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MAGIC

Technical Program Manager

Shenzhen , China
part-time

AI overview

This part-time role focuses on executing hardware strategy with precision, strengthening supply chain resilience, and ensuring no bottlenecks impede business goals.

MAGIC AI is building the world’s first AI health coach and personal trainer, powered by proprietary computer vision and world class athlete led content.

MAGIC AI pioneered intelligent mirror training, enabling real time form correction, rep counting and live feedback. The company is backed by leading UK and US investors and has been recognised by Time Magazine and Fast Company for innovation.

Role Summary

This is a senior execution role (part time), based primarily in Shenzhen, responsible for turning clear product and commercial direction into reliable, scalable, high quality hardware.

The role does not own the hardware roadmap or COGS targets.
Instead, it acts as a high trust execution partner to Product and Ops, reducing risk, improving quality, and removing operational drag.

The role exists to:

  • Execute hardware strategy with precision
  • Reduce cognitive load on senior leadership
  • Strengthen supply chain resilience
  • Ensure hardware never becomes a bottleneck to product, software, or commercial goals

Reporting & Interfaces

  • Reports functionally into Operations
  • Works closely with:
    • Head of Ops (COGS, suppliers, margins, payments)
    • Product leadership (hardware roadmap inputs and feasibility)
    • Engineering and Product teams (delivery readiness)
  • Interfaces daily with factories, suppliers and component manufacturers in China

What This Role Owns

  • Hardware Execution (Primary Accountability):
    • Execute against agreed hardware direction and specifications
    • Own day to day factory relationships and on site execution
    • Inspect, QA and sign off samples prior to production runs
    • Resolve defects, quality issues and production risks quickly
    • Ensure consistent fit, finish, durability and customer experience
    • Produce clear, written QA and shipment reports in plain English

  • Quality, Defects & Warranty (Execution Ownership):
    • Execute QA processes on the ground
    • Diagnose hardware failures and repairs to identify root causes to drive upstream quality improvements.
    • Propose fixes and preventative measures
    • Escalate material risks early with options and recommendations
    • Overall defect rates and warranty outcomes sit with Ops, but execution and diagnosis sit here.

  • Supply Chain Resilience & Risk Reduction:
    • Identify and reduce single points of failure across components and suppliers
    • Ensure appropriate use of dual sourcing where possible
    • Map and surface supply chain risks before they become issues
    • Present mitigation options clearly to leadership
    • The role is expected to anticipate risk, not just respond to failure.

  • Supplier & Factory Management:
    • Manage day to day supplier and factory relationships in China
    • Support negotiations with data, options and on the ground insight
    • Ensure factories are aligned on specifications, timelines and quality expectations
    • Act as MAGIC AI’s eyes and ears on the ground
    • Final commercial decisions remain with Ops, but this role materially improves decision quality.

  • Hardware Changes & Autonomy:
    • Early stage: changes to suppliers, components or BOM require alignment with Ops and Product
    • Over time: increasing autonomy for minor component substitutions and execution decisions
    • Expected to bring Option A / Option B recommendations, not just problems
    • Judgement, coachability and learning velocity matter as much as experience.

What This Role Does Not Own

To be explicit:

  • Does not own the hardware roadmap
  • Does not own COGS targets or margin accountability
  • Does not make unilateral strategic hardware decisions

Those sit with Product and Ops respectively.
This role enables both to succeed.

Location & Travel

  • Based primarily in Shenzhen
  • Occasional travel to London HQ as required
  • Expectation is limited UK travel, not frequent commuting

Requirements

  • Experience executing consumer hardware or consumer technology products
  • Strong on the ground experience working with factories in China
  • Mandarin fluency strongly preferred
  • Deep practical understanding of hardware components (cameras, boards, wiring, displays, sensors)
  • Comfortable operating at extreme levels of detail and marginal gains
  • Strong written documentation and reporting discipline
  • Commercial awareness and confidence in supplier discussions
  • Coachable, pragmatic, and calm under pressure
  • Able to operate autonomously while knowing when to escalate

What Success Looks Like

  • Hardware issues are anticipated, not surfaced late
  • QA reports are clear, actionable and trusted
  • Factories are aligned and predictable
  • Supply chain risk steadily reduces
  • Product and Ops spend less time firefighting hardware issues
  • Hardware execution becomes a quiet strength of the business

Benefits

  • Competitive salary.
  • An impact from day one. Our business is scaling by the day. You'll work on ambitious projects, and your contribution will significantly impact the success of MAGIC AI now and in the future.
 MAGIC

MAGIC uses computer vision, connected weights and 3D cameras to deliver personal training by the world's best athletes at home. MAGIC is the first in the world to allow users to perform exercises in front of an intelligent hologram mirror which uses our own custom computer vision software to correct real-time form, rep count, and give live feedback to give a completely hyper-personalised workout. We have combined this with our patent-pending dumbbells and co-created workout content with the world's leading athletes. Similar to how Masterclass.com has done for the higher arts, we enable anyone to be coached by the world’s best in sport, strength, yoga, boxing, dance etc. Users get 1:1 hyper-personalised tracking and feedback as if being personally trained + corrected by them -- but without having to pay £100s a week in typical personal training fees. We are stocked in Selfridges, were named Techround’s #1 IoT startup 2021 and were recently backed by Virgin Startup. We are venture capital backed by leading multi $billion VC funds who also invested in unicorns: Grover, Scalapay and Onfido as well as the founders/angels from Spotify, Stripe, Facebook, Hopin and Tough Mudder.

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