Director of Product Hardware

Rain Bird Corporation•,

7d•$232,000 - $372,000

About The Position

Rachio is seeking a Director of Product Hardware to lead the development of its physical products. This role involves owning the hardware roadmap, defining product specifications, and managing the product development process from concept to launch. The position is responsible for smart sprinkler controllers, hose timers, outdoor lighting, and partner/OEM products, as well as the associated software experiences. This is a senior leadership position requiring a blend of strategic thinking and execution in a high-growth environment. The Director will collaborate with Product Marketing, Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations, Design, Support, Finance, and Sales. The role emphasizes a "working backwards" approach, focusing on customer needs and market success metrics rather than just documentation. The ideal candidate is comfortable with technical discussions, customer research, and strategic decision-making, operating with startup velocity across various project stages. This is a senior individual contributor role where influence is derived from product judgment, clear communication, and credibility, with an expectation to fill organizational gaps as needed.

Requirements

Minimum 10+ years of technical experience in product management, product marketing, program management, or engineering, with significant end-to-end hardware product ownership.
Minimum 5+ years of full-lifecycle consumer hardware/devices product management experience as the lead PM.
Minimum 3+ years of professional experience working with mobile apps and/or connected consumer devices.
Comfort operating as a hands-on individual contributor.
Experience contributing to engineering discussions on technology decisions and strategy, including electrical, mechanical, and industrial design trade-offs.
Working knowledge of embedded firmware, mobile technology, web services, and back-end application infrastructure.
Experience coordinating hardware development cycles with software development schedules and leading cross-functional teams.
Experience taking new hardware concepts from intuition through fast, measurable tests to a decision.
Strong analytical foundation with practical working knowledge of statistics and SQL, Python, or R.
Exceptional written communication skills.
Bachelor's degree.

Nice To Haves

Experience building a hardware product development process (NPI/PDP) from scratch or materially rebuilding one.
Experience shipping products through contract manufacturers, including EVT/DVT/PVT builds, DFM, certification (FCC, UL, CE), and factory visits.
Experience with smart home platforms and protocols (Matter, Thread, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth) and their certifying partners.
Experience in two-step distribution or professional trade channels (irrigation, landscape, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, building products) alongside retail and D2C.
Experience with outdoor products, lighting, water management, or sustainability categories.
Experience with partner, OEM, or white-label hardware programs.
Hands-on experience maintaining a residential yard and irrigation system (or willing and able to).
Engineering degree, MBA, or advanced degree.

Responsibilities

Own the hardware roadmap and product strategy, informed by customer research, product telemetry, support data, channel input, competitive intelligence, and market trends.
Co-lead the development of consumer-focused new product strategy and vision with leadership, translating it into a sequenced plan for Engineering and Supply Chain.
Own and prioritize the lifecycle roadmap for shipped hardware, including firmware/feature updates, cost reductions, quality fixes, and usability improvements.
Manage trade-offs between customer experience, performance, cost, schedule, and operational support, providing written rationale for decisions.
Own product definition and the product development process (PDP), writing "working backwards" documents for new products and features.
Translate product definitions into detailed business requirements and user stories for hardware, firmware, and app experiences.
Run the hardware PDP as a mechanism with clear stage gates, owners, exit criteria, and learning reviews.
Contribute to engineering decisions on technology and architecture (radios, sensors, power, enclosures).
Delegate CX problem and solution discovery to Design where appropriate and facilitate their process.
Integrate with Supply Chain and Operations from concept forward, focusing on cost targets, supplier selection, tooling, and certification timelines.
Own product inputs to supply and demand planning, including launch quantities, ramp assumptions, and transition/end-of-life plans.
Proactively identify and resolve strategic issues like component shortages, cost overruns, schedule slips, and quality escapes.
Partner with Product Marketing on hardware go-to-market (GTM) launches, defining the product experience and its value proposition.
Own product readiness for launch, including certification, firmware/app readiness, in-box content, support documentation, and go/no-go criteria.
Create commitment to the devices roadmap and product vision internally and with external partners.
Work closely with engineering and project management to deliver products, acting as scrum master or product owner as needed.
Own and close the post-launch feedback loop, identifying areas for improvement in firmware or hardware revisions.