Senior TPM, Software

Neurophos • Austin, TX

2d • Onsite

About The Position

Neurophos is developing a novel approach to AI compute using silicon photonics and active, programmable metasurfaces to perform matrix multiplications at the speed of light. This architecture aims to deliver significantly higher energy efficiency and performance for large-scale AI inference compared to traditional solutions. The company has secured $110M in Series A funding and is backed by prominent investors. This role is for a Technical Program Manager to lead execution within the software organization, where software development precedes and de-risks hardware milestones. The TPM will manage agile ceremonies, produce forecasts, identify and mitigate risks, and ensure software delivery stays ahead of hardware availability.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering or scientific discipline. Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Electrical Engineering preferred.
• 8–10 years of professional experience in technical program management.
• Demonstrated experience deploying SCRUM in a hybrid scrum-fall environment, where agile software delivery must align to waterfall hardware or program milestones
• Proven track record running agile ceremonies and generating forward-looking forecasts of completion and risk
• Hands-on proficiency with modern engineering planning and tracking tools (Jira, Linear, or equivalent), including configuring workflows and building reporting that engineers trust and actually use
• Ability to engage credibly with engineers on technical detail, and to translate that detail into program-level decisions
• Proven ability to absorb complex architectures and designs quickly.
• Able to establish domain-specific understanding in a design review across unfamiliar technical areas.

Nice To Haves

• Program management experience at a hardware accelerator, photonics, or systems company where software ships alongside physical product (strongly preferred).
• Experience managing programs through tape-out, bring-up, or comparable hard-date engineering milestones (strongly preferred).
• Experience leveraging AI to manage very large and complex programs, including planning, dependency analysis, forecasting, and risk surfacing at a scale that defeats manual tracking (strongly preferred).
• Master's degree in an engineering or scientific discipline, or an MBA (preferred).
• Formal certification or training in Scrum, SAFe, or an equivalent framework (preferred).
• Familiarity with compiler, runtime, firmware, or cloud infrastructure development programs (preferred).
• Familiarity with LLM architectures and their computational requirements (preferred).

Responsibilities

• Operate SCRUM inside a hybrid scrum-fall program structure, keeping software delivery ahead of hardware availability rather than gated by it.
• Build and maintain forward-looking completion forecasts with explicit confidence levels and stated assumptions, rather than status snapshots of work already done.
• Run agile ceremonies for software teams and keep them useful rather than ritualistic.
• Track and report how far ahead software is running relative to hardware, and treat any erosion of that lead as a first-order program risk.
• Identify, quantify, and escalate schedule and technical risk early, and drive it to resolution with named owners and dates.
• Maintain program-level planning artifacts and reporting that engineers trust and leadership can act on.
• Manage cross-team dependencies across software, hardware, and cloud, and make the critical path visible to everyone on it.
• Work directly with chief engineers and executive management to ensure commitments are grounded in what teams can actually deliver.
• Drive scope and sequencing decisions when hardware milestones shift, and clearly communicate the downstream impact.
• Advocate for shifting the hybrid further toward agile wherever software's lead makes it possible, and build the evidence that makes the case.

Benefits

• 100% coverage of base health plan premiums for you and your dependents, plus HSA contributions.
• Unlimited PTO.
• 401(k) matching and stock option opportunities.
• Full suite of voluntary benefits, including Dental, Vision, Life, Hospital, Critical Illness, and Accident insurance.
• Personalized Benefits: Choose the plans that fit your life and take the cash back for those that don’t.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior