Program Engineer Visa Sponsorship Jobs in California
Program engineer jobs in California are concentrated across the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego, with major sponsors including defense contractors, semiconductor firms, and enterprise software companies. California's depth in aerospace, semiconductor manufacturing, and cloud infrastructure creates steady demand for program engineers who need visa sponsorship across H-1B visa, TN visa, and other work authorization pathways.
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Position Title: Staff Engineering Program Manager
Location & Work Arrangement: Fremont, CA. | Hybrid
Travel Requirements: internationally roughly once a year
About Nextpower
Nextpower is a global leader in intelligent energy technology, delivering innovative solutions across solar power, electrical infrastructure, automation, and digital technologies. Our products and services help optimize energy performance, improve efficiency, and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable energy future. Driven by innovation and collaboration, our global teams are shaping the future of energy.
Job Summary
We are seeking a Staff Engineering Program Manager to lead complex power conversion programs from product definition through validation, manufacturing release, and production ramp. The role brings engineering, systems integration, product management, supply chain, manufacturing, quality, compliance, and commercial teams together to deliver reliable products that meet performance, cost, and schedule goals.
The ideal candidate has a proven track record leading power conversion hardware programs with globally distributed teams, managing complex dependencies, and driving decisions across organizational boundaries