Technical Program Manager

Dandelion Energy • Somerville, MA

11d

About The Position

Dandelion Energy is seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented Technical Program Manager (TPM) to join our R&D team. This role will be integral to developing, testing, and launching geothermal systems that are optimized for production home builders and significantly accelerate the adoption of geothermal in the US new construction market.
The TPM is responsible for ensuring that Dandelion's R&D initiatives are delivered on time, on budget, and with high quality. This position sits at the intersection of product, engineering, operations, and vendor management, driving execution across our key technical programs.
You'll work closely with engineering, product, and key manufacturing partners to keep projects on track and remove barriers to progress.
As part of a small, high-impact team, you'll also contribute to shaping our R&D vision, strategy, and roadmap — bringing a rigorous, execution-focused perspective to how we prioritize and resource our work.

Requirements

• 5-8 years of experience in technical program or project management in a hardware product development environment
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in a technical field
• Demonstrated experience managing complex technical programs or projects in a hardware product development environment
• Strong project and schedule management skills, with experience using tools like Smartsheet, Jira, Asana, or similar
• Ability to engage substantively with engineering teams on technical tradeoffs and feasibility
• Experience managing external vendors or manufacturing partners
• Solid problem-solving skills with strong attention to detail
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Track record of strong execution in bringing hardware products to market
• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• Comfort with ambiguity and a proactive, self-directed mindset
• Curiosity, ownership, and a bias toward action
• Passion for sustainability or mission-driven work
• A positive, team-first mentality
• Open to occasional travel to support projects

Nice To Haves

• Experience in the geothermal, HVAC, or clean tech space
• Prior experience at a startup and/or company with fewer than 1,000 employees
• PMP certification or equivalent formal project management training

Responsibilities

• Drive delivery on key R&D initiatives — on time, on budget, and with high quality.
• Align strategy and roadmap with a feasible executional approach, forcing tradeoffs where necessary and collaborating with product and engineering to find the right balance of speed, cost, and quality.
• Maximize the effectiveness and impact of R&D resources, including people, budget, and vendors.
• Develop and manage master schedules for key projects, integrating with vendors and internal teams across Dandelion.
• Identify risks to execution early and develop proactive mitigation plans.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key manufacturing and technical vendors.
• Drive execution across technical workstreams and hold vendors accountable to a high standard of work.
• Organize and prioritize open issues, ensuring the right items are resolved to enable progression through the development lifecycle.
• Manage project costs proactively, generate early cost estimates, and deliver projects on budget — or flag early when risks arise.
• Create visibility into how the engineering team's time is allocated and drive effective resource planning that ensures roadmap feasibility.
• Ensure team meetings run effectively, capture notes and decisions, and maintain cadence for updating tools and systems.
• Work across Dandelion's internal departments and with industry-leading manufacturing partners to deliver next-generation geothermal solutions.
• Collaborate closely with Product on vision, roadmap prioritization, and execution decisions.

Benefits

• Medical (including mental health), dental, vision, and pet insurance
• 401(k) plan
• Commuter benefits
• Generous paid sick leave, vacation, and parental leave
• Learning & development support, including on-the-job training and virtual courses
• Pet insurance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level