Operations Program Manager - Hardware

About Sandbar

Sandbar is an interface company in New York City. We aim to expand human thinking. Our team has built software, ML, hardware, and consumer products across Meta, CTRL-labs, Apple, Peloton, and Equinox.

Our first product is Stream, is private voice ring that extends your thinking. Stream has been featured in WSJ, Bloomberg, Wired, and Time's Best Inventions of the Year.

Join us in creating technology that extends human thinking.

About

We are seeking a hands-on Operations Program Manager to own end-to-end execution across our Operations function from late DVT through PVT, MP ramp, and sustaining production. This role is responsible for ensuring that engineering outputs transition cleanly into scalable, repeatable operations. This role sits at the center of manufacturing readiness, supply chain execution, logistics coordination, and quality ramp, working closely with our Head of Operations and cross-functional partners.

Responsibilities

Operations Execution

• Own operations execution plans aligned to the TPM-led master schedule.

• Translate engineering milestones into concrete manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, and quality deliverables.

• Drive closure of operational dependencies required to support PVT, MP ramp, and sustaining builds.

• Manage operational impacts of engineering changes in partnership with TPM.

Manufacturing Ramp

• Lead factory readiness activities including line setup, capacity planning, pilot builds, and ramp execution.

• Ensure readiness of BOMs, tooling, test flows, packaging, OQC plans, and work instructions.

• Partner with Quality and CM teams to track yield and defect trends through ramp.

• Support daily and weekly factory execution reviews as needed.

Supply Chain & Logistics

• Coordinate with the Supply Chain Lead on material readiness, long-lead item tracking, risk buys, and supplier issue resolution.

• Work with the Logistics PM to align inbound materials, outbound shipments, regional allocations, and delivery commitments to production plans.

• Ensure operational plans are executable against real-world supply and logistics constraints.

Field Quality & Sustaining Operations

• Own field quality execution: tracking and triage of customer-reported issues, RMAs, and early failure trends.

• Drive EFFA and Pareto analysis across factory defects, OQC failures, and field returns to focus teams on highest-impact issues.

• Coordinate containment, root cause analysis, and corrective actions (8D / CAPA) for systemic issues.

• Establish feedback loops between Customer Support, CM, Quality, and Supply Chain so field learnings are reflected in production.

• Own sustaining readiness including ECO rollouts, rework planning, inventory disposition, and yield stability post-ramp.

Dashboards, Metrics & Cadence

• Own operational dashboards (yield, defect, OQC, field-quality Pareto) and the Operations RAID log; ensure data accuracy with CM, OQC, and Quality partners.

• Proactively surface execution gaps with clear options and tradeoffs.

• Run core Ops execution meetings and provide concise, decision-oriented updates to leadership.

• Act as single point of accountability for day-to-day operational execution health.

Qualifications

• 7+ years experience in Operations Program Management, Manufacturing Program Management, or similar roles in hardware products.

• Direct experience supporting EVT → DVT → PVT → MP transitions.

• Strong understanding of manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, and quality workflows.

• Proven ability to manage external partners and contract manufacturers.

• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to drive clarity in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.

• Comfortable operating in a startup or early-scale environments

FTE Benefits

• Health, vision, and dental benefits

• Company-sponsored 401(k)

• Unlimited PTO and sick time

• Early stage equity