Senior Program Manager

Merlyn Mind is a "Remote First" VC-backed AI EdTech startup that brings the latest advances in AI to Education to help improve the lives of teachers and ultimately the learning outcomes of their students. Our leadership team includes talents from IBM, Amazon, Facebook, Roku, Broadcom, HP, Allen Institute for AI, and more. We have come together to build on a unified product experience for an extremely urgent mission – building a digital assistant for teachers, to untether teachers from the desk and help them with managing classroom technologies.
We are looking for an experienced Sr. Program Manager to join our team in Irvine, CA. In this role, you will work closely with product, design, sales, ODM and 3rd party partners to deliver world-class applications and product for the EdTech space. You will be managing projects, providing planning, reporting, documentation, to deliver projects and products to meet the business requirements, specifically quality, time, cost and performance. The successful candidate will have expertise in cross-functional program management, business/operations process development and deployment, and ideally has had experience managing Asia-based ODMs and 3rd party partners.

What you will do

• Develop, maintain, and distribute program/project management deliverables for the successful launch of our new products and services, including implementation plans, project schedules, budgets, variances, issues, action items, risk assessments, and contingency plans
• Coordinate with internal teams, ODM/EMS, and suppliers for product development, engineering builds, testing, production, and logistic activities. Drive project progress proactively
• Develop new ODM relationships in various regions, including Taiwan, Mexico. Managing suppliers andoverseeprogram delivery
• Review external testreports from suppliers. Audit and analyze manufacturing test data during pilot builds and mass production. Conduct factory audit, remotely or on-site
• Prepare and maintain engineering documents, test data, change requests, Jira tickets, Confluence pages. Track, fix and verify solutions to close issues
• Resolve and escalate conflicts and issues in an appropriate manner to maintain project schedule
• Host regular project status and review meetings
• Be team-oriented and have a continuous improvement mindset. Seek continue improvement on our product design, reliability, cost, and process efficiency
• Be flexible with working hours to meet the needs of cross-functional teams at multiple sites in different time zones
• Provide administrative support and perform other duties as assigned
• Be a self-starter with proven ability to work effectively in virtual teams. Be able to work with minimal supervision

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or other related technical fields
• Over 8 years of experience in project management, product management, and/or operationsin consumer electronics products
• Proven ability to effectively manage and execute complex programs and initiatives
• Proven ability to collaborate with diverse stakeholders across engineering, operations, marketing, sales, quality, and external service partners
• Ability to effectively manage multiple projects simultaneously while moving at the speed of business and proactively communicating across organizations
• Experience in full product life cycle management, schedule control, production, qualification, NPI and after launch
• Proficient with MS Office suite, Project, Timeline, Agile,Scrum, JIRA and related management tools
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, and analytical skills 
• Willing to travel on project assignments, as needed (<10%) 
• Versatility, flexibility, and a willingness to work within constantly changing priorities

Merlyn Mind is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, and training. We make hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.
Benefits:Every last Friday of the month Paid Time off for everyone.401(k) matchingDental insuranceFlexible scheduleFlexible spending accountHealth insuranceHealth savings accountLife insuranceUnlimited Paid time offParental leaveVision insurance