Vice President & General Manager of Hardware Operations

About the role

We are seeking an action orientated, business-minded VP & GM of Hardware Operations to lead our physical product business within the company. In this role, your primary objective is not just to source great hardware through our hardware partners, but focused on building experiences that accelerate the adoption, retention, and monetization of our core software suite of products.

What you'll do as VP & GM of Hardware Operations

Hardware & Software Roadmap

• Align the hardware roadmap with the software product strategy. Ensure physical features directly enable or enhance software monetization (e.g., subscriptions, data capture, SaaS renewals).
• Partner with the CFO to balance hardware gross margins, product bundles, and hardware as a service.
• Act as the primary translator between the hardware engineering team and the software product teams, ensuring unified user experiences (UX/UI).

Hardware Sourcing and Development

• Oversee the entire product lifecycle from concept, architecture, sourcing, & supply chain through to end of life/end of partner relationship.
• Foster a culture of "minimum viable hardware"— sourcing reliable, high-quality devices without over-engineering elements that don't serve the software's goals.
• Work on warranties as it regards our warehouse and customer delivery to optimize the warranty for the customer.
• Ensure robust IoT connectivity to seamlessly feed data into the core software platform, including new feeds that can enhance product functionality and reporting.

Operations & Supply Chain

• Select and manage hardware partners to keep overhead and inventory carrying costs/risk lean, including vendor stock levels at their warehouses.
• Oversee sourcing, logistics, compliance, and quality assurance to shortages or shipping delays.
• Carefully manage inventory levels to avoid cash-flow bottlenecks, a critical metric in software companies unaccustomed to physical inventory holding costs.
• Negotiate with vendors and financial firms around warranty extensions / enhanced warranty / warranty to get the best value for the customer.
• Define and build out processes around loaner and return and refurbish workflows.  Also pilot workflows for pilot projects.

Sales, Pricing, Ordering

• Manage a sales team that supports the sales efforts with specific hardware orders, add on sales for either location expansion / hardware failure / hardware breakage, including both direct customer and indirect channel ordering.
• Managing pricing, balancing hardware gross margins against software CARR/ARR.  This also includes hardware as a service (HAAS) pricing.
• Provide ways as possible for customers and channels to order hardware at the least administrative cost to the business.

Team Leadership & Culture

• Provide leadership to the team in a fast moving environment where decisions can be made quickly around supporting different hardware, even if there is no hardware revenue for the business.
• Act as a cultural bridge, ensuring the hardware team feels valued and integrated within a predominantly software-centric corporate culture.
• Mentor and develop leaders within the hardware organization to achieve operational and strategic goals

What we're looking for

• Proven track record working inside a SaaS or IoT ecosystem where hardware and software were connected.
• Experience managing US and Asian global manufacturing partners
• You have great time management skills and you know how to determine priorities.
• You have a results-driven mentality. You are very proactive and have the ability to encourage your team to hit their goals through creativity and innovation.
• Demonstrable experience with strategic thinking, operational execution, and a data-driven mindset
• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills with both internal teams and external customers
• Strong analytical skills that enable leveraging data for decision making and continuous improvement
• Strong understanding of development technology as well as integration technology
• 12+ years in hardware product sales & operations, with at least 5+ years in a senior leadership role (Director or VP)
• B.S./M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent. MBA is highly desirable given the heavy focus on business strategy

Essential Physical & Mental Requirements

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk
• Prolonged periods of typing and working at a computer
• Ability to listen and speak over the phone or Zoom calls
• High level of mental concentration and focus

Other Responsibilities

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Compensation Statement

The annual base compensation range for this position is $185,000 - $225,000. The reasonably estimated total cash compensation (base + variable) range for this full-time position will be $222,000 - $270,000.

Actual compensation is based on factors unique to each candidate, including, but not limited to: job-related skills, qualifications, education, experience, and location. Crunchtime has a location-based compensation system, so someone doing the same job in a different city might have a different pay range.

Accessibility Accommodation Statement

Crunchtime complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact recruiting@crunchtime.com. 

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy
Crunchtime provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.