Technical Program Manager

Samara•Redwood City, CA

13d

About The Position

The Technical Program Manager owns integrated programs from feasibility through production release, overseeing schedules, budgets, risks, phase-gate reviews, and cross-functional coordination. The role provides leadership with a clear view of program health and establishes the operating structure, documentation, and meeting cadence needed to keep teams aligned. The position partners with technical, design, engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, factory, and site teams to coordinate design and readiness reviews, manage material and vendor readiness, and support first article builds and site deployment. It also improves product development processes through post-mortems and reviews, and helps shape Samara’s program management standards, tools, and reporting as the function grows.

Requirements

3 to 8 years of program management experience on complex physical products.
A BS/MS in mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, architecture, construction management, or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.
Demonstrated ownership of schedule, budget, and risk through a phase-gate development process, from early design through production or construction.
Experience carrying builds from first prototype or first article through production, including clear-to-build reviews, change control, and issue tracking to closure.
Technical fluency across structural, MEP, and envelope systems sufficient to read drawings, follow engineering tradeoffs, and ask relevant questions without owning the technical solution.
Experience with scheduling and program tools such as Microsoft Project or Asana, and document control in Autodesk Construction Cloud or comparable platforms.
Clear, direct communication with leadership, technical teams, factory staff, and external partners, and confidence raising risks early.
A data-driven approach to reporting and a habit of improving processes.
Comfort working on the factory floor and at a job site, as well as presenting to leadership.
Ambition to help build Samara’s program management function and grow into a leadership role within it.

Nice To Haves

Experience in prefabricated or modular construction, architecture, automotive, manufacturing, or a comparable environment.

Responsibilities

Own and maintain the integrated program schedule from feasibility through production release, including gate dates, dependencies, procurement windows, and the critical path.
Lead phase-gate reviews by assembling gate packages, checking deliverables against acceptance criteria, recording decisions, and holding gates when required deliverables are incomplete.
Track program budget and costs against plan, and report variances and their causes to leadership.
Maintain the program risk register, issue log, decision log, and change records, driving each item to an owner, due date, and closure.
Provide leadership with program-health dashboards and weekly reviews, including an early and honest view of schedule, cost, and risk.
Establish the program’s operating structure, including its document repository, RACI, and meeting cadence.
Coordinate design, DFM, and readiness reviews across design, engineering, manufacturing engineering, factory operations, supply chain, quality, and site teams; capture and close decisions and actions.
Partner with the technical lead to sequence engineering design work, identify schedule- or cost-related tradeoffs, and bring decisions to leadership at the appropriate time.
Work with supply chain on material readiness, vendor submittals, and long-lead items, reflecting their status in the schedule and risk plan.
Lead construction administration for the first article build and site deployment, including manufacturing drawing review and release, RFI and redline tracking, and resolution of factory and field issues.
Run post-mortems and first article reviews, turning findings into approved changes, updated documentation, and lasting lessons.
Help develop Samara’s program management standards, tools, and reporting.