Skip to content
Sesame

Technical Program Manager, Product Design

San FranciscoOnsite · United States
FullTime · Hardware
POSTED 2 OCT
Apply Ask
Role
38 days opentrue age
Posted 2 Oct
Payats field
$175k–250kposted
▲ +36% vs market median $157k
$100k$250k
Market p25–p75
$100k–$210k
SF Bay Area · n=2435 · 365d to 6 Nov
CompanySesame →
17open roles
Opened · 30d
+0
Closed · 30d
−0
30d window
Market
416,792open · Other
Opened · 7d
+21,5295% of open
All other
624,313open
All tracked boards · live 10 Nov · n=416,792

About Sesame

Sesame believes in a future where computers are lifelike - with the ability to see, hear, and collaborate with us in ways that feel natural and human. With this vision, we're designing a new kind of computer, focused on making voice agents part of our daily lives. Our team brings together founders from Oculus and Ubiquity6, alongside proven leaders from Meta, Google, and Apple, with deep expertise spanning hardware and software. Join us in shaping a future where computers truly come alive.

About the Role

Sesame is integrating a complex sensing and computing system into a compact wearable that has to be light, comfortable and attractive, and available in many styles and colors. The Product Design TPM owns the program plan for the mechanical side of that product: enclosures and cosmetic parts, materials and finishes, mechanisms, packaging and accessories. You will carry hundreds of mechanical parts through design release, tooling, validation and factory builds, working with our Product Design, Industrial Design, Manufacturing and Operations teams and with our contract manufacturers and tooling and materials suppliers.

The ideal candidate has a mechanical or product design engineering background, has run part release and tooling for a consumer product through EVT, DVT and PVT, and knows how to keep design change under control when the schedule is tight and the design is still moving. You are comfortable telling a designer or an executive what a change will cost in weeks and dollars, and then building the plan that makes it happen.

We are a small team working on very ambitious projects. In a fast-paced startup, everyone must be comfortable, collaborative, decisive, and able to achieve results with limited supervision.

Responsibilities

Own the Product Design program schedule from concept through EVT, DVT and PVT, including part release, tooling kickoff, first-shots, validation and phase exit criteria.

Run the PD release and change-control process: every part has a release date, an owner and a status in our PLM tool.

Program-manage styles, colors and materials: cosmetic material qualification, color development, SKU rollout planning.

Coordinate design validation and reliability testing for mechanical parts, and own closure of design-review action items.

Manage tooling, materials, cosmetic-part and packaging suppliers: quotes, POs, sample requests, tooling timelines and delivery schedules.

Plan mechanical materials and build matrices for prototype builds, and lead mechanical build readiness across factory sites.

Run failure analysis triage for mechanical and cosmetic issues: every issue has an owner, a due date and a path to closure.

Maintain the Product Design section of the program's master issues list and weekly status, aligned with area leads.

Travel to contract manufacturer and supplier sites for builds, tooling reviews and validation as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

BS in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent practical experience.

5+ years of experience in hardware program management or mechanical/product design engineering of consumer electronics, with at least 2 years managing programs.

Hands-on experience releasing mechanical parts and taking them through tooling and prototype builds (EVT/DVT/PVT or equivalent).

Working knowledge of high-volume manufacturing processes (injection molding, machining, stamping, cosmetic finishing) and tolerance, DFM and validation practices.

Direct experience managing tooling, materials or fabrication suppliers, including quotes, POs, samples and schedules.

Experience running change control and part release in a PLM tool.

Strong written communication; able to run a program with clear plans, decision logs and status updates.

Ability to travel internationally, up to 25%.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with wearables or other products with heavy industrial design and cosmetic constraints.

Experience with premium cosmetic materials and finishes and their supply chains.

Experience managing many SKUs, colors or configurations through a single program.

Source · SesameFirst seen 7 NovOriginal ↗