Product Manager-Hardware

HELP US TACKLE THE GROWING WILDFIRE CRISIS WITH THE LATEST ADVANCEMENTS IN AI AND IOT

WHO WE ARE

The problem: Every minute matters in fire response. As climate change amplifies the intensity of wildfires—with longer fire seasons, dryer fuels, and faster winds—new ignitions spread faster and put more communities at risk. Today, most wildfires are detected by bystanders and reported via 911, meaning it can take hours to detect a fire, verify its exact location and size, and dispatch first responders. Fire authorities need a faster way to detect, confirm, and pinpoint fires so that they can quickly respond—preventing small flare-ups from becoming devastating infernos.

About Pano: We are a 175+ person growth-stage hybrid-remote start-up, headquartered in San Francisco. We are the leader in early wildfire detection and intelligence, helping fire professionals respond to fires faster and more safely—with the right equipment, timely information, and enhanced coordination—so that they can stop a new ignition before it grows. Pano AI combines advanced hardware, software, and artificial intelligence into an easy-to-use, web-based platform. Leveraging a network of ultra-high-definition, 360-degree cameras atop high vantage points, as well as satellite and other data feeds, Pano AI produces a real-time picture of threats in a geographic region and delivers immediate, actionable intelligence.

Pano AI has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the Top 10 Most Innovative AI Companies in 2023, https://www.fastcompany.com/90846670/most-innovative-companies-artificial-intelligence-2023 and as one of the Top 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2026 https://www.fastcompany.com/91502951/pano-ai-most-innovative-companies-2026—ranking #1 in the Sustainability category. The company was also named to TIME’s https://www.linkedin.com/company/time/ list of the 100 Most Influential Companies of 2025 https://time.com/collections/time100-companies-2025/7289577/pano-ai/ and identified by MIT Technology Review as one of the top 15 climate tech companies to watch in 2024. https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/10/01/1104375/2024-climate-tech-companies-pano-ai-fire-detecting-ai/ Pano AI has been featured in leading publications, including The Wall Street Journal, https://www.wsj.com/articles/ai-wildfire-detection-startup-raises-44-million-2d662b00?mod=venture-capital_feat1_new-money_pos1Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-21/la-fires-bolster-investment-case-for-climate-adaptation-technology and CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/11/18/ai-helping-to-fight-wildfires.html

The company serves dozens of government and enterprise customers across 16 U.S. states, five Australian states, and British Columbia, Canada, and currently monitors more than 50 million acres of land worldwide. It has raised $89 million in venture capital https://techcrunch-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/techcrunch.com/2023/07/10/pano-series-a-extension/amp/ from investors including Giant Ventures, Liberty Mutual Ventures, Tokio Marine Future Fund, Congruent Ventures, Initialized Capital, Salesforce Ventures, and T-Mobile Ventures. Learn more at https://www.pano.ai/.

The Role

Pano AI is looking for an experienced Hardware Product Manager to own the definition and execution of new hardware products, from concept through production and field deployment. Our proprietary 360-degree, ultra-high-definition cameras operate at high vantage points across millions of acres in demanding outdoor conditions, and advancing that hardware is central to our mission and our growth.

Embedded with our hardware engineering team, you'll serve as the product voice across each development cycle—owning requirements, managing tradeoffs, aligning cross-functional stakeholders, and ensuring every product ships to spec, on time, and ready for field deployment. This is a high-impact role with direct visibility to senior leadership and meaningful influence over the future of Pano's roadmap.

This role is ideal for a seasoned hardware PM who thrives in fast-paced startup environments, can establish new product processes from the ground up, and is energized by building technology that helps confront the climate crisis and save lives.

What you’ll do

• Own the product requirements and hardware specifications for Pano's hardware NPI initiatives—starting with our current flagship camera initiative—ensuring requirements are precise, complete, and traceable throughout each development lifecycle

• Partner closely with hardware engineering, quality and manufacturing teams to define, prioritize, and refine product requirements based on cost, performance, reliability, and schedule tradeoffs

• Lead customer and field discovery sessions to validate requirements, surface pain points from fire agency operators and field technicians, and translate insights into actionable specifications across current and future hardware products

• Collaborate with supply chain, operations, and contract manufacturing partners to ensure new products are manufacturable, sourced sustainably, and deployable at scale across diverse environmental conditions

• Drive NPI program milestones in partnership with hardware engineering—tracking EVT, DVT, and PVT build cycles, flagging risks early, and coordinating go/no-go decisions with leadership

• Define hardware acceptance criteria, test coverage requirements, and field pilot success metrics to validate that each product meets deployment readiness standards

• Partner with the software and AI teams to ensure firmware, connectivity, and platform integration requirements are captured, prioritized, and delivered in lockstep with hardware milestones

• Manage BOM/launch cost targets, identify cost reduction opportunities, and drive tradeoff decisions in alignment with Pano's commercial and margin objectives

• Establish and continuously improve Pano's NPI playbook—the repeatable processes, templates, and stage-gates that govern how new hardware products move from concept to field

• Present hardware roadmap status, risks, and decisions clearly to senior leadership, operations, and go-to-market stakeholders

What you’ll bring

Required

• 8+ years of product management experience with at least 3 years focused on hardware products—cameras, sensors, IoT devices, embedded systems, or ruggedized field-deployed devices

• A track record of taking multiple hardware products from concept or early development through mass production, including experience with EVT/DVT/PVT build cycles and manufacturing ramp

• Strong technical fluency in hardware development—comfortable reviewing schematics, engaging with electrical and mechanical engineers, reading firmware requirements, and interpreting test data

• Experience owning PRDs and hardware specifications in a cross-functional environment, including managing requirements changes and version control across design iterations

• Familiarity with BOM cost management, supply chain tradeoffs, and contract manufacturing or ODM/OEM partnerships

• Proven ability to operate with autonomy in a fast-paced, resource-constrained startup environment, managing multiple concurrent workstreams and establishing process where none exists

• Strong communication and documentation skills—able to write crisp specs and status updates, and to translate technical hardware details for non-technical stakeholders

• Comfort presenting to and collaborating with executive leadership in a high-stakes, high-visibility environment

Nice to Have

• Experience with outdoor, ruggedized, or field-deployed hardware—particularly cameras, panoramic imaging systems, or remote sensing devices

• Familiarity with connectivity technologies relevant to remote field deployments, including LTE/5G, LoRa, satellite backhaul, or solar-powered edge devices

• Experience in climate tech, public safety, infrastructure, or government/utility technology products

• Background in optical systems, image quality optimization, or computer vision hardware

• Experience standing up or scaling an NPI function, or zero-to-one hardware product initiatives, including founding/scaling a hardware-focused startup

• A passion for climate resilience, wildfire prevention, environmental protection, or public safety

Final compensation for regular full-time employees is determined by a variety of factors, including job-related qualifications, education, experience, skills, knowledge, and geographic location. In addition to base salary, regular full-time roles are eligible for equity. Benefits are tailored to local market standards and statutory requirements in the employee's country of employment, and may include health coverage, retirement or pension contributions, and paid time off. Specific benefit details will be shared during the interview process.