Principal Technical Program Manager

This role is for a leader with the drive and passion to connect an organization of deep experts. You go into the engineering work rather than coordinating from outside it, and you build a team of TPMs who do the same.

The Principal Technical Program Manager owns end-to-end execution of VEIR product development, from ideation through at-scale production and deprecation, against VEIR's Product Development Process. This role is accountable for the integrated product development schedule, Exit Gate readiness, and the cross-functional interdependencies that determine whether we hit our milestones. It is the most technically senior program role at VEIR: deep enough to challenge engineering trade-offs on their merits, and broad enough to see how a decision in one discipline lands three functions downstream. The role leads the Technical Project Managers and sets the technical program management standard for the company.

Technical program management at VEIR is an active, challenging function, not a reporting one. The Principal Technical Program Manager sets that expectation and backs the Technical Project Managers when they push on a plan that does not hold up — and is the escalation point when a functional lead resists the challenge. When a test fails or a program misses, this role is accountable for ensuring the investigation converges and a credible recovery plan closes it out.

Key Responsibilities

Product Development Program Ownership

Own end-to-end delivery of assigned products through PDP Phases 0–6: ideation, requirements and concept design, preliminary design and prototype testing, detailed design and integrated system testing, product launch and manufacturing readiness, at-scale production and sustain, and deprecation.

Build and own the integrated product development schedule, defining milestones, dependencies, and the critical path across engineering, product management, supply chain, manufacturing, quality, and operations.

Own Exit Gate readiness — confirm deliverable requirements are defined by the cross-functional team, tracked, and genuinely met before a program advances, and run the gate review.

Support Product Management in the decision making process for system level trade-off decisions , and tracking the evaluation of identified improvements: what requirement are we solving, what customer value does it create, what does it cost in time and risk, and is good enough already available?

Cross-Functional Execution & Interdependencies

Own the integrated view of engineering, product management, supply chain, manufacturing, and operations deliverables — taking planning and tracking burden off functional leads so they can focus on the technical work.

Map cross-functional interdependencies rigorously and continuously; make the second- and third-order effects of a schedule change visible before the change is made.

Drive schedule adherence with clear owners and dates, and hold the organization accountable to commitments made.

Partner with the Principal Commercial Program Manager to confirm design maturity and hardware availability before VEIR quotes a customer commitment, and to ensure installation, commissioning, and O&M documentation is delivered with the hardware.

Risk & Leadership

Anticipate risk ahead of the team — look around the corner, pressure-test assumptions, and bring mitigation options rather than surfaced problems.

Own the product program risk register and drive mitigation to closure.

Ensure root cause investigations following test failures or escapes are convened, converge on an answer, and close with a credible recovery plan — Engineering owns the technical conclusion, this role owns that it happens and holds.

Require contingency planning on critical path items so programs have a validated Plan B before they need one.

Lead, coach, and develop the Technical Project Managers; set the standard for planning rigor, technical challenge, communication quality, and follow-through — and back them when a challenge meets resistance. Hire for drive, and build a team that runs its programs to that standard without needing you in the room

Communicate program status, risk, and required decisions clearly to the executive team, and escalate with a recommendation attached.

Primary Interfaces

Technical Project Managers — direct reports — day-to-day program execution and deliverable tracking

Engineering leads (Cryogenics, Cables, Terminations, Controls) — technical scope, resource forecasts, and deliverable commitments

Product Management — requirements, roadmap sequencing, and gate criteria

Supply Chain, Manufacturing & Operations — deliverable planning, build readiness, and production ramp

Principal Commercial Program Manager — design and hardware readiness for customer commitments, and field documentation

VP, PMO and executive team — program status, escalations, and key decisions

Qualifications

10+ years of technical program management experience in hardware product development, with clear ownership of programs from concept through volume production.

Deep working knowledge of a phase-gate or stage-gate product development process, and demonstrated ownership of gate readiness and deliverable compliance.

Strong technical foundation — able to engage credibly on electrical, mechanical, thermal, and systems-level engineering trade-offs. Power electronics, low- and medium-voltage systems, cabling, or superconducting systems experience strongly preferred.

Has built an integrated master schedule from scratch for a multi-subsystem hardware program and driven it through gates into production

Outcome-oriented problem solver who has turned a program around: a failing test, a missed gate or a slipping launch, recovered with a plan you drove, not a later date you accepted

Track record of leading and influencing matrixed teams and holding senior technical stakeholders accountable without formal authority.

Exceptional communicator — drives clarity, resolves conflict, and escalates cleanly with a recommendation.

Bachelor's degree in engineering; advanced degree a plus.

Preferred

Prior people management experience leading program or project managers.

Experience taking a first-of-a-kind hardware product from prototype to manufacturing readiness at a startup or scaling company.

Experience with grid infrastructure, transmission, utility, or data center power equipment.

What Success Looks Like in 12 Months

Every active product program has an integrated, maintained schedule with a defined critical path and named deliverable owners.

Exit Gate reviews are substantive — deliverables are defined up front, tracked, and met, and gates are not passed on optimism.

Cross-functional interdependencies are documented and actively managed; schedule surprises become rare.

Engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, and operations leads report that planning and tracking burden has meaningfully decreased.

The Technical Project Managers are operating to a consistent, high standard of planning and communication.

VEIR is committed to equal pay for equal work in its compensation practices. The base salary range for this position in the U.S. is $170,000 - $200,000 per year + equity + benefits. A candidate's salary is determined by various factors including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, skills, certifications, job level, supervisory status, and location.