Product Manager (Hardware)

Role Overview

As a Hardware Product Manager at Pano AI, you will define and execute new hardware products for wildfire prevention and environmental protection. You’ll own requirements and specifications, partner with cross-functional engineering and manufacturing teams, and drive NPI (new product introduction) milestones from early builds through manufacturing ramp.

Key Missions & Responsibilities

• Own hardware requirements & specifications for hardware NPI initiatives, ensuring requirements are precise, complete, and traceable throughout the development lifecycle.
• Partner with hardware engineering, quality, and manufacturing to define, prioritize, and refine requirements using tradeoffs across cost, performance, reliability, and schedule.
• Drive NPI program milestones with hardware engineering by:
  • Tracking EVT, DVT, and PVT build cycles
  • Flagging risks early
  • Coordinating go/no-go decisions with leadership

Requirements

• Strong technical fluency in hardware development: comfortable reviewing schematics, collaborating with electrical/mechanical engineers, interpreting firmware requirements, and analyzing test data.
• Excellent communication & documentation: create clear specs and status updates; translate technical details for non-technical stakeholders.
• Executive-ready collaboration: present and collaborate with executive leadership in a high-visibility environment.
• Autonomy in a fast-paced startup: manage multiple concurrent workstreams and establish processes where needed.
• BOM cost management & supply chain awareness: familiarity with tradeoffs and contract manufacturing / ODM / OEM partnerships.
• Experience level: 8+ years in product management, including 3+ years focused on hardware products (e.g., cameras, sensors, IoT, embedded systems, rugged field devices).
• Own PRDs and hardware specifications in cross-functional teams, including handling requirements changes and version control.
• Hardware product lifecycle experience: take products from concept/early development through mass production, including EVT/DVT/PVT and manufacturing ramp.
• Field-deployed / rugged hardware experience, especially cameras, panoramic imaging systems, or remote sensing.
• Connectivity familiarity for remote deployments: LTE/5G, LoRa, satellite backhaul, or solar-powered edge devices.
• Domain experience in climate tech, public safety, infrastructure, or government/utility technology.
• NPI / zero-to-one: experience standing up or scaling an NPI function or founding/scaling a hardware-focused startup.
• Optional technical depth: optics, image quality optimization, or computer vision hardware.
• Passion for climate resilience, wildfire prevention, environmental protection, and public safety.

Location / Work Setup

• Full remote