, and field operations.
• Build readiness: BOMs, long-lead items, supplier commitments, and floor-ready parts.
• Identify and quantify risk early and drive it down; surface slips early.
• Change control, ECOs, configuration management, and tracking machine fleet.
• Coordinate deployment with operations to deliver machines and spares to crews.

Skills

Technical program management

Written communication

Shop/field site comfort

Education

B.S. in engineering

Tools

PLM tooling

ERP tooling

Job description

• Location 340 Shaw Rd,South San Francisco, CA, 94080,United States
• Base Pay $150,000.00 - $200,000.00 / Year
• Employee Type Exempt (FT)

Description

About BurnBot

Wildfire has stopped being a season. BurnBot builds the machines that get ahead of it — remotely operated systems that apply and contain prescribed fire, and platforms that clear heavy fuel on terrain that isn’t safe for crews.

Our fleet is at work today for PG&E, CAL FIRE, the U.S. Forest Service, Caltrans, fire districts, and tribal nations across California, Oregon, and Washington — treating land at up to 40x the pace of conventional methods. We’re roboticists, engineers, and career fire practitioners. Hardware we design in South San Francisco is in the dirt within weeks, and the people who designed it are usually standing next to it.

THE ROLE

We build machines that have to be in the field during a burn window that doesn’t move. That makes schedule a real engineering constraint, not a spreadsheet exercise.

You’ll own our hardware programs end to end — from concept through build, test, and fielded fleet — and be the person who knows what’s actually blocking, not what the status slide says.

WHAT YOU’LL OWN

Program plans and schedules across mechanical, electrical, autonomy, manufacturing, and field operations

Build readiness: BOMs, long-lead items, supplier commitments, and the material that has to be on the floor before a build starts

Risk. Find it early, quantify it, and drive it down. Surfacing a slip in week two is worth more than heroics in week twelve.

Change control — ECOs, configuration management, and knowing what’s actually on each machine in the fleet

Communication. One clear source of truth for engineering, leadership, and the field team.

Deployment coordination with operations, so machines and spares show up where the crews need them

Requirements

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

6+ years of technical program management on hardware programs that actually shipped

Fluency with the mechanics: BOMs, supply chain, build phases, test campaigns, and change control

The technical depth to challenge an estimate and be right often enough to earn it

Excellent written communication — you write the update people actually read

Comfort in the shop and on a field site, not just in meetings

B.S. in an engineering discipline, or equivalent hands-on experience

NICE TO HAVE

Robotics, heavy equipment, or off-highway vehicle programs

Low-volume, high-mix manufacturing

Field service or fleet operations experience

PLM and ERP tooling in a growing company

You’ve been an engineer before you were a TPM

Summary

HOW WE WORK

Based onsite in South San Francisco — design, build, and test all happen in one building, and being near the machines is most of the point

Flexible within that. You own your calendar: work the hours where you’re sharpest, and go remote on heads-down days.

Expect a few days a month in the field across California, Oregon, and Washington. Watching your work run on a live burn is the best part of the job.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Base salary: $150,000 – $200,000 — final offers reflect experience and demonstrated scope.

Burnbot is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including but not limited to, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with one or more disabilities, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

If you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at [phone] x 1010 or [e-mail].