Hourly Technical Program Manager Jobs in Irvine, CA

Technical Program Manager - Power Electronics

General Purpose of Job:

We are seeking an experienced Technical Program Manager (TPM) to lead the planning, execution, and delivery of complex programs in e-motor inverter and electrical power conversion systems. This role requires a strong technical foundation combined with exceptional program management skills. You will own programs from concept through production, ensuring alignment across engineering, operations, and customer stakeholders. The job will require travel, meeting with customers, and understanding their businesses, applications, and products. With a particular work ethic and dynamism, there are huge opportunities for growth within the company.

Calnetix is an engineering and manufacturing company located in Southern California, committed to making a positive contribution to society and the environment by changing the way the world harvests and utilizes energy. We are focused on developing, manufacturing, and delivering advanced energy solutions for commercial applications throughout the world and for mission-critical applications for the United States Government and its Prime Contractors. Calnetix thrives on innovation and meeting new challenges. In partnership with OEMs, we utilize innovative, proprietary high-speed electric motor-generator technologies to develop next-generation, power-dense and energy-efficient products that reduce energy consumption, harmful emissions and enhance energy security.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Program Leadership: Manage a portfolio of R&D and production programs for e-motor inverters and power converters, from Business Development through New Product Introduction (NPI).
• Lifecycle Ownership: Drive all phases of program execution—proposal, requirements, design, development, integration, validation, and delivery.
• Engineering Delivery: Design and manage the Electrical, Mechanical, Controls, Software, and Validation engineering workstreams needed to complete the product program.
• Risk & Issue Management: Identify program risks, dependencies, and bottlenecks; develop mitigation plans, FMEA and communicate status to stakeholders.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Collaborate with engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing teams to ensure timely execution and risk mitigation.
• Customer Engagement: Serve as the primary point of contact for customers, managing proposals, requirements, design reviews (PDR/CDR), reporting, and contractual deliverables.
• Financial Management: Develop and manage program budgets, track costs for labor and materials, and provide regular financial reporting to leadership.
• Process & Tools: Advocate for best practices in Waterfall, Agile, and hybrid development methodologies; utilize planning tools such as MS Project, GitLab, MS Teams, and Excel for planning and tracking.

Education, Skills, and Experience:

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• Master’s degree, MBA or PMP preferred.
• 3+ years in technical program management within aerospace, automotive, industrial, or defense sectors.
• 3+ years of design and validation experience in power electronics systems for e-motor control or power conversion applications.
• Proven ability managing multiple full lifecycle programs in: EV propulsion, aerospace/industrial power systems or high-reliability electronics.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities that enable you to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with competing priorities.
• Excellent written and oral communication; engaging technical presenter that runs effective internal/external meetings.
• Must have the bias and dynamism to execute and take ownership of internal progress and stakeholder management.

Preferred Technical Background

• Hands-on engineering experience with power electronics products, including inverters, motor drives, or other power-conversion systems.
• Demonstrated technical expertise in one or more of the following areas:
• Power electronics hardware and PCB design
• Embedded software, DSP, FPGA, or motor controls
• Mechanical packaging and thermal management
• System integration, verification, and validation
• Ability to work effectively across electrical, mechanical, controls, software, manufacturing, and test disciplines.
• Familiarity with industry-standard engineering tools, including MATLAB/Simulink, PLECS, Altium Designer, SolidWorks, and product data management systems.
• Familiarity with aerospace or military qualification standards, including MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-704, MIL-STD-461, and ASME Y14.5.

Intangibles Sought:

• Bias towards “Technical” (performance, quality), rather than “Program Manager” (schedule, budget)
• A driving personality; likes to “get their hands dirty.”
• Team player with a desire to learn and exhibits leadership with the ability to motivate.
• Strong understanding of Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery and multi-discipline system integration processes.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• No direct supervisory responsibilities
• Individual must be capable of leading 2-3 simultaneous project teams.

Work Environment / Physical Demands:

• Depending on the phase of the project, the incumbent’s time will be split between office/desk, shop floor and off-site activities. Up to 20% travel may be required, domestic and international.
• On-site only; this is not a remote/hybrid position