Project Manager, Hardware Development

  • Full-time
  • Department: Product and Hardware Engineering

Company Description

Cricut® is the global leader in the connected DIY technology space, and let’s face it, if it’s going to be done right, you have to do it yourself! Cricut is recognized as one of the craft industry’s forerunners in innovation and design and for good reason. The “Cricut” is an electronic cutting machine – like a printer that cuts – that empowers our talented users to design their own projects by cutting intricate patterns with over 100 different materials ranging from paper and cardstock to iron-on and adhesive vinyl and even thicker materials like chipboard and leather. 

Using our cloud-based Design Space® software, our customers weld, slice, and finagle shapes and images of all sizes using digital content from our library or uploaded from the web to make personalized cards, posters, custom t-shirts, home décor, even quilting and sewing projects. Science projects that win ribbons and get A’s, check! Valentine Cards that make your lover melt? You bet. Quilts? You mean you don’t have to be a grandma to sew a quilt? The possibilities are endless. If anyone is telling themselves, creativity is not my forte—well, we’ve got that covered too. Our customers can select from over 3,000 Make-it-Now projects which make DIY easier than ever before. We sell the machines, the materials, and the digital content that makes it all possible.

Job Description

As a Hardware Project Manager at Cricut you will interface with all functions necessary to bring highly reliable, best in class, consumer products to market.  The primary focus of this position is to plan, facilitate and integrate the development of products within the hardware engineering team while coordinating with other functional teams to deliver an optimal user experience.  You will be responsible for managing and communicating progress against the established cost, schedule and product experience goals to management and stakeholders.  This position is more than tracking schedules and maintaining issue lists. You will be an integral part of the development team, helping the team to work through issues and solve problems.  This will require taking a systems integration approach to product development, ensuring that all parts are thoroughly integrated, tested and proven to meet the product requirements.

To be successful you will be a high performer with a rare and specific skill set who will thrive in a fast-paced and demanding environment. Your ability to think critically, lead through intellect, deliver quickly, and to partner across a wide variety of functions at Cricut to drive change in a complex setting will be essential to the rollout of our offerings to the market.

Responsibilities

  • Manage complex electro-mechanical product development projects
  • Work as the technical and programmatic focal point and facilitator for development activities.
  • Prepares and manages project budgets and schedules. 
  • Highlights issues well in advance and leads efforts to develop and implement alternative actions to overcome the issues and maintain the schedule.
  • Prepares and maintains Issues/Action Item database. 
  • Leads the team in working through complex issues
  • Maintains a system’s view of the project to identify and manage risks
  • Ensure that management and stakeholders are notified of any potential schedule impacts
  • Facilitate regular status meetings with both domestic and international teams.
  • Ensure seamless communication with other functional areas (SW, Product Mgmt, etc.)
  • Ensure that all projects are completed in a timely manner
  • Coordinate testing activities with engineers and the quality department
  • Ensure product performance meets engineering and product specifications
  • Coordinate and manage supplier and contract manufacturing activities to deliver on project objectives. Includes regular travel to Asia as needed (at least 4x/yr)

Qualifications

  • The ideal candidate will have a bachelor's degree in Engineering, Mechanical Engineering strongly preferred. They will have a working knowledge of software/firmware and some programming background. They will also be familiar with electronics with the ability to read and understand electrical schematics and wiring diagrams.
  • 5+ years in project management related to product development
  • Strong communication skills, team work and interpersonal skills
  • Strong analytical and problem solving skills
  • Ability to utilize various technologies and tools to effectively manage projects and provide clear and concise communications to teams and stakeholders
  •  Adept at Microsoft Project, MS Excel. Proficiency in Minitab highly desirable
  • The ability to understand and apply statistical process control methods is highly desirable including Cpk’s, T-Tests, X-Bar/R charts, DOE’s, etc.

Additional Information

What to Do Next:  Please send us a resume telling us why no one is more awesome for the position than you. You can be sure that Cricut is a workplace that values individuality and variety, so write to us in your real voice and tell us what you’re all about. Please submit any online presence you may have (Twitter, Facebook, Fan pages made because of you), and if you are a DIY enthusiast, whether you think you are a good one or not, that means a lot to us, and we would love to hear about it when you send us your information!