Senior Engineering Program Manager in Porto

At Okra Solar, we’re on a mission to bring

Power to the People

by unlocking opportunities through energy access for everyone in the world.

Over 650 million people still live without electricity. At a time where technology such as

mobile devices, productive agritech and AI are becoming more accessible than ever , we believe that access to energy is the first step toward opportunity and growth.

That’s why we build our

Mesh Grid technology

that energizes off-grid households at a fraction of the cost of the other solutions. We provide the entire solution, including the hardware and software, that we sell to local energy companies who deploy our tech to deliver affordable, reliable electricity as a service to last-mile communities.

We’ve deployed 2MW+ of solar PV energizing ~50,000 people, and we’re scaling fast under Nigeria’s $750M World Bank-funded DARES program, with equipment for another 150,000 people in manufacturing now, and new markets opening in Mozambique and Madagascar.

Role Overview As a

Senior

Engineering Program Manager

your superpower is ensuring plans, timelines, and dependencies are mapped out in advance. You’re comfortable in dealing with engineers as you are with customer-level stakeholders, and you understand their competing priorities. You appreciate that long-term hardware development benefits from well-thought planning and problem anticipation, but you can also adapt when the plan changes.

In this role you would lead cross-functional engineering teams in the development and delivery of our next-generation Mesh-grid architecture and hardware. We’re designing for higher performance (large productive loads, flexible power for every household, and grid interoperability) while cutting our cost per connection. This is going to have a staggering impact on the ecosystem, and drive our impact and business growth upwards by 2-3x.

The program is cross-functional and long-cycle. It spans hardware, firmware, software, supply chain, external consultants, contract manufacturing, Nigerian regulators (NERC, REA, NEMSA), field pilots and commercial launch. We’re committing to a gated EVT → DVT → PVT → mass production program, hitting scales of hundres of thousands of units in 2029 and beyond.

We are hiring this role because coordination is the bottleneck. Every missed long lead time item extends the critical path and puts the whole project at risk.

Responsibilities

Run the EVT, DVT, PVT and MP gate reviews: define exit criteria with each function, collect evidence, chair the review, record the decision.

Build and own the integrated master schedule, manage complex technical product development dependencies, with the critical path visible at all times.

Keep the gated process intact under deadline pressure.

Coordinate between varied seniority engineers in a range of specialized technical disciplines, including: electronic, electrical systems, firmware, mechanical, power systems, quality control, field test & repair, full stack development

Technical Planning

Work with lead engineers to break down complex development projects and architectures into manageable work breakdown, concrete scope and deliverables

Coordinate required resourcing with managers and tech leads

Raising / challenging trade-offs, requiring solid technical and business context

Stakeholder Engagement

Manage internal/external stakeholder dependencies and commitments

Align with product managers and technical leads to ensure needs and schedules are met

Track sourcing and third-party consultants (reliability testing, design support, certification, off-the-shelf sourcing, etc..) to clear scope and deliverables

Project Management Technical Skills

Defining and owning project-level or system-level plans, timelines, budgets, artifacts. Able to report on this to leadership.

Traceable actions, deliverables, and deadlines, with clear ownership defined and chased to completion

Assist in logistics tasks to remove roadblocks from the team, including support on quick prototype ordering, planning key engineering travel, and samples shipping.

Hard Skills and Required Experience

5+ years in program or technical program management, at least 3 of them on hardware products taken through EVT/DVT/PVT to mass production Experience with contract manufacturing, preferably in China

Enough technical depth and engineering background to read a schematic-level architecture, follow a firmware critical path and challenge an estimate.

Ability to flesh out a long-term schedule and its key milestones and risks, representing it via Gantt charts and critical path analysis

Ran a program through certification or regulatory approval (CE, UL/IEC, metering or utility approvals)

Built and owned a program budget, and reported to executives or leadership

Clear, direct written communication. Can clearly say a date is slipping early and explain why.

Proficiency with project management tools (Airtable, Jira, Asana, Linear, or similar)

Soft Skills

Excellent communication

skills and ability to work with a cross-cultural, cross-time zone team

Collaborative mindset:

Ability to work effectively with others, lifting teammates up, learning together, and sharing wins and failures

Balanced drive:

Passionate about your work while maintaining a healthy pace to avoid burnout and sustain excellence

Transparency and openness:

Open to sharing and receiving ideas and feedback candidly

Integrity and respect:

Ability to make ethical decisions even during challenges, acting with honesty and respect

Patience and coaching:

A willingness to listen, help upskill, and bring people along through times of change

Working with a Okra’s senior leadership team and extensive network of mentors and advisors (Schneider Electric, AtOne Ventures, Apple)

Owning higher level program management at the company-wide operations level

Opportunity to directly impact engineering processes, product strategy, and company strategy

At Okra we are dedicated to creating a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone feels valued, respected, supported and empowered. Our workplace is an interconnected network, where each individual contributes to the energy that drives innovation, fosters collaboration, and illuminates new possibilities. We are committed to recruiting, retaining, and developing a diverse team of talented professionals, and we welcome candidates of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to join us in our mission. Diversity brings power to our teams so we can bring #PowerToThePeople.

Benefits At Okra We’re an output-focused organisation, which means that for the most part, you can choose where and when you work as long as your team has been communicated to and is on board with it. Most commonly, we ask everyone to be in the office at least 2 to 3 days a week to foster connections.

Professional Growth With mentorship from our investors (At One Ventures, Schneider Electric) and a range of experienced leaders and change-makers in our network, you get the opportunity to take on leadership responsibilities.

Cover for work travel, health insurance, sick leave, and equipment.

We burn bright, not out – we offer unlimited paid time off so you can rest, recharge, support your loved ones, and bring your best self to work.

Dynamic & Diverse Workplace You’ll work in a fast-paced startup environment with multinational staff – expect to learn a lot while finding creative solutions to complex problems, all while enjoying a great office vibe.

At Okra, we support parents with fully paid, flexible leave: +60 days in Portugal, 120 in Nigeria, up to 178 in China. Take it your way - before or after birth, in blocks or part-time. Your career won’t stall; we make sure family and growth go hand in hand.

More About Okra At Okra Solar, we’re on a mission to bring Power to the People by unlocking opportunities through energy access for everyone in the world.

Over 650 million people still live without electricity. At a time where technology such as mobile devices, productive agritech and AI are becoming more accessible than ever, we believe that access to energy is the first step toward opportunity and growth.

That’s why we built Mesh-Grid technology that energizes off-grid households at a fraction of the cost of traditional off-grid energy solutions. We supply the tech we specialize in to local energy companies, who go out and deliver affordable, reliable energy to last mile communities.

Okra is currently in its high-growth phase, after raising over $11M for our Series A in 2023 from our investors At One Ventures, FMO, Autodesk, King Philanthropies and Susquehanna. We have rolled out multiple Mesh Grid projects across Africa, Southeast Asia and Central America, but in order for us to achieve our mission of 100% electrification, we need to continue engineering and deploying disruptive energy access technology at scale, so this is an exciting time for everyone!

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