Hardware Technical Program Manager (TPM)

Tacit•San Francisco, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Tacit is an early-stage, deep tech startup in San Francisco developing innovative hardware for human-computer interaction. Backed by prominent venture capital firms and with a founding team from top institutions and companies, Tacit is tackling cutting-edge engineering challenges. The company's core sensing technology has been validated, and they are now transitioning from research prototypes to a consumer-ready product. The Hardware Technical Program Manager (TPM) will be central to hardware execution across electrical, mechanical, RF, firmware, manufacturing, and operations. This role involves owning the integrated program plan from start to finish, ensuring teams are aligned on milestones and tradeoffs, and guaranteeing the delivery of reliable, testable, and manufacturable hardware.

Requirements

5+ years of experience leading cross-functional hardware programs, ideally for consumer electronics.
Demonstrated experience owning and reporting a master schedule for hardware builds, prototyping, validation, and manufacturing readiness.
Strong systems intuition across multiple domains (EE, ME, firmware, DFM/DFA, manufacturing/test, validation and reliability), with the ability to represent disciplines outside of your own.
Experience working with external partners (CM/ODM/suppliers), including coordinating design, build, and test activities across time zones.
Excellent written and verbal communication. You are known for clarity, concision, and follow-through.
High ownership and comfort operating in ambiguity. You can create structure without becoming bureaucratic.

Nice To Haves

Experience building or scaling a phase-gate hardware development process.
Experience with wearables, audio products, RF-constrained systems, or power-constrained products.
Experience standing up manufacturing test and reliability processes in partnership with test/NPI teams.
Familiarity with tools like Jira/Linear/Asana, Confluence/Notion, and schedule management tooling.

Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end hardware program plan from concept through prototype builds, EVT/DVT/PVT, production ramp, and launch.
Build and maintain the integrated master schedule across hardware, firmware, manufacturing test, supply chain, and ops.
Drive crisp execution rhythms: weekly cross-functional syncs, milestone reviews, and decision logs.
Manage cross-team dependencies, identify critical paths, and ensure work is appropriately sequenced to de-risk the program.
Run program management fundamentals: Risk register, issue tracking, mitigations, and escalation paths; Build readiness reviews and phase-gate checklists; Change control for requirements, scope, and schedule.
Partner with engineering leads to translate product intent into clear requirements, interfaces, and acceptance criteria.
Coordinate contract manufacturers, ODMs, and key suppliers through design, build, test, and yield improvement.
Communicate status to leadership with clarity: progress, tradeoffs, risks, and resourcing needs.
Raise the bar on documentation quality so knowledge is shared and decisions are durable.