Senior Technical Program Manager - Compute Payloads

About the Company

We are a renewable energy and ocean technology company committed to rapidly developing and deploying technologies that will ensure a sustainable future for Earth by unlocking the vast energy potential of its oceans. Our focus is on capturing civilizational levels of ultra-low-cost renewable energy for applications including computing and affordable renewable fuels delivered to shore.

The company is a public benefit corporation headquartered in Portland, Oregon and backed by leading venture capitalists, philanthropic investors, university endowments, and private investment offices. We operate as an idea meritocracy in which the best ideas change the company’s direction on a regular basis. 

About the Job

As a Senior Technical Program Manager (TPM) focused on Compute Payloads, you will be responsible for cross-functional execution across all aspects of our customer-facing and revenue-generating payloads program. This role is essential for the successful development, testing, integration, and demonstration of payload hardware onboard our ocean-deployed Nodes.

You will work closely with the Director of Compute Payload Engineering, our commercial team, engineering leads, external partners, and customers to manage technical schedules, milestones, and risks. You will also coordinate with the Node development and manufacturing programs to ensure alignment and integration of payload activities.  This is a highly cross-functional, technically rigorous role ideal for a candidate who thrives in ambiguity, communicates clearly, and can drive complex projects forward across mechanical, electrical, thermal, and software domains.

Our team of 70 includes team members who have worked at organizations such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Tesla, Apple, Virgin Orbit, Astra, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, New Relic, Bridgewater, Raytheon, Disney Imagineering, and the US Army and Air Force, as well as research universities, startups, and small companies across a range of industries. We strive to be the best engineering team on the planet and we compensate our team members accordingly. 

Responsibilities:

• Manage project milestone schedules for the Compute Payloads program, ensuring clear communication of status, risks, and dependencies to internal stakeholders.
• Act as a liaison between mechanical, electrical, software, systems, and manufacturing teams to drive alignment and efficient execution.
• Lead scheduling and coordination for Compute Payload test, integration, and demonstration operations in the Pacific Northwest.
• Drive the change management system for Compute Payload configurations throughout the design process, from ideation through demonstration and deployment.
• Track dependencies and integration points across mechanical, electrical, software, and thermal systems.
• Manage multiple configurations concurrently for different customer requirements.
• Support development and execution of test beds, shore demonstrators, and sea-worthy demonstrators for deployment in Nodes.
• Collaborate with external suppliers and fabrication partners to ensure timely, high-quality delivery of components.
• Monitor and escalate program risks, while proactively contributing to mitigation strategies.
• Align delivery milestones with customer expectations and internal engineering goals.
• Maintain documentation and tools that support program execution and scaling.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical field.
• 5+ years of experience supporting hardware product development in startup or early-stage environments.
• Proven track record of leading cross-functional teams to meet aggressive program timelines.
• Familiarity with mechanical, electrical, thermal, and software integration.
• Experience coordinating with external suppliers and fabrication partners.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting to senior leadership.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic, and highly collaborative environment.
• Ability to travel as needed for site visits and partner engagements.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience with datacenter hardware and infrastructure, including GPUs, thermal management, power delivery, and high-density compute systems.
• Experience with hardware product development through production, fabrication, or manufacturing stages.
• Experience in customer-facing roles gathering design requirements or other design inputs.
• Familiarity with change management systems, PLM/MES/ERP tools, and configuration control pro