Senior Staff Technical Program Manager, ESS

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: Sr. Staff Technical Program Manager, ESS 

Location: San Francisco Bay area, CA 

Department:  ESS Engineering 

Reports to:  CTO 

Position Type:  Full-time 

About the Company  

Peak Energy is the first American venture to advance globally proven Sodium-Ion battery systems as the storage standard for the new era of renewable energy on a resilient grid. 

Sodium-Ion is cheap, readily available and safe, making it the leading contender in a rapidly evolving market.  

Our leadership team is powered by decades of expertise in scaling gigawatt-level innovation at world-class companies such as Tesla, Northvolt, SunPower, Fluence, and Enovix. We are backed by strategic investment and product partners such as TDK Ventures and Eclipse Ventures.  

We are a team of engineers, operators, entrepreneurs, and partners driven by a shared ambition to set the new performance standard for renewable energy and grid resilience. 

About the Role – Sr. Staff Technical Program Manager 

Peak Energy is looking for a Sr. Staff Technical Program Manager to lead the end-to-end development and delivery of our sodium-ion energy storage systems across hardware and software. 

Reporting to the CTO, this leader will serve as a key partner to the technical leadership team, helping translate company and product priorities into clear development plans, driving critical technical decisions, and ensuring risks and dependencies are surfaced and resolved early. 

You will build and lead a lean team of Technical Program Managers while remaining close to the work. The right candidate will be comfortable operating at multiple levels: shaping the overall product-development operating model, coaching TPMs, leading critical programs directly, and engaging deeply enough in technical discussions to improve the quality and speed of decision-making. 

What You'll Do (Responsibilities) 

• Own integrated program execution from architecture and requirements through verification, industrialization, and customer delivery. 

• Build, lead, and develop Peak's Technical Program Management team. 

• Partner with the CTO and engineering leaders to translate product strategy into clear priorities, plans, milestones, and decisions. 

• Drive system-level integration across ESS hardware, cells, software, firmware, manufacturing, supply chain, and field deployment. 

• Lead cross-functional trade-offs involving performance, safety, reliability, cost, scope, schedule, and manufacturability. 

• Establish clear requirements, interfaces, verification plans, release criteria, and program ownership. 

• Identify and resolve technical, organizational, and schedule risks before they become critical. 

• Provide clear, decision-oriented communication to executive leadership. 

• Build lightweight, scalable program processes that improve execution without creating unnecessary bureaucracy. 

• Step directly into critical or off-track programs when hands-on leadership is needed. 

What You'll Bring (Qualifications) 

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, or a related technical field. 

• 12+ years leading complex technical programs or product-development organizations. 

• Experience taking hardware or software-enabled hardware products from concept through production. 

• Experience building and leading teams of Technical Program Managers or equivalent technical leaders. 

• Strong technical judgment across system architecture, requirements, integration, verification, and production readiness. 

• Demonstrated ability to lead difficult trade-offs across technical and business constraints. 

• Strong leadership and communication skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders and drive accountability without direct authority. 

• Ability to operate across strategy, organizational leadership, and hands-on execution in a fast-paced environment. 

• Eligible to work in the United States. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience in battery energy storage, electric vehicles, robotics, aerospace, industrial equipment, or another complex hardware industry. 

• Familiarity with battery systems, embedded software, controls, power electronics, energy management systems, or grid integration. 

• Experience in safety-critical, regulated, or reliability-intensive product development. 

• Experience scaling products and organizations from early development through production and commercial deployment. 

• Experience partnering closely with a CTO, VP of Engineering, or equivalent technical executive. 

Peak Energy is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We strongly encourage women, people of color, and individuals from underrepresented groups to apply. We value skills, potential, and perspective over specific credentials. If you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't look perfect on paper, we still want to hear from you. 

Our Core Values  

• Speed Through Focus - Move fast but understand why. Focus on the goal, don't sacrifice quality.  

• Mission Over Self - It's about the greater good; confident humility. Take ownership and accountability.  

• Face the Brutal Truth - Transparency, honesty, big picture curiosity. Fearless decision making.  

• Be a Good Person - Kindness, collaboration and teamwork. 

Compensation & Benefits  

The salary range for this role is $200,000-$260,000, with actual pay varying based on work location, experience, and skills. Our competitive benefits package includes: 

• Flexible time off  

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage  

• Strong 401(k) plan