R&D Hardware Investment Planning Manager

Job Title: Senior R&D Hardware Investment Planning Manager

Job Description

The Senior R&D Hardware Investment Planning Managerr drives financial strategy, planning, and execution across a multi-product hardware R&D organization. This role partners closely with Product Management, Engineering, Program Management, FP&A, and Sourcing to ensure disciplined investment, accurate forecasting, and clear visibility into R&D spend and return on investment. The position combines deep hardware product development expertise with strong financial planning and data visualization skills to support strategic decision-making in a growing, clean energy-focused company.

Responsibilities

• Lead financial strategy, planning, and execution for a multi-product hardware R&D portfolio, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and growth plans.
• Partner closely with Product Management, Engineering, Program Management, FP&A, and Sourcing to align investments with product roadmaps and business priorities.
• Own and manage R&D budgets, including capital allocation, accruals, and quarterly spending, with the ability to manage complex budgets of $1 million or more per quarter.
• Drive disciplined investment decisions by evaluating projected ROI and ensuring capital is deployed effectively rather than simply monitored.
• Oversee financial aspects of hardware product development across New Product Introduction (NPI) phases, including production tooling, prototypes, and pilot costs.
• Establish and refine structured, repeatable processes for financial tracking, reporting, and decision-making across multiple product lines and regions.
• Create and maintain transparent reporting and dashboards using Power BI or similar data visualization tools to provide clear visibility into R&D spend and performance.
• Ensure accurate forecasting of R&D costs and resource needs, and proactively identify risks, variances, and opportunities for optimization.
• Coordinate and manage complex, multi-project initiatives across multiple product lines and global regions, ensuring alignment of timelines, budgets, and deliverables.
• Collaborate with FP&A to optimize budgeting, accruals, and tracking strategies, and to improve the efficiency and accuracy of financial processes.
• Communicate clearly with Senior leaders, including Senior directors, VPs of Product, and the Chief Product Officer, providing concise updates, insights, and recommendations.
• Translate complex technical information into financial implications and vice versa to support informed decision-making among both technical and financial stakeholders.

Essential Skills

• Proven program management experience in hardware product development environments.
• Strong background in hardware product development, including a clear understanding of New Product Introduction (NPI) phases, production tooling, prototypes, and pilot costs.
• Hands-on experience with Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), including accruals, budget allocation, tracking, and process optimization.
• Demonstrated ability to operate with capital to achieve projected ROI, not just monitor spending.
• Experience managing complex, multi-project initiatives, ideally across multiple product lines and global regions.
• Ability to manage and oversee budgets of approximately $1 million or more per quarter, with a focus on complexity and portfolio management.
• Proficiency with Power BI or similar data visualization tools for transparent financial and operational reporting.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to translate between technical and financial stakeholders clearly and effectively.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience building and institutionalizing stable, structured decision-making processes for R&D and product investments.
• background in environments undergoing growth or transformation, such as expanding product lines or new revenue streams.
• Comfort working in a highly visible, strategic role with regular interaction with Senior leadership.
• Ability to synthesize data from multiple sources and present it in a clear, concise, and actionable format.

Work Environment

This role operates in a hybrid work environment, with on-site work from Monday through Thursday and remote work on Fridays. The position sits within a dynamic, growth-oriented organization that is transforming into a utility-scale clean energy company and expanding its product lines and revenue streams. The work involves frequent collaboration with cross-functional teams, including Product Management, Engineering, Program Management, FP&A, and Sourcing, and offers significant exposure to Senior leadership. Modern data visualization tools such as Power BI are part of the day-to-day toolkit, supporting a culture of transparency, structured decision-making, and strategic execution.

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Fremont, CA.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $175000.00 - $185000.00/yr.

PTO Holiday 401k sick pay yearly bonus RSUs

Workplace Type

This is a hybrid position in Fremont,CA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Jun 3, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 30,000 consultants and more than 4,500 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.