Technical Program Manager (Hardware)

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., * 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

• 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)

Pulled from the full job description

• Work from home
• Flexible schedule, * 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., * Competitive salary
• Flexible work hours and the option for remote work.
• Opportunities for professional development and continued education.

Compensation Range: $180K - $230K

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.