Technical Project Manager

We're looking for a Technical Project Manager to work on the micro:bit. This is a rare opportunity to develop a product designed for education and social impact, without compromising on scale and reach. Through our collaboration with Arm, Microsoft, the BBC, UNICEF, Google and many others, over the last 10 years more than 12 million micro:bit devices have been distributed globally, used by more than 70 million children around the world.

Join us as we lay the foundations for our next decade of impact.

We need someone who is confident with the detail of hardware development, the complexities of global compliance as well as communicating risk, timelines and resourcing needs to organisational leadership. It is important you already have an understanding of hardware and technical language, so that you can work effectively with the engineering, product and operations teams as soon as you arrive.

You'll take micro:bit hardware and its supporting software through every stage of development - from early feasibility work through prototyping, testing and certification, to mass production - working alongside a small, sharp team and reporting to our Programme Manager.

Main responsibilities

We're a small foundation with a global footprint, and we've built that reach by working directly with engineering teams across the technology ecosystem. One of the core ways that the Foundation supports impact and scale is through stable, dependable supply of the micro:bit at the lowest possible cost. This role is to expand our capacity in this area.

Because the team is still small you will have significant autonomy to shape the processes and tools we use. Your input will be instrumental to our ability to deliver the hardware.

What you'll be doing

• Project managing development, delivery, and certification of micro:bit hardware

• Working hands-on with engineering teams (ours and our partners') on hardware and software delivery. This includes working with highly motivated education specialists to create products and services that appeal to diverse audiences and help achieve the Foundation’s mission

• Running technical project management across the full micro:bit development lifecycle - facilitating project meetings, maintaining accountability for deliverables, and providing regular project status updates

• Creating clear project deliverables and KPIs, and continuously measuring and reporting on their status

• Building and maintaining the risk register, escalating where needed

• Evolving technical project management systems within the Foundation's programme management governance framework, ensuring appropriate documentation is developed and maintained

• Communicating with suppliers - test houses, designers, manufacturers, software houses

• Setting up robust test planning and traceability, embedding quality throughout the development process

• Coordinating compliance work alongside our Product & Compliance Manager

• Introducing new processes where existing systems are insufficient or ineffective

You'll work across four phases

• Concept & Feasibility (turning ideas into delivery plans)

• Development & Prototyping (iteration, debugging, builds)

• Validation & Testing (reliability, regulatory compliance, revisions)

• Ramp & Delivery (working with our Production & Manufacturing Manager to get from finished design to volume manufacture)

Requirements

This is a role for someone with both technical capability and excellent project management experience, we would like you to have:

• Proven experience project managing hardware products end-to-end, including:

• Component and supplier selection

• PCB design

• Firmware and software

• Packaging

• Compliance

• Documentation

• Experience working from prototype through to volume manufacture

• Delivered at least one product requiring tight integration between hardware design, firmware and higher-level software (e.g. PC-based tooling)

• Comfort with working across waterfall, iterative and agile methods, and the judgement to balance agile software development against a more waterfall-paced hardware world

• Experience of CE, FCC or CMIIT compliance (ideally all including radio systems)

• Practical experience managing a bill of materials including multiple alternatives

• Confidence engaging directly with engineers on technical substance, not just timelines

• Familiarity with engineering change processes and configuration management

• A pragmatic streak - knowing where compromises can and can't be made

• Experience with tools such as monday.com and GitHub

• A project management qualification (Prince2, Agile, PMP, MSP) is useful but not essential

If you're missing one or two of these but everything else aligns with your experience, apply anyway - use your covering letter to tell us where you'd need support.

The impact you’ll have

The Micro:bit Educational Foundation is a UK-based not-for-profit with the goal to inspire every child to create their best digital future (https://microbit.org/about/).

There are now more than 12 million micro:bits in use around the world, and we estimate that more than 74 million children have learned to code with the BBC micro:bit. Last year we deployed micro:bits into more than 90% of UK primary schools in a project with Nominet and the BBC.

One of the greatest benefits of working here is knowing that your work contributes to something positive and constructive, with beneficial social outcomes. We are a small organisation with a large audience and reach, and we thrive on creative problem solving - which gives each person the chance to have enormous impact while ensuring the days are diverse and the challenges complex.

Benefits

Location - Home based and Oxford, UK (hybrid)

Our past experience developing hardware is that some aspects of planning, testing and co-ordination are significantly easier with an office/lab base and regular face-to-face contact. We also know how valuable it can be to have protected, uninterrupted time and a role that sits sustainably in your wider life. We expect the successful candidate to travel to, and work from, our Oxford office regularly. However, we're not fixed on a specific number of office days or hours - if you're excited about the role and can make the travel work, we want to hear from you. Occasional travel to component suppliers or production sites in the UK and potentially internationally may be required.

Flexibility

This is an 18-month fixed-term contract, with the possibility of extension or a permanent role. This position is full-time, though we'd consider four days a week on a pro-rata basis, which would be aligned with several members of the technology and product teams.

Salary

£55,000-£63,500 FTE, depending on experience.

Once a probationary period is complete, contractual benefits include options to join group private medical and group life insurance plan, EAP plan, flexibility in working hours, flexible annual leave policy (taking at minimum 25 days a year not including national holidays and Foundation closures) and competitive pension contributions.

Application and recruitment schedule

Please send us a copy of your CV and a covering letter explaining your suitability for the role. The covering letter is the first thing we read and applications without one won’t be progressed.

Due to the urgency of this role, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We will be conducting initial zoom interviews as a first stage, and face to face interviews at our Oxford office for candidates who progress to second round interviews.

We monitor our performance on hiring diversity, using a questionnaire at the end of the application process. This is viewed by the operations team only; the aggregated data is shared with the wider team. The questionnaire is optional and you have the choice to not answer any question but is hugely valuable for us to understand our performance in this area. You'll automatically be directed to this upon submitting your application.

At the Foundation, trust is one of our core values, and we want to keep the application process fair for everyone. While AI can be a great tool, we ask that you let us know if you've used it to assist with your application. AI isn't off-limits, but keep in mind that overly AI-generated responses may lack the specificity needed to effectively address the key criteria outlined in the job description and might not fully showcase your unique skills and experiences.

Applicants must have the right to live and work in the UK.