Full-Time

Technical Program Manager

Hardware Systems

Posted on 8/21/2026

Rivet Industries

Rivet Industries

51-200 employees

Manufactures military-grade AR glasses and tools

Compensation Overview

$200k - $235k/yr

+ Equity

No H1B Sponsorship

San Jose, CA, USA

In Person

US Citizenship Required

Category
Engineering Management (1)
Business & Strategy (1)
Required Skills
Supply Chain Management
Risk Management

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Requirements
  • Experience driving complex hardware or technical programs across multiple teams.
  • Strong technical intuition and systems thinking, with the ability to understand requirements, architectures, interfaces, dependencies, and tradeoffs.
  • Deep familiarity with hardware development, including design, prototyping, integration, testing, qualification, and production.
  • Exceptional organizational skills and operational discipline.
  • Ability to drive alignment, accountability, and decisions without formal authority.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills.
  • High ownership, sound judgment, and the ability to create structure in ambiguous environments.
  • Experience with hardware systems involving electrical, mechanical, optical, embedded, or electromechanical components.
Responsibilities
  • Own end-to-end execution of hardware programs, from requirements and design through integration, qualification, production readiness, and delivery.
  • Drive alignment across technical teams on priorities, ownership, dependencies, timelines, and tradeoffs.
  • Identify and mitigate technical, operational, manufacturing, and integration risks before they impact the program.
  • Coordinate integration, testing, design reviews, and other critical program milestones.
  • Maintain clear program plans, tracking systems, documentation, and reporting that provide real-time visibility into progress, blockers, and risks.
  • Partner with manufacturing and operations to manage production readiness, supply chain, tooling, and hardware availability.
  • Turn ambiguous technical work into clear plans, decisions, owners, and next steps.
  • Synthesize technical and program status into concise updates for leadership and customers.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with AR/VR/MR technologies and products is strongly preferred.
  • Experience in defense, aerospace, robotics, automotive, industrial technology, or another technically demanding environment is strongly preferred.

Rivet Industries develops mobile, connected toolsets for industrial and defense users, led by its Hard Spec line of military-grade AR glasses. The glasses are a modular body-borne system that combines display optics, sensors, computing, and communications to render real-time information—maps, drone feeds, and threat data—directly on the lens and capture audio/video with AI-assisted translation and voice commands. The hardware targets defense programs and industrial workforces with a focus on shared situational awareness and reduced cognitive load, distinguishing itself with a Palantir/Microsoft HoloLens/IVAS leadership lineage and defense-grade, field-ready AR hardware. Its goal is to help soldiers and frontline workers make faster, more accurate decisions, win major defense contracts like Soldier Borne Mission Command, and scale into industrial applications.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Washington DC, District of Columbia

Founded

2024

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • The Army's $195 million September 2025 contract funds an 18-month prototype sprint.
  • Retired General James Mingus joined June 2026, boosting credibility with Army buyers.
  • Rivet expects hundreds more deliveries within a year, expanding soldier testing exposure.

What critics are saying

  • Anduril-Meta targets the same SBMC prize, compressing Rivet's path to production.
  • Army feedback flagged low-light sensor, cable-management, and interface problems in May 2026.
  • If SBMC loses 2027 selection, Rivet's defense story loses its core market.

What makes Rivet Industries unique

  • David Marra brought Palantir and Microsoft IVAS experience into Rivet in 2024.
  • Rivet delivered 70 Soldier Borne Mission Command systems by June 2026.
  • Wilcox integration and Sensoryx tracking strengthen Rivet's ruggedized AR stack.

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Benefits

Unlimited Paid Time Off

Company Equity

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

36%

1 year growth

36%

2 year growth

62%
AIJourn
Jun 1st, 2026
Retired Gen. James Mingus, former vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army, joins Rivet Industries as adviser.

