Customer Experience Manager

Elve, Inc is a deep-tech startup in Davis, CA, specializing in the design and manufacturing of high-efficiency lightweight millimeter-wave and near-THz RF power amplifiers. Our groundbreaking technology enables 100x faster wireless internet access in urban settings and remote locations, revolutionizing the future of wireless connectivity well beyond 5G. We are looking for mechanical engineers to join our team and contribute to the advancement of our technology, products, and manufacturing. If you are passionate about RF electronics, precision assembly, manufacturing, automation, and working on cutting-edge technology, then we want to hear from you!

Elve is building next generation millimeter-wave power amplifiers for advanced communications and sensing systems. We are looking for a highly organized, detail-oriented individual to help drive execution across customer programs, internal teams, and external partners.

This role sits at the intersection of engineering, operations, and customer engagement. You will be responsible for ensuring projects stay on track, timelines and schedules are clearly defined and maintained, and deliverables are completed on time (including both commercial and government programs).

You will work closely with engineering, manufacturing, and operations teams to identify and eliminate roadblocks, ensure alignment, and keep programs moving forward. The role requires strong ownership, follow-through, and the ability to manage multiple parallel efforts without losing attention to detail.

Because Elve is a small and fast-moving company, this role will evolve with the needs of the business. The ideal candidate is comfortable wearing multiple hats, stepping into ambiguity, and driving clarity and execution across teams.

This is a full-time salaried position.

• Own coordination and execution of multiple concurrent customer and internal projects
• Define, maintain, and track project timelines, schedules, deliverables, and dependencies
• Work closely with internal  teams to identify and eliminate roadblocks
• Drive accountability across teams to ensure milestones are met on schedule
• Interface directly with customers, providing updates, managing expectations, and ensuring a high-quality experience
• Support submission of deliverables for both commercial and government programs, ensuring compliance, accuracy, and completeness
• Establish and manage RMA (Return Material Authorization) processes in collaboration with internal teams
• Define, track, and report key performance indicators (KPIs) related to customer satisfaction, delivery performance, and operational efficiency
• Identify risks early and proactively drive mitigation plans
• Partner with engineering teams to support product validation activities such as lifetime testing and reliability data collection
• Translate technical results into clear, structured outputs such as reports, white papers, and customer-facing presentations
• Drive cross-functional communication to ensure alignment between Elve teams and external parties. 
• Continuously improve processes related to project tracking, scheduling, customer engagement, and program execution

Work may occur in a combination of the following environments:

• Manufacturing facility
• ISO 5–ISO 7 cleanroom
• Laboratory
• Machine shop
• Warehouse
• Office

• 3+ years of experience in program management, project coordination, operations, engineering, or a related role in a manufacturing or hardware environment
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining strong attention to detail
• Experience defining, tracking, and driving timelines, schedules, and deliverables
• Strong organizational and execution skills with a high degree of ownership and follow-through
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including customer-facing experience
• Ability to work cross-functionally with engineering, manufacturing, and external partners
• Demonstrated ability to identify roadblocks and proactively drive resolution
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment with evolving priorities
• Self-driven, motivated, and highly detail-oriented
  

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations (EAR), candidates must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual, or otherwise eligible to obtain required authorization.

Candidates with experience in several of the following will stand out:

• Experience in hardware, manufacturing, or deep-tech environments
• Experience working with government contracts or regulated deliverables
• Familiarity with KPIs, metrics tracking, or operational dashboards
• Exposure to product validation, reliability, or lifetime testing
• Experience creating technical documentation, reports, or customer-facing materials
• Familiarity with RMA processes or quality systems
• Experience working in fast-moving or startup environments

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, business, economics, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience)

Benefits Include:

• The salary range for this position is $90,000 to $150,000 annually
• Health benefits (medical, dental, vision)
• Vacation
• A taste of the start-up life
• Exposure to cutting-edge technology in vacuum electronics, materials science, and additive manufacturing

We are an expanding team, on a mission to bring the next generation of high-speed wireless connectivity to a billion people worldwide. That kind of impact is not going to be achieved with incremental improvements- we are gunning for orders of magnitude advances in production capability, cost, size, and power in the mm-wave RF amplifier market. We work really hard, make sure we get good sleep, we handle conflict intentionally, and we expect great things from each other.