Lead Technical Program Manager, Reference Platforms
Lead the integration and delivery of next-generation reference platforms, turning breakthrough silicon into customer-ready products
West Lafayette, IN (In Office)Full-time
About Ixana
Ixana is a Purdue University spinoff pioneering brain-inspired wearable computing. We've developed Wi-R, a patented communication tech that's 100x more energy-efficient than Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Join our 60-person team building the next era of real-time, AI-powered human-computer interaction.
We provide relocation packages and visa transfer support (if required) for candidates based in the San Francisco Bay Area and other major U.S. hubs.
The Wi-R Revolution
Wi-R is our patented non-radiative near-field communication technology that creates secure "wire-like wireless" experiences through small E-field bubbles around your body. This breakthrough enables unprecedented energy efficiency at sub-0.1 nanojoules per bit, making long-term wearable and implantable devices finally practical.
See Wi-R in Action: High-speed data, transferred through skin contact -
The Role:
●We're hiring the person who makes Ixana's silicon tangible — the Lead TPM for Reference Platforms, owning complete customer-ready reference designs and dev kits from product definition and prototypes through validation, pilot manufacturing, release, and shipment.
●Accountability spans chip boundary to reliable customer use: boards, sensors, firmware, SDKs, host software, mechanical systems, power, test infrastructure, documentation, supply chain, and manufacturing. This isn't schedule-tracking — you need system-level depth to spot integration risks, frame tradeoffs, drive decisions, and help engineering close hard issues. At Ixana, a demo isn't a release: a release is reproducible hardware, stable firmware/software, validated performance, complete developer docs, and a repeatable build/test process.
What You’ll Do
●Own the integrated roadmap, requirements, milestones, critical path, resource dependencies, and release criteria across multiple concurrent programs
●Translate product objectives and silicon capabilities into system-level requirements spanning electrical hardware, firmware, embedded software, mechanical design, applications, test, and operations
●Coordinate silicon, board revisions, firmware, SDKs, sample apps, enclosures, accessories, documentation, and manufacturing builds into one executable plan
●Define and run development gates (architecture closure, prototype builds, EVT/DVT/PVT or equivalent) per platform
●Establish configuration and change control across hardware, firmware, software, SDKs, manufacturing files, and customer docs
●Lead build readiness with suppliers/CMs — BOM readiness, component availability, DFM/DFT, assembly, programming, calibration, fixtures, end-of-line test, unit traceability
●Own system verification and release criteria: functionality, power, performance, reliability, usability, interoperability, manufacturability
●Drive cross-functional issue resolution with clear owners, root-cause plans, decision deadlines, and escalation paths
●Ensure every release ships the full developer package: validated hardware, firmware, SDK/API, host tools, sample apps, schematics, BOM, build info, test results, release notes, known issues, troubleshooting
●Partner with applications engineering and customer-facing teams on early feedback, demos, design-ins, and real-world platform readiness
●Run concise program/exec reviews covering status, risks, decisions needed, schedule exposure, and recovery plans
●Build a repeatable reference-platform process that scales Ixana's launches without adding unnecessary overhead
What We're Looking For
Preferred:
●8+ years developing complex hardware/embedded systems, with substantial cross-functional program execution responsibility
●Track record taking multiple hardware products from definition/prototype through validation, manufacturing introduction, and external shipment
●Strong technical foundation in EE, computer engineering, embedded systems, systems engineering, test engineering, or related discipline
●Able to read and reason through schematics, block diagrams, interface specs, power budgets, BOMs, validation data, manufacturing reports, and failure analyses
●Experience coordinating hardware, firmware, software, mechanical, test, manufacturing, and supply-chain deliverables within one program
●Direct NPI experience: prototype/pilot builds, DFM, DFT, contract manufacturers, suppliers, test fixtures, calibration, production-line validation
●Experience with tightly coupled hardware/firmware products, not independent HW/SW schedules
●Strong technical judgment on when issues need deeper investigation, a tradeoff, a process change, more resources, or escalation
●Clear written/verbal communication with engineers, suppliers, customers, and senior leadership
●Comfortable in early-stage environments — evolving requirements, constrained resources, building the operating system rather than inheriting one
●Willing to travel to supplier, manufacturing, partner, and customer locations as needed
●Most successful candidates will have started their careers in an engineering role before moving into technical program leadership
Required:
●Experience in one or more of the following areas would be valuable -
●Smart glasses, AR/VR systems, wearable cameras, or spatial-computing hardware
●Smart rings, earbuds, watches, patches, or other highly constrained wearable products
●Electrophysiology or biosensing products, including ECG, EMG, EEG, or EOG systems
●Low-power wireless systems, sensors, battery-powered devices, or camera data pipelines
●Semiconductor evaluation boards, developer kits, reference designs, SDKs, or applications engineering
●Medical, consumer-electronics, robotics, automotive, or other multidisciplinary hardware programs
●Test automation, data acquisition, Python-based validation, or manufacturing diagnostics
What Success Looks Like:
Within your first year -
●Ixana operates from a single, credible, integrated roadmap across all reference designs and developer kits
●Every program has clear requirements, named technical owners, defined release gates, decision deadlines, and measurable acceptance criteria
●Reference platforms ship as complete, customer-ready products — not isolated engineering demos
●Hardware, firmware, software, documentation, test, and supply-chain readiness converge at release, rather than being tracked as separate, disconnected efforts
●Critical risks surface early, decisions get made fast, and engineering spends less time firefighting avoidable integration surprises
●Ixana has a repeatable, scalable system for developing and releasing its next generation of reference platforms
Compensation & Benefits
●Base Salary: $180,000 - $250,000 per annum ≈ $340k - $480k Bay Area equivalent after cost of living
●Equity: Early-stage equity package
●Cash Bonus: 8–30% performance-based bonus
●Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
●401(k) retirement plan with company match
●5 days/week in office with flexible work arrangements and generous PTO
●Relocation support for qualified applicants
●Professional development opportunities and conference attendance
●Patent development and technology leadership opportunities
●Immigration and work visa support (for those already in the U.S. on a valid work permit)
Why Join Us
●Sits at the intersection of semiconductor innovation, wireless systems, wearables, biosensing, and physical AI
●Unusually broad ownership — end-to-end accountability rather than a narrow slice of the program
●Direct collaboration with engineering and company leadership to define what products built around a new communication platform should look like
●The products you release will be the first way many developers, customers, and partners experience Wi-R
Ready to re‑wire the future of human-computer interaction?
Keywords
Technical Program ManagementHardware DevelopmentNPIEmbedded SystemsWearablesHardware ValidationManufacturingFirmwareWireless SystemsReference PlatformsSupply Chain
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