Technical Program Manager, Mechanical

We're looking for a highly skilled Technical Program Manager (TPM) with experience shipping consumer products to join our devices team. You'll have the opportunity to support Backbone’s engineering teams with conception, development and mass production of exciting future products in close collaboration with the industry’s best industrial designers, hardware engineers, software engineers and operations managers.

Key responsibilities include developing program timelines, planning engineering builds, coordinating documentation and generally ensuring the right tasks are getting completed at the right time. Exceptional organization and communication skills are required to succeed in this role at Backbone.

This is a hybrid role requiring in-office time at our Palo Alto hardware engineering office.

What You’ll Do:

• Serve as the connective tissue between cross-functional engineering teams, operations and manufacturing
• Own program timelines based on engineering team requirements, including tooling, testing and certification timelines
• Own program ME/EE BOM, 2D archive, and engineering build inventory
• Drive contract manufacturer and subvendor preparation for engineering builds, from proto to DVT, including analysis of dimensional reports (FAI/SPC)
• Ensure on-time and successful builds, including management of resources (jigs, personnel, test equipment and components)
• Assist Product Design engineering team with validation of manufacturing processes, including tooling qual, line qual and yield reports
• Provide high quality program updates to the engineering and executive teams through slides and email, including easily-understood graphics
• Assess technical and operational risk of programs and highlight potential issues to cross-functional teams before they occur

• Provide technical support where needed, including design analysis, 2D review, design of experiments (DOE) and FAI/SPC review

What’s Required:

• Demonstrated experience owning hardware on shipped mass-market (>1M/yr), including timeline management and architecture-to-ship processes
• Fluency with bottom line project management tools and concepts (planning, cost, delivery, BOM, Gantt charts, statistical distributions)
• Technical background, including BS in mechanical/electrical engineering (candidates with exceptional experience may have this requirement waived)
• Exceptional communication and organization skills with ability to clearly articulate and document issues, including excellent presentation/slide skills
• Experience working in high-pressure, low-information environments requiring successful risk judgment, strong decision making skills and personal resiliency
• Comfortable taking constructive feedback and improving performance at a dynamic and rapidly growing company
• Able to work autonomously with strong commitment to ownership over tasks and prototypes, including accountability as a Directly Responsible Individual (DRI)
• Ability to generate bursts of high-intensity output when needed

• This role requires up to 25% international travel

What’s Ideal:

• Leadership role on multiple shipped mass-market products (1M+ units per year)
• Proficiency in statistical process control and other quality tools; experience with Tableau, JMP, Excel
• Experience with electrical and/or mechanical test rigs; experience designing mass production manufacturing jigs
• Previous experience working on both small (startup) and large (big tech) teams
• Interest in learning new hardware/software skills with goal of continuous growth
• Desire to build cross-functional team relationships and continuously improve communication, development and analysis processes
• Experience with model construction and prototyping, including SLS, SLA and FDM 3D printing
• Interest or experience in gaming industry, especially handhelds
• MS in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent