Technical Program Manager - Hardware & Manufacturing

Pronto; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 122,000 - 151,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Disability Insurance

Life Insurance

401(k)

Equity

Paid Holidays

Unlimited PTO

Team Lunch

Job summary

Pronto is seeking a Technical Program Manager to own and triage hardware and QC issues across builds, kitting, and field installs from our San Francisco site. You will interface between field partners and engineering to ensure defects are triaged by severity and resolved quickly, reducing line-stops and inventory shortages.

The role requires hands-on hardware/ manufacturing experience, strong prioritization, and a track record of establishing intake processes that prevent delays in production.

Qualifications

• Hands-on hardware, manufacturing, or field-ops experience.
• Ability to triage between site partners and engineering with urgency.
• Proven track record building intake or QC processes.
• Experience with vehicle or heavy equipment hardware.

Responsibilities

• Own a single intake queue for hardware and QC issues.
• Triage issues by severity and build impact.
• Set response-time expectations with partners.
• Prioritize engineering queue based on blocking builds.
• Consolidate duplicate tickets into a single fix.
• Escalate QC failures and inventory shortages.
• Track recurring hardware defects to root cause.
• Escalate issues across trucks and mining kit.

Skills

Hardware experience

Field operations

Issue triage

Vendor coordination

Inventory management

Tools

Linear ticketing

Job description

Technical Program Manager - Hardware & Manufacturing

Who we are
Pronto AI is a global leader in commercializing autonomous vehicle (AV) technology, deploying Autonomous Haulage Systems (AHS) that automate operations in mines, quarries, and construction sites worldwide. While much of the industry remains in R&D, we deliver real, production-ready autonomy that is already operating in the field.

About the role

The Hardware & Manufacturing TPM owns the queue where onsite hardware and QC issues meet engineering — the seam between the build floor (OEM production lines, upfit partners, kitting) and the teams that own the design. This role triages incoming hardware issues across active builds, on-road transport truck kitting and off-road mining kit installs alike, decides what escalates and to whom, and owns inventory issues before they hold up a build.

Today those reports land in a shared channel with no consistent triage, so a cosmetic issue and a line-stopping one compete for attention in whatever order they arrive. This role replaces that with a single owned queue.

What you’ll do

Intake & Triage

• Own a single intake queue for hardware and QC issues reported from build lines and field sites, replacing today's mix of ad hoc Slack messages and DMs.
• Triage every incoming issue by severity and impact — distinguishing a line-stopping defect from a cosmetic one — rather than working items in the order they arrive.
• Set and hold response‑time expectations for build partners and plant contacts.
• Prioritize the engineering dev queue against what's actually blocking a build or a site, not against whichever issue was reported most recently.
• Identify when several individual tickets are the same underlying defect, and roll them into one engineering fix rather than let them get worked separately.
• Own escalation for onsite QC failures and inventory shortages — the shared point between the field/build floor and engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing.
• Track recurring hardware defects (wrong part revisions, bracket or jig issues, harness defects) back to their root cause, and elevate to the owning team: engineering, supplier, or the line itself.
• Escalate hardware issues affecting truck builds across both on‑road transport upfit lines and off‑road mining kit installs.

What we’re looking for

• Hands‑on hardware, manufacturing, or field‑ops background — has worked the floor, not just reviewed reports about it.
• Comfortable as the triage point between site or build partners and engineering: thick skin, high urgency, able to make a prioritization call with incomplete information.
• Has stood up an intake or QC process from scratch, not just operated one someone else built.
• Track record working with vehicle or heavy‑equipment hardware (wiring harnesses, sensor/compute mounting, electromechanical assemblies).

Nice to have

• Experience with on‑road commercial vehicle (Class 8 truck) upfit, kitting, or OEM production‑line environments.
• Experience with off‑road or heavy industrial equipment (mining, construction) hardware builds.
• Familiarity with supplier and inventory escalation, and part‑revision control.
• Experience with Linear or a similar ticketing tool for tracking build issues to closure.
• Work on real, production‑deployed autonomy.
• Build technology that directly improves safety, efficiency, and productivity.
• Tackle complex challenges in demanding, real‑world environments.
• Be part of a fast‑moving team with high ownership and impact.
• See your work deployed and making a difference in the field.
• Collaborate closely with experienced engineers and industry operators.

What else you need to know

This role is based in our San Francisco office location. As a company driven by innovation and continuous change, close collaboration is essential. We’re constantly reimagining our industry, creating new products, and refining our processes, and we do our best work together. That’s why all of our office‑based teams work onsite, five days a week.

The base salary range for this role is $122,000 - 151,000 per year.

Actual compensation will be determined on an individual basis and may vary depending on experience, skills, and qualifications.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package. You may also be eligible for equity awards.

Benefits Summary (USA Full-Time Exempt Employees):

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, and Life Insurance
• Flexible Spending Account / Health Savings Account Options
• 401(k)
• Equity
• Sick Time, Unlimited Flexible Time Off, and Paid Holidays
• Team lunch in our SoMa office every Tuesday and Thursday

Benefits are subject to change at the company's discretion.
Pronto accepts applications on an ongoing basis.

Ready to join us as we serve those who serve others?

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