Principal Technical Program Manager, Hardware
Company websitehayden.ai (Hayden AI, opens in new tab)
Base salary $213,743 to $277,866
Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in San Francisco, CA
You apply on the employer's own site. Six Figure Work does not handle applications.
- LocationSan Francisco, CA
- WorkplaceRemote
- Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
- Last checked (2 h ago) · observed since
About this job
About Us
At Hayden AI, we are on a mission to harness the power of computer vision to transform the way transit systems and other government agencies address real-world challenges.
From bus lane and bus stop enforcement to transportation optimization technologies and beyond, our innovative mobile perception system empowers our clients to accelerate transit, enhance street safety, and drive toward a sustainable future.
What the job involves
The Principal Technical Program Manager will lead the development and execution of a portfolio of hardware programs. This role will collaborate with leaders across Hayden in highly ambiguous conditions to drive strategy into roadmaps and plans that deliver critical work on time and at high quality. They will set the standard for program excellence across the entire product lifecycle and drive systemic improvements across the company.
Responsibilities:
Strategic Execution: Drive end-to-end delivery of enterprise engineering programs, bridging executive business goals and technical execution.
Edge AI & On-Vehicle Systems: Partner with Perception and Platform engineering to ensure hardware programs account for the full edge inference stack - thermal envelope, compute constraints, sensor integration, and field serviceability - so that AI system requirements drive hardware decisions from day one.
Advanced R&D & Technology Incubation: Partner with engineering leadership to drive early-stage R&D efforts, including proof-of-concepts (PoCs) and the rigorous evaluation of next-generation components, shaping the N+1 and N+2 product roadmaps.
Phase Gate & Milestone Governance: Define, implement, and rigorously enforce phase gate reviews and program milestones across the hardware lifecycle. Ensure cross-functional readiness, quality standards, and executive alignment before advancing products to subsequent development phases.
NPI Lifecycle & Manufacturing: Drive the end-to-end New Product Introduction (NPI) process (EVT, DVT, PVT) and oversee vendor delivery to ensure a seamless transition from prototype to Mass Production (MP).
Requirements & Scope Definition: Partner with Engineering and Growth to shape what gets built at the hardware level — translating field feedback, customer deployment constraints, and regulatory requirements into clear hardware requirements before design begins, and holding the line on scope when program objectives drift.
Required Qualifications:
B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in an engineering discipline
12+ years in Hardware TPM or Engineering Program Management
Led 5+ multi-disciplinary hardware products from 0-to-1 through production
Deep knowledge of NPI lifecycle (EVT, DVT, PVT, MP), phase gate governance, and CM/supplier management
Experience with hardware reliability, regulatory compliance (FCC, CE), and supply chain risk
Strong technical foundation in embedded systems, hardware/software integration, or computer vision systems
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with on-vehicle, edge-deployed, or ruggedized hardware
Background in autonomous systems, robotics, or AI/ML hardware programs
Experience delivering technology to government or municipal clients
Familiarity with DFX methodologies (DFA, DFI, DFS)
Source: Hayden AI on Ashby · View original posting (opens in new tab)
Pay in context
This role's base floor ($213,743) is above 80% of the 3,617 Data & ML roles nationwide listed on this site; 1 other lists the same floor. Their median floor is $170,000; the middle half runs from $138,400 to $200,000.
Only jobs on this site count, and each one publishes a base salary of $100,000 or more, so this compares six-figure jobs with each other, not with the whole market. Computed Nov 6, 2026.
This listingPrincipal Technical Program Manager, Hardware$213,743 to $277,866
Principal Technical Program Manager$213,743 to $277,866
Chief of Staff$212K to $276K
Engineering Manager, Cloud Infrastructure$223K to $290K
Manager, Electrical Engineering$201,025 to $236,500
Senior State Estimation Engineer$200,454 to $260,590
Staff Deep Learning Engineer$230,522 to $299,679
Chart as a table
| Role | Published base |
|---|---|
| Principal Technical Program Manager, Hardware (this listing) | $213,743 - $277,866 |
| Principal Technical Program Manager | $213,743 - $277,866 |
| Chief of Staff | $212K - $276K |
| Engineering Manager, Cloud Infrastructure | $223K - $290K |
| Manager, Electrical Engineering | $201,025 - $236,500 |
| Senior State Estimation Engineer | $200,454 - $260,590 |
| Staff Deep Learning Engineer | $230,522 - $299,679 |
Observed changes
- First observed on the employer's board
- Began meeting the published-salary criteria
- Observed since
- Employer-stated posting date
- 2026-09-30
Where this pay comes from
Location as the employer wrote it: San Francisco HQ Office (remote)
USD 213,743 – 277,866 · 1 YEAR · Salary
- Method
- Structured pay field published by the employer
- Checked
- Rule set
- us-base-v2
The employer's job board publishes this pay as a dedicated data field. We read the field directly; no interpretation was needed.
What we verified
- The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
- The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
- The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.
We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.