Retired Gen. James Mingus, former vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army, joins Rivet Industries as adviser. WASHINGTON-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Rivet Industries announced that retired Gen. James Mingus has joined its advisory board focused on product development. He is a career infantryman with more than 40 years of distinguished military service. Mingus joins Rivet at a critical point after the company became the first and only company to deliver 70 field-ready soldier-borne mission command systems to the Army. Those systems are now in the hands of soldiers, where they will be tested under real-world conditions. Their feedback will directly shape rapid iteration and drive the next generation of capability delivered to the force. Mingus has commanded units at every level, from Ranger battalions to a brigade combat team deployed to Afghanistan to the 82nd Airborne Division. During his final assignment as vice chief of staff of the Army, Mingus drove the integration of cutting-edge technology into the hands of warfighters. "Gen. Mingus is one of the most operationally grounded and forward-thinking leaders of our time," said Dave Marra, founder and CEO of Rivet Industries. "From leading the 82nd Airborne to helping oversee the entire U.S. Army's modernization as vice chief, Mingus' career has been defined by a simple truth: Technology must work where it matters most. He will be instrumental in ensuring that every soldier is a more lethal, more adaptive sensor on the battlefield, equipped with the real-time insights needed to outpace and overmatch any adversary." Rivet's commitment to using technology to help soldiers become more connected, informed and lethal on the battlefield is what drew Mingus to the company. "In my time as vice chief, I saw firsthand that the character of war is changing rapidly, driven by the speed of technology and the overwhelming volume of data," Mingus said. "I joined Rivet to ensure that we translate that data into actionable intelligence and deliver it to soldiers on the front lines, giving our forces a decisive advantage." About Rivet Industries Rivet Industries is a Series A defense technology company headquartered in Washington, DC. The company builds AI-driven productivity tools, including an augmented reality system that fuses data from soldiers, sensors and systems into a single operational picture, enabling informed decision-making at the front lines. For more information, visit https://www.rivet.The AI Journal Ltd./.

Business Wire
Jun 1st, 2026
Former US Army vice chief Gen. James Mingus joins Rivet Industries as adviser on battlefield tech

Retired Gen. James Mingus, former vice chief of staff of the US Army, has joined Rivet Industries' advisory board to focus on product development. The appointment comes after Rivet became the first company to deliver 70 field-ready soldier-borne mission command systems to the Army for real-world testing. Mingus brings over 40 years of military service, having commanded units from Ranger battalions to the 82nd Airborne Division. As vice chief of staff, he drove integration of cutting-edge technology for warfighters. Rivet Industries, a Series A defence technology company based in Washington, DC, builds AI-driven productivity tools including an augmented reality system that fuses data from soldiers, sensors and systems into a single operational picture for front-line decision-making.

Sensoryx
Dec 12th, 2025
Sensoryx announces integration of precision-tracking technologies with Rivet's frontline systems

Sensoryx announces integration of precision-tracking technologies with Rivet's frontline systems. Sensoryx AG, the Swiss specialist of advanced motion-tracking technologies, announces its collaboration with Rivet Industries, developer of rugged systems for defense and industrial frontline tasks. The joint work focuses on providing high-fidelity spatial interaction capabilities to personnel working in austere and forward environments. Sensoryx's core expertise lies in miniaturized six-degree-of-freedom (6DoF) tracking, developed for applications where precision, reliability and low-power operation are key requirements. Through their collaboration, Sensoryx and Rivet are exploring how these characteristics contribute to workforce effectiveness, particularly when embedded in spatially-aware toolsets and augmented reality devices. Rivet's approach emphasizes robustness and ergonomic simplicity in the field, where operational clarity and dependability are mission-critical needs. Sensoryx's tracking technology is being evaluated as a component that may contribute to enhanced spatial precision, consistent interaction, and reliable instrument alignment within Rivet's existing ecosystem. Both companies share the objective of supporting real-world field operations with tools designed for continuity, stability and predictable performance.

Frag Out! Magazine
Oct 8th, 2025
Check out latest issue

WILCOX INDUSTRIES, a global leader in mission-critical integrated headborne and combat systems, is proud to announce its partnership with RIVET INDUSTRIES, a defense technology innovator, at the upcoming AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, DC, taking place October 13 - 15, 2025.

GovCon Wire
Sep 9th, 2025
Anduril, Rivet Awarded $354M in Contracts to Develop SBMC Situational Awareness Mixed Reality Technology

Anduril, Rivet awarded $354M in contracts to develop SBMC situational awareness mixed reality technology.