Technical Program Manager (Hardware)

Quartermaster AI; Arlington (TX); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Hybrid/Remote options

Professional development

Job summary

Quartermaster AI is seeking a hands-on Technical Program Manager to own the hardware program from design freeze through EVT/DVT/PVT, ramp at contract manufacturer, and fielding of hundreds of units worldwide. You’ll drive schedule, manage risks, and coordinate between electrical, mechanical, firmware, and manufacturing teams to keep milestones on track.

The role requires 5+ years in hardware-focused program management, strong vendor management, and experience with regulatory and sourcing

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field
• 5+ years of technical program or project management in hardware/embedded systems
• Experience with contract manufacturers, first article inspection and testing
• Knowledge of hardware compliance and certification (EMC, ingress, regional market access) and government sourcing constraints (TAA)
• Experience managing BOMs and long-lead procurement
• Familiarity with milestone-driven and hybrid development methodologies
• Exceptional communication and organizational skills
• Experience with Linear, Notion, and Gantt/schedule tooling
• Bonus: maritime, aerospace, defense or field-deployed sensing systems; marine environmental standards

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end planning and execution of the hardware program: architecture freeze, component selection, EVT/DVT/PVT, production ramp, field deployment
• Build and maintain the integrated master schedule with dependency-mapped milestones and critical path across tracks
• Drive open-item burn-down to design freeze and run lightweight design reviews
• Manage contract manufacturer engagement and long-lead component procurement
• Coordinate the certification roadmap with engineering and test labs so certs don’t gate fielding
• Run the engineering change process ensuring documentation and cross-team communication
• Plan new product introduction and field rollout: spares provisioning, field-service procedures, QA
• Facilitate cross-functional cadence and act as primary program status contact
• Maintain program artifacts: schedules, risk registers, FMEAs, trackers and dashboards
• Feed lessons learned back into design and manufacturing and align with OKRs

Skills

Technical program management

Hardware development

Embedded systems

Vendors & procurement

Cross-functional coordination

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Tools

Linear

Notion

Gantt charts

Job description

About Us: Quartermaster is building the world’s most comprehensive maritime intelligence platform. Our SmartMast™ system transforms commercial and civilian vessels into a persistent, distributed sensing network—combining HD video, AI, radar, RF sensing, and AIS to deliver real-time maritime domain awareness at global scale. With 600+ sensors deployed across 25+ countries and more than 400,000 vessels identified outside of AIS, we are setting a new standard for what ocean surveillance and safety can look like.

We are a mission-driven, high-velocity team building dual-use technology for defense agencies, coast guards, and commercial maritime operators. If you want your code to run on vessels crossing every ocean on earth, this is the place.

Job Description: Quartermaster is seeking a hands-on Technical Program Manager (TPM) to own execution of our hardware program — a ruggedized marine power, compute, and sensing system — from design freeze through EVT/DVT/PVT, production ramp at our contract manufacturer, and fielding of hundreds of units worldwide. You’ll run the hardware program day-to-day so our hardware leads stay focused on design: driving the schedule, closing open items, managing vendor and long-lead risk, and keeping compliance and manufacturability on track. You’ll be the connective tissue between electrical, mechanical, firmware, manufacturing, supply chain, and field operations — tracking progress of critical builds, surfacing risks early, and forcing timely decisions. This is a high-visibility role for someone who thrives on aggressive timelines and knows which enterprise process steps to keep, compress, or cut at startup pace.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own end-to-end planning and execution of the hardware program: architecture freeze, component selection, EVT/DVT/PVT, production ramp, and field deployment

• Build and maintain the integrated master schedule with dependency-mapped milestones and critical path across electrical, mechanical, firmware, and manufacturing tracks

• Drive open-item burn-down to design freeze — component selections, trade decisions, and requirement gaps — and run lightweight design reviews with clear entry/exit criteria

• Manage contract manufacturer engagement (builds, first articles, acceptance test procedures, line readiness) and long-lead component procurement across single-source supply risks

• Coordinate the compliance and certification roadmap (IEC 60945 EMC, IP ratings, market access, TAA sourcing constraints) with engineering and test labs so certs never gate fielding

• Run the engineering change process (ECR/ECO), ensuring scope and requirement shifts are documented, dispositioned, and communicated across teams

• Plan new product introduction and field rollout: spares provisioning, field-service procedures, QA, coordination with logistics, and readiness reviews with global field ops teams

• Facilitate cross-functional cadence — standups, milestone reviews, go/no-go gates — and act as primary point of contact for program status and decision timelines

• Maintain program artifacts: schedules, risk registers, FMEAs, open-item trackers, and dashboards

• Feed lessons learned from fielded units back into the design and manufacturing process, and align the program with company OKRs

Qualifications (Preferred):

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical field (or equivalent experience)

• 5+ years of technical program or project management experience in hardware, robotics, or embedded systems — ideally through at least one full EVT/DVT/PVT cycle into volume production

• Proven track record running programs with contract manufacturers, including builds, first-article inspection, and acceptance testing

• Working knowledge of hardware compliance and certification processes (EMC, ingress/environmental, regional market access) and government sourcing constraints (e.g., TAA)

• Experience managing BOMs, long-lead procurement, and single-source supply risk

• Strong familiarity with milestone-driven and hybrid development methodologies, and judgment about right-sizing process for a startup

• Exceptional communication and organizational skills, translating between technical contributors and executive stakeholders

• Experience with Linear, Notion, and Gantt/schedule tooling

• Bonus: background in maritime, aerospace, defense, or field-deployed sensing systems; comfort with marine environmental standards (IEC 60945, IACS UR E10, IP66/67)

Work Environment:

• This is a hybrid position with collaboration via online tools.

• Flexible working hours with occasional deadlines requiring high availability.

• Opportunity to work on innovative projects with a global impact.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary

• Flexible work hours and the option for remote work.

• Opportunities for professional development and continued education.