Staff Engineering Program Manager

Location: Fremont, California, USA; hybrid. International travel is required at approximately 20% annually, roughly once per year.

Annual salary: $190,000–$205,000, eligible in California.

Company

Nextpower develops intelligent clean-energy technologies and integrated structural, electrical, and digital solutions for utility-scale solar power plants.

What you will do

• Own integrated program plans covering scope, milestones, dependencies, budget, risks, resources, priorities, and recovery plans.
• Lead cross-functional execution from product definition through design, prototype builds, validation, manufacturing release, and production ramp.
• Coordinate engineering, systems integration, product management, supply chain, manufacturing, quality, compliance, commercial teams, suppliers, and manufacturing partners.
• Drive product readiness, including bill of materials maturity, drawings and documentation, factory testing, and production capacity.
• Frame technical decisions, resolve dependencies, communicate program health and tradeoffs, and present to senior leadership.
• Establish program practices and mentor others in planning, risk management, and cross-site execution.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, a related technical field, or equivalent experience; a master’s degree is preferred.
• 10–15+ years of relevant experience, including leadership of complex technical hardware programs through development, validation, and manufacturing scale-up.
• Experience with international, cross-functional teams and external partners.
• Ability to influence stakeholders and drive decisions in fast-paced, matrixed environments.
• Experience with program management and reporting tools such as Jira, Confluence, Power BI, or equivalent.

Nice to have

• Experience with solar, energy storage, microgrids, or utility-scale equipment.
• Knowledge of grid-connected systems, protection, power quality, and site integration.
• Experience managing high-voltage, high-power, or heavily certified programs.
• Experience with design for manufacturing, supplier qualification, bills of materials, change control, and factory testing.
• Experience with product verification, reliability testing, and safety or certification processes.

Culture & Benefits

• Hybrid work arrangement with globally distributed teams and international collaboration.
• Health care, dental, and vision coverage.
• 401(k) participation with company matching, company-paid holidays, and unlimited paid time off.
• Life and disability protection, discretionary bonuses, and potential stock compensation for eligible positions.
• Equal opportunity workplace committed to diversity and inclusion.