Mill Verified

Sustainable Technology, Consumer Electronics, Waste Management, Cleantech

Technical Program Manager, Hardware Operations

San Bruno, CAOnsiteFull Time$185,000–$210,000 /yrPosted 2 months ago

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Required skills

Sustaining Program Management
Consumer Hardware
Hardware
Consumer Electronics
Appliances
Post-Launch Programs
Contract Manufacturers
EMS Partners
Mass Production
End of Life

Nice to have

Mechanical Engineering
Manufacturing Processes
Metal Stamping
Injection Molding
Tooling Qualification
Spanish Fluency

Role summary

We are seeking an experienced Sustaining Program Manager to oversee the daily operations of Mill's Consumer hardware line as it transitions into steady-state production. This role involves end-to-end management of sustaining engineering and supply chain activities, including driving engineering changes, cost reduction, alternate supply qualification, and daily execution with contract manufacturers. You will ensure alignment across engineering, quality, supply chain, retail, legal, and finance partners, manage the Sustaining Core review, maintain project priorities, and serve as the primary contact for program status, cost, and risk for live Consumer products. Key responsibilities include managing ECOs, overseeing contract manufacturer performance, financial accuracy for COGS, end-of-life planning, and leading cost-down initiatives.

Mill is a waste prevention technology company reimagining what it means to eliminate waste, starting with food. We build smart systems and infrastructure for homes, businesses, and municipalities that transform food scraps from landfill-bound waste into valuable resources, including chicken feed. Tens of thousands of Mill’s residential food recyclers are already helping households divert millions of pounds of food scraps every year, paving the way for our upcoming launch of Mill Commercial—the industry’s first end-to-end solution for managing, understanding, and preventing food waste in commercial environments (e.g. grocery, restaurants, food services). At Mill, we are passionate about building easy-to-use, beautifully designed technologies that keep food in the food system and out of landfills.

The Role

We are seeking an experienced Technical Program Manager, Hardware Operations to own the day-to-day program management of Mill's Consumer hardware line as it scales from launch into steady-state production. You will take ownership of our sustaining engineering and supply chain activities end to end, driving engineering changes, cost-down and alternate-supply qualification, and daily execution with our contract manufacturers, while keeping engineering, quality, supply chain, retail, legal, and finance partners aligned. You will run our recurring Sustaining Core review, maintain our prioritized sustaining project list, and be the go-to person for program status, cost, and risk across our live Consumer products.

Key Responsibilities

Sustaining Program Ownership: Own end-to-end program management for our live Consumer products, running the recurring Sustaining Core review and maintaining a tiered priority list spanning launch-risk, supply-stability, and cost-down workstreams.

Engineering Change Management: Drive ECOs from proposal through approval, requalification, and production cutover, coordinating timing with contract manufacturers to avoid disruption to in-flight builds and inventory.

Contract Manufacturer & Supply Chain Oversight: Hold overall program accountability for CM and supplier execution, partnering closely with the Head of Manufacturing and Head of Supply Chain, who own the direct supplier relationship and day-to-day execution.

Finance Partnership: Serve as the point of contact for Finance on the accuracy of COGS projections and actuals, proactively flagging and reconciling variances so cost models and financial forecasts stay current.

End-of-Life & Inventory Risk Management: Lead end-of-life planning and decisions for sustaining SKUs, including dead-stock and excess-and-obsolete (E&O) inventory risk analysis, to inform product transition timing and minimize financial exposure.

Cost-Down Leadership: Lead cost-down and alternate-supply qualification initiatives (materials, suppliers, tooling) cross-functionally with Engineering, Product, Marketing, and other partners, sequencing work against business priority and driving from idea to implementation.

Cross-Functional Alignment & Risk Management: Serve as the central point of contact and overall owner across engineering, quality, manufacturing, supply chain, and finance, proactively surfacing risks and ensuring the right operational leads are driving them to resolution.

Executive Reporting: Deliver clear, regular updates on program health, budget, and risk to leadership via our Consumer program reviews.

Required Qualifications

5+ years of program or operations program management experience in hardware, consumer electronics, or appliances, including direct ownership of sustaining/post-launch programs.

Proven experience managing contract manufacturers/EMS partners from mass production through end of life, including PO, pricing, and cost-variance management.

Experience leading engineering change orders (ECOs) and coordinating their cross-functional approval and rollout.

Strong cost and financial acumen, comfortable owning COGS tracking, budget variance, and cost-down initiatives.

Excellent cross-functional communication skills, with experience running recurring program reviews and reporting program status to leadership.

Ability to prioritize and sequence a broad portfolio of concurrent sustaining projects under resource constraints.

Ability to travel domestically and internationally (including Mexico/Asia) to support build events as needed.

Preferred Qualifications

Technical background in mechanical engineering, with familiarity with manufacturing processes such as metal stamping, injection molding, or tooling qualification.

Spanish fluency and experience working with Mexico-based suppliers. Or Chinese fluency and experience with Asian suppliers.

Experience with kitchen, thermal, or other consumer appliances.

Education & Experience

BS degree desired (Engineering, Operations, or related field); MS or MBA a plus.

Why Join Us?

This is an opportunity to own a critical, highly visible function at a fast-growing hardware company — keeping our Consumer products running smoothly for the customers who already rely on them, while helping build the sustaining processes that will scale as our portfolio grows. If you thrive on solving cost, supply, and cross-functional puzzles in a fast-paced environment, we encourage you to apply.

The estimated base salary range for this position is $185k to $210k, which does not include the value of benefits or a potential equity grant. A wide range of factors are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to skill sets, market conditions, experience and training, licensure and certifications, and business and organizational needs. At Mill, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role.

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