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Etched

Test Technical Program Manager

Etched is hiring a Test Technical Program Manager in San Jose, United States. Level rates it ; you can apply on Etched.

Level's read on this job

  • Level rates this role Works on AI ●●●○: the daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
  • Tools and skills the posting cites include program management, manufacturing test and hardware testing.
  • Level classifies it as a senior role.
  • Level lists 121 other open roles at Etched.

AI in this role

Drive manufacturing test strategy and program execution for transformer-specific AI hardware systems.

program-managementmanufacturing-testhardware-testingcross-functional-leadership

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

Etched is seeking a Test Technical Program Manager to drive manufacturing test strategy and execution across new product introduction and mass production for our transformer-specific AI systems. This highly cross-functional individual contributor role sits at the intersection of hardware engineering, test engineering, manufacturing engineering, firmware, software, supply chain, and operations. You will own the program management of manufacturing test development—from early architecture and test strategy through factory deployment, production ramp, and yield optimization—ensuring every system ships with robust, scalable, and high-quality manufacturing test coverage.

Key Responsibilities

  • Drive end-to-end execution of manufacturing test programs across prototype, EVT, DVT, PVT, and mass production builds.

  • Partner with hardware, firmware, software, systems, validation, and manufacturing engineering teams to define manufacturing test strategy, milestones, and deliverables.

  • Coordinate development and deployment of board-level, subsystem, and system-level manufacturing test solutions across L6, L10, and L11 assemblies.

  • Drive cross-functional execution to ensure manufacturing test hardware, software, fixtures, automation, and infrastructure are ready to support production milestones.

  • Partner with contract manufacturers and FATP partners to deploy, validate, and scale manufacturing test processes globally.

  • Track manufacturing test readiness, station bring-up, throughput, capacity, coverage, and factory deployment status for assigned programs.

  • Lead cross-functional resolution of manufacturing test issues during engineering and production builds through structured root cause analysis and execution tracking.

  • Drive manufacturing test yield improvements, failure analysis, retest reduction, and continuous optimization of factory test processes.

  • Prepare and communicate manufacturing test status, risks, dependencies, and mitigation plans to engineering leadership and executive stakeholders.

  • Travel to domestic and international manufacturing partners to support production readiness, factory bring-up, and critical builds.

You may be a good fit if you have (Must-have qualifications)

  • 7+ years of experience in hardware test engineering, with experience transitioning into a Technical Program Management role.

  • Strong preference for candidates with a background in electrical, systems, validation, or test engineering who have led cross-functional hardware programs through NPI and production.

  • Experience managing manufacturing test programs for complex hardware systems from development through production.

  • Strong understanding of manufacturing development phases including EVT, DVT, PVT, and production ramp.

  • Experience partnering closely with hardware, firmware, software, validation, and manufacturing engineering teams.

  • Experience working with contract manufacturers, FATP partners, or ODM/OEM manufacturing organizations.

  • Understanding of manufacturing test concepts including test coverage, station architecture, fixture development, automation, yield analysis, and failure diagnostics.

  • Excellent cross-functional program management skills with the ability to coordinate engineering, manufacturing, and operations teams.

  • Strong communication skills with experience presenting technical program status, risks, and tradeoffs to senior leadership.

  • Willingness to work in-person from our San Jose office and travel internationally to manufacturing partners as needed.

Strong candidates may also have experience with (Nice-to-have qualifications)

  • Experience developing manufacturing test for AI servers, accelerator systems, networking hardware, storage systems, or other high-performance compute platforms.

  • Familiarity with board-level test, system-level test, boundary scan, functional test, burn-in, HASS/HALT, or factory automation.

  • Experience with automated test equipment, test software frameworks, fixture development, or manufacturing diagnostics.

  • Experience analyzing manufacturing yield, failure Pareto, and test escape data to improve product quality.

  • Experience working closely with ASIC, firmware, systems, validation, reliability, or hardware engineering teams.

  • Experience supporting first-generation hardware products through factory bring-up in a fast-paced startup environment.

Benefits

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

    • $500 per month credit for waiving medical benefits

  • Housing subsidy of $2,500 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 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.

How we rate this

Test Technical Program Manager at Etched rates 60 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Works on AI (AI Level 3 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Works on AI. The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.

  1. ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
  2. ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
  3. ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
  4. ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

Program ManagementManufacturing TestHardware TestingCross Functional Leadership

Questions you could be asked

  1. Tell me about a project where program management was part of your work. What did you do?
  2. Tell me about a project where manufacturing test was part of your work. What did you do?
  3. Tell me about a project where hardware testing was part of your work. What did you do?
  4. Tell me about a project where cross functional leadership was part of your work. What did you do?
  5. Describe a typical day in a role like this one: which parts run through AI directly?

Adapt your resume

  • List these exact terms on your resume: Program Management, Manufacturing Test, Hardware Testing, and Cross Functional Leadership. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
  • Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
  • Show where AI is part of your daily process, not a one-off project. This role expects it to be a running habit.

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