Technical Project Manager

WELCOME TO BACKBURNER LABS

METAL TO MOBILE

At Backburner Labs, our engineers design and build things that often did not exist before a customer brought us the problem. The Technical Project Manager helps ensure we solve the right problem, take the right technical path, and bring together the people and perspectives needed to turn an idea into something real.

This role works across mechanical, electrical, software, controls, manufacturing, customers, and company leadership. You do not need to be the deepest technical expert in every discipline. You do need to speak engineer, understand how complex physical systems come together, and contribute meaningfully to early concepts and technical discussions. Strong mechanical intuition, systems thinking, and experience with machines, products, or electromechanical systems would be especially valuable.

There is rarely one obvious way to solve the problems our customers bring us. You will help teams evaluate possibilities, understand tradeoffs, challenge assumptions, and find the best path forward. From there, you will create the clarity, communication, and momentum needed to move the project through design, development, testing, manufacturing, and delivery.

Backburner Labs is scaling quickly, and not every system or process is fully built. You will inherit some useful practices, improve others, and create what is missing. If you need a mature corporate playbook or a template for every situation, this probably is not the right role. If you enjoy working through ambiguity and building the structure a growing company needs, it may be exactly what you are looking for.

QUICK FACTS

• Founded: 2019
• Company: ~50 people (full-time and contract employees)
• Current location: St. Paul - St. Anthony Park area
• Future location: Minneapolis - Prospect Park area (we have leaseda 43,000 sq ft building)
• Revenue: doubled every year for 5 years (more details shared later)
• Client retention: 93%

DETAILS

• Status: Full-time employee
• Salary range: $140,000 - $160,000
• Benefits: bonus, 401k match, healthcare, and more
• Office: we are together in our office 4+ days a week , with the flexibility to work remotely occasionally

INTERVIEW PROCESS:

• Head of Talent - video call
• Senior Leader- video call
• Panel interview and tour - in person: peer and leadership
• Decision

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Lead multidisciplinary engineering projects from early concept and planning through customer delivery.
• Bring engineering, manufacturing, customer, and business perspectives together to evaluate options and establish a practical technical direction.
• Create clarity around scope, priorities, ownership, schedules, budgets, risks, and next steps, even when the starting point is incomplete or changing.
• Serve as a central point of communication among customers, engineers, company leadership, suppliers, and other project stakeholders.
• Recognize when a project is drifting, assumptions need to be challenged, or the team may be solving the wrong problem, and help redirect the work constructively.
• Build and improve practical project-management processes, reporting, documentation, and KPIs as Backburner Labs grows.

WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR

You are broadly technical, naturally curious, and comfortable moving between engineering disciplines. You may have deeper expertise in mechanical engineering, machine design, manufacturing, physical product development, or another technical field, but you want to understand how the entire system works.

You are confident enough to offer a point of view without assuming yours is the only answer. You ask good questions, listen to technical experts, challenge assumptions respectfully, and help groups reach better decisions.

You are also genuinely good with people. This role interacts with nearly every part of the company, including customers, engineers, technicians, leaders, suppliers, and outside partners. Clear communication, sound judgment, self-awareness, and the ability to build trust are essential. We take the work seriously, but we also want someone who can enjoy the people and have some fun along the way.

EXPERIENCE THAT WOULD HELP

• Experience leading complex engineering, product-development, automation, equipment, or manufacturing projects.
• Experience working across mechanical, electrical, software, controls, or manufacturing disciplines.
• Experience moving an early or incomplete concept toward a delivered product, machine, system, or production process.
• Experience working directly with customers and communicating technical tradeoffs, risks, changes, and decisions.
• Evidence that you have built processes or created structure, not only worked within systems created by someone else.
• Comfort managing scope, schedules, budgets, resources, dependencies, and competing priorities.

A particular degree, certification, or previous job title is less important than your ability to understand the work, guide multidisciplinary teams, communicate well, and make progress when the answer is not immediately obvious.

TRAVEL

This role is based in the Minneapolis - St. Paul area and requires travel to customer, supplier, or project locations. Travel will vary by project but is expected to average approximately 15-20%, or a few days per month. Some projects may require consecutive weeks with travel, although that is not expected to be the normal schedule.

COME BUILD WITH US

ALL ARE WELCOME

We're proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We welcome people of all backgrounds and believe different experiences, perspectives, and ideas make our team and our work better. If you're excited about the role, we encourage you to apply.