Manufacturing Design Program Manager - San Jose, United States

Originally posted 23 July 2026 by the employer.

About the role

Etched is seeking a Manufacturing Design Program Manager to drive technical manufacturing readiness across new product introduction and mass production for transformer-specific AI systems. The role manages execution from early design-for-manufacturing (DFM) reviews through production ramp across SMT, FATP, supply chain, and operations.

What you'll do

- Drive technical manufacturing readiness across NPI and mass production with hardware design, test engineering, SMT engineering, FATP process engineering, supply chain, and operations teams. - Lead DFM reviews across L6, L10, and L11 assemblies to evaluate manufacturability risks, integration challenges, and process constraints. - Coordinate cross-functional execution across prototype, EVT, DVT, PVT, and production builds, tracking build readiness, factory execution, process capability, yield, and schedules. - Partner with contract manufacturers and supply chain teams on production plans, line bring-up schedules, tooling readiness, and factory ramp strategies. - Drive issue resolution during engineering and production builds through structured root cause analysis and monitor KPIs including yield, cycle time, quality, and factory readiness. - Travel to domestic and international manufacturing partners to support production readiness and critical builds.

What you'll need

- 7+ years of experience in hardware engineering, with experience transitioning into Technical Program Management, Design Program Management, or Manufacturing Program Management. - Experience managing manufacturing readiness for complex electromechanical systems or high-performance compute hardware. - Strong understanding of manufacturing development phases including EVT, DVT, PVT, and production ramp. - Experience leading DFM reviews and working directly with contract manufacturers, FATP partners, or ODM/OEM manufacturing operations. - Background in mechanical, electrical, systems, or manufacturing engineering leading cross-functional hardware programs through NPI and production. - Willingness to work in-person in San Jose and travel internationally to manufacturing partners as needed.

Nice to have

- Experience building AI servers, accelerator systems, networking hardware, storage systems, or other high-performance compute platforms. - Familiarity with SMT manufacturing, factory operations, automated test systems, or final system integration. - Experience with manufacturing yield analytics, SPC methodologies, process capability metrics, or manufacturing data systems. - Experience with liquid-cooled systems, advanced packaging, or high-density compute platforms. - Experience partnering closely with ASIC, systems, thermal, reliability, or validation engineering teams.

Skills: NPI, DFM reviews, factory ramp, manufacturing readiness