Staff / Principal Hardware Product Manager

About Alcatraz

At Alcatraz, we're on a mission to redefine access control with modern, AI-powered facial authentication. Our technology protects some of the world's most innovative companies — Fortune 500 enterprises, data centers, healthcare institutions, stadiums, and airports. Built and designed in the United States, our Rock family of devices uses 3D sensing and AI to deliver frictionless, privacy-first authentication at scale. With a $50M Series B behind us, we're accelerating across hardware, software, and platform.

About the Role

We're looking for a Staff or Principal Hardware Product Manager to own product strategy and execution for Alcatraz's hardware portfolio — our compact multi-modal device and our ruggedized outdoor and government module — along with the mobile credential experiences that extend them. This is a senior, high-autonomy individual-contributor role. You'll set direction for a multi-product hardware portfolio, write the specifications that Hardware Engineering, Industrial Design, ML, and Software teams build directly from, and represent product in every major cross-functional forum — from architecture reviews to executive roadmap updates. You'll report to product leadership and work closely with Hardware Engineering, Firmware, Platform/Software, and Product Marketing.

Responsibilities

• Own product strategy and the multi-year roadmap for Alcatraz's hardware portfolio, deciding how each product — compact multi-modal, ultra-compact face module, and ruggedized outdoor/government module — is positioned against the others and against the market.
• Write and maintain detailed PRDs — scope, relevant leads, feature rationale, and requirements with P0–P3 acceptance criteria — that Engineering, Design, and QA build, design, and test from without re-litigating the spec.
• Partner with Hardware Engineering, Industrial Design, ML/Face Pipeline, and Platform teams to drive programs from concept through EVT, DVT, PVT, and mass-production readiness, including system-on-module and key component trade-off decisions.
• Define the roadmap and requirements for mobile credentials, including companion app experiences and physical/digital credential interoperability (NFC, BLE, PKI-based issuance).
• Own the requirements behind regulated and enterprise-grade use cases — government credentialing (PIV), cryptographic root-of-trust and certificate issuance, and the compliance work (e.g., FIPS 140-3) that gates the government vertical.
• Translate customer discovery, competitive analysis, and market sizing into MRDs that justify new hardware programs and prioritize the roadmap.
• Partner with Finance and Sales on commercial model decisions — pricing, packaging, and tiering — for hardware and platform software.
• Drive structured program reviews and risk registers, and translate technical complexity into clear, decision-ready narratives for executive leadership.
• Lead recurring cross-functional forums (weekly program and hardware syncs, working groups) and act as the connective tissue between Engineering, Product Marketing, Sales, Partnerships, and Customer Success — without direct authority over any of them.

Requirements

• 8+ years of product management experience, including 4+ years owning physical hardware products through a full lifecycle — concept through EVT/DVT/PVT to mass production and launch.
• Demonstrated ownership of multiple concurrent hardware (and adjacent firmware/software) product lines in a fast-moving environment.
• Fluency writing detailed, engineering-ready PRDs and driving cross-functional execution across Hardware, Firmware, ML, and Software teams.
• Working knowledge of embedded systems, sensing hardware (3D sensing or camera pipelines a strong plus), and NPI/stage-gate processes.
• A track record of shipping products in physical security, access control, IoT, or edge AI hardware.
• Excellent written and verbal communication — comfortable moving between a component-level trade-off discussion and an executive roadmap review in the same day.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.

Nice to Have

• Experience with biometric authentication, facial recognition, or computer vision products.
• Familiarity with government and enterprise compliance standards (FIPS 140-3, PIV/PIV-I, PKI-based credentialing).
• Experience with mobile credentialing technologies (NFC, BLE, UWB) and companion mobile apps.
• Experience in a Series B–D startup scaling hardware from pilot to commercial deployment.
• PMP or equivalent program management certification.

Benefits

People

Alcatraz is powered by bold, curious people who push boundaries and bring ideas to life. We value diverse perspectives, ensure fair opportunities, and create space to grow together.

Purpose

Every day here is an opportunity to solve meaningful challenges in security and technology. Our work protects some of the world's most important organizations while delivering a safer, smarter experience for everyone.

Innovation

We don't settle for the status quo. At Alcatraz, we're constantly exploring new ways to improve security, enhance privacy, and deliver smarter, simpler solutions.