Technical Program Manager Jobs in Santa Cruz, CA

About Etched

Etched is building hardware for frontier intelligence. We co-design chips, racks, software, and manufacturing to deliver best-in-class throughput and latency across both prefill and decode workloads. Our first products are heavily focused on inference. Backed by hundreds of millions from top-tier investors and staffed by leading engineers, Etched is redefining the infrastructure layer for the fastest growing industry in history.

Job Summary

As our Technical Program Manager, Infrastructure you will own end-to-end program delivery across the org — driving alignment between internal teams, managing external vendor relationships, and ensuring that every dependency, risk, and milestone is visible to the people who need to act on it. You'll establish the KPIs and operational cadences that keep programs on track, and continuously refine our processes to make the entire Infrastructure organization faster and more effective.

You'll be the connective tissue between engineering and leadership — translating technical complexity into clear status, surfacing risks before they become blockers, and facilitating resolution of the cross-disciplinary issues that emerge at the intersection of ASIC design, hardware platforms, and software integration. When priorities shift, you don't just adapt — you help the organization navigate the shift without losing momentum.

This role demands deep technical fluency alongside exceptional organizational and communication skills. You're not just tracking tasks — you're building the program management foundation that lets world-class engineers move at the pace Etched needs to win.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive collaboration across our Infrastructure org, including DevOps/DevX, Core Engineering, Security and IT.

• Partner with external vendors to ensure any external services are being delivered on time and meet quality standards.

• Identify risks proactively and develop mitigation strategies to minimize impact on project timelines and quality.

• Optimize engineering and operational efficiency by continuously refining program management processes.

• Foster a culture of accountability and transparency by regularly communicating with executive and engineering leaders on project status, risks, and opportunities.

• Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor progress, success, and strategic alignment.

• Leverage technical understanding of hardware, ASIC, and software integration to facilitate cross-disciplinary communication and resolution of technical issues.

• Operate effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with shifting priorities and emerging challenges.

You may be a good fit if you have:

• 8-10+ years of experience in technical program management, ideally in hardware, semiconductor, or AI technology environments.

• A PMP certification with a demonstrated track record of delivering complex, cross-functional projects.

• Strong technical knowledge in ASIC design, hardware platforms, and software integration.

• Excellent organizational, communication, and leadership skills that influence without authority.

• A proactive approach to identifying risks and opportunities for process improvement.

• Experience using program management tools and methodologies such as Google Workspace and JIRA.

Strong candidates may also have experience with:

• A bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline (advanced degree preferred).

• Managing and nurturing external vendor and supplier relationships.

• Implementing best practices in program delivery to drive operational performance improvements.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision packages with generous premium coverage

  • $500 per month credit for waiving medical benefits

• Housing subsidy of $2k per month for those living within walking distance of the office

• Relocation support for those moving to San Jose (Santana Row)

• Various wellness benefits covering fitness, mental health, and more

• Daily lunch and dinner in our office

• Unlimited compute budget subject to ROI justification

How we’re different

Etched believes in the Bitter Lesson. We are the first inference-focused frontier AI system. Our addressable market is the entirety of inference, unlike many of our competitors.

We are a fully in-person team in San Jose (Santana Row) and Taipei, and greatly value engineering skills. We do not have boundaries between engineering and research, and we expect all of our technical staff to contribute to both and work across disciplines as needed.