Platform Technical Program Manager, Etched
NPI
$175-250k
+ Equity
More information about location
Office located in San Jose, CA
Designing specialised chips for language model inference
Open for applications
Designing specialised chips for language model inference
21-100 employees
Open for applications
$175-250k
+ Equity
More information about location
Office located in San Jose, CA
21-100 employees
Company mission
To create the world’s most powerful servers for transformer inference.
Role
Who you are
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related technical discipline
- 5+ years of experience in technical program management, hardware NPI, or manufacturing program leadership for PCBAs or complex electronic assemblies
- Hands-on experience working with contract manufacturers for board-level builds, including EVT/DVT/PVT and volume production
- Strong understanding of PCB fabrication, SMT assembly, board-level test, and manufacturing quality systems
- Experience managing cross-functional hardware programs involving EE, PD, SI, test, supply chain, and operations
- Comfort operating in fast-paced, ambiguous environments with high technical and executional complexity
- Strong communication and organizational skills, with the ability to align internal teams and external manufacturing partners
What the job involves
- Etched is seeking a Technical Program Manager to lead board-level New Product Introduction (NPI), contract manufacturer (CM) execution, and manufacturing coordination for our ASIC-based accelerator hardware
- This role is responsible for driving PCBAs and board assemblies from late design through EVT/DVT/PVT, ramp, and volume production, in close partnership with internal hardware engineering teams and external CMs
- You will own execution across board-level programs, including accelerator boards, power delivery boards, and associated subassemblies, ensuring designs are manufacturable, testable, and scalable
- This role sits at the intersection of engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain, with a strong focus on CM alignment, build readiness, and disciplined NPI execution
- Lead board-level NPI programs from design freeze through EVT, DVT, PVT, and volume ramp, with clear ownership of schedules, risks, and deliverables
- Serve as the primary interface to contract manufacturers for PCBA and board assembly, driving build planning, execution, and issue resolution
- Drive manufacturing readiness reviews with engineering and CMs, including DFM/DFA, test strategy, and factory bring-up
- Coordinate CM activities across PCB fabrication, SMT assembly, test, and final board integration
- Manage BOM readiness, AVL qualification, and component sourcing in partnership with supply chain and CMs
- Own change management during NPI, including ECO tracking, revision control, and communication of changes to manufacturing partners
- Plan and execute prototype, pilot, and production builds, tracking yield, defects, and corrective actions through ramp
- Identify manufacturing risks related to design, process, or supply chain; develop mitigation plans and drive closure
- Establish and track KPIs for board-level manufacturing, including yield, first-pass success, cycle time, and quality escapes
- Coordinate closely with system, thermal, and mechanical teams to ensure board-level requirements are aligned with system integration and deployment
- Provide clear, regular program updates to engineering leadership and executives, highlighting risks, tradeoffs, and decisions
- Continuously improve board-level NPI and CM engagement processes to support faster iteration and scalable production
Our take
With AI developing rapidly, the chips that power them are doing so too. The computing requirements of technologies such as Chat GPT will increasingly require customised, hard-wired chips called ASICS, designed specially for the execution of AI models. Whilst GPUs are currently used for AI computing, Etched is making a bet on AI-hardwired chips becoming the predominant powering force of AI.
It’s a gamble, the founders themselves know that if transformers become obsolete, so will their AI-powering product. The SOHU chip that Etched builds differs from GPUs in that it has the AI architecture etched into the chip itself. General Processing Units are “general” and costly, so Etched is betting on specialised transformers taking their place in the near future.
Investors are drawn to Etched’s boldness. The 2022-founded company achieved $120 million in Series A funding just two years into its life, and received a further $500 million at the start of 2026. Etched plans to use this to amp up its competition with GPU company Nvidia, and claims to be 20 times faster than the latter’s AI-powered general processor - and significantly less costly too. Time will tell if Etched’s exciting and potentially revolutionary bet on tailored AI chips and transformers pays off.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Company
Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)
Jan 2026
$500m
LATE VC
Jun 2024
$120m
SERIES A
Total funding: $625.4m
Company benefits
- Competitive Salary and Equity - We offer a competitive salary and equity package that aligns with industry standards
- Benefits - Your wellbeing is important to us. We offer unlimited PTO, life insurance, and a 401(k)
- Full Insurance Coverage - Our insurance includes full medical, dental, and vision with 100% of premium covered
Company HQ
Horace Mann and SJSU, San Jose, CA
Leadership
Robert Wachen
(Co-Founder & President)Also the Co-Founder of Prod and Mentor Labs, Birthday Cakes 4 Free Maryland and Generate Sales Online.
Gavin Uberti
(Co-Founder & CEO)Previously Software Engineer at OctoML, Algorithms and BAckend Engineer at Coursedog and was a Software Engineer Intern at Xnor.ai.
Chris Zhu
(Co-Founder)Was a Teaching Fellow at Harvard and a Software Engineering Intern at Amazon and AvantStay. Was an Analyst at Harvard Undergraduate Capital Partners.
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