Technical Program Manager, Hardware
Hark
$200,000 - $400,000 / year
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Description
About Hark
Hark is an artificial intelligence company building advanced, personalized intelligence. One that is proactive, multimodal, and capable of interacting with the world through speech, text, vision, and persistent memory.
We're pairing that intelligence with next-generation hardware to create a universal interface between humans and machines. While today's AI largely operates through chat boxes and decade-old devices, Hark is focused on what comes next: agentic systems that interact naturally with people and the real world.
To get there, we're developing multimodal models and next-generation AI hardware together - designed from the ground up as a single, unified interface for a new era of intelligent systems.
About the Role
As our first Hardware Technical Program Manager, based at our San Jose office, you'll be the technical leader who takes Hark's devices from engineering builds to mass production. You'll sit alongside our product design, electrical, and systems teams in San Jose, and partner closely with our in-region program manager in Asia to land every build at our contract manufacturers and suppliers. This role is part program leader, part hands-on engineer: you'll own schedules and escalations, and you'll also be on the factory floor driving root causes. You'll help shape how Hark builds hardware and grow the TPM team as we scale.
Responsibilities
- Serve as technical leader for manufacturing operations across final assembly and subassembly sites.
- Drive build preparation and execution with Hark engineering teams in San Jose and our contract manufacturers.
- Drive supplier, OEM, and CM selection and qualification: RFQs and SOWs, tooling and capex plans, capability studies, capacity and lead-time commitments, and recovery plans.
- Partner with our in-region program manager in Asia to land every build: fixture and test readiness, DOE plans and data capture, on-the-floor priorities, and a clean escalation path across the U.S.–Asia time gap.
- Own factory issues and drive root causes with product design, electrical, and systems teams; track closure through design changes, tooling changes, and process changes.
- Support the supply chain team in tracking non-materials costs, yields, and quality against targets.
- Communicate with equal precision to engineers, executives, and external partners.
- Travel (~50%) to vendor sites in Asia to support bring-up, ramp, and sustaining activities as projects demand.
Requirements
- 8+ years as a technical or engineering program manager in consumer electronics hardware, with at least two products taken from architecture through mass production.
- Technical depth in at least one hardware commodity: camera, display, enclosure and mechanical, battery, acoustics, or antenna.
- Hands-on NPI experience.
- Demonstrated CM and component supplier management: selection, qualification, tooling and capacity planning, and schedule management.
- Understanding of the data used to drive decisions: capability studies (Cp/Cpk), yield and defect Paretos, DOEs, and measurement system analysis (gauge R&R).
- Comfortable operating across the U.S.–Asia time gap and traveling internationally to supplier and manufacturing sites.
- Based in, or willing to relocate to, the San Jose, CA area.
- Excited at the opportunity to be our first TPM hire and grow a global team.
- A technical degree (Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering) or equivalent hands-on hardware experience.
Bonus Qualifications
- Experience with first-generation product architectures (e.g., wearables, foldables, new display or sensing technology, or AI hardware).
- Depth in camera module NPI.
- Experience with cosmetic-critical enclosures and finishing processes.
- Experience with brittles (glass, ceramics, sapphire).
Compensation
The US base salary range for this full-time position is between $200,000 - $400,000 annually.
The pay offered for this position may vary based on several individual factors, including job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package may also include additional components/benefits depending on the specific role. This information will be shared if an employment offer is extended.
About this role
Hark is hiring its first Hardware Technical Program Manager to shepherd next-generation AI devices from engineering prototypes into mass production. You'd be the technical leader bridging the company's San Jose engineering teams and contract manufacturers across Asia, owning everything from supplier selection and qualification through factory floor problem-solving. This is a hybrid role: you'll manage schedules and escalations at the program level, but you'll also spend significant time on manufacturing floors driving root causes and ensuring builds land cleanly. With roughly half your time spent traveling to vendor sites, you'd be the critical link keeping the U.S.–Asia operation aligned as Hark scales hardware production.
The role demands 8+ years managing consumer electronics hardware programs through full production cycles, with hands-on expertise in at least one hardware domain—camera, display, mechanical design, battery, acoustics, or antenna. You'll need proven experience selecting and qualifying contract manufacturers and suppliers, planning tooling and capacity, and reading the data that drives manufacturing decisions: capability studies, yield Paretos, DOEs, and gauge R&R. NPI experience is essential, and comfort operating across time zones and traveling internationally is non-negotiable.
If you've shipped first-generation products with novel architectures—wearables, foldables, new sensing tech, or AI hardware—that background is valuable. Specific depth in camera module NPI, cosmetic-critical enclosures, or brittle materials like glass and ceramics would strengthen your candidacy. The salary range is $200,000–$400,000, with total compensation details shared upon offer.
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Pay for this role
$200,000 to $400,000 per year
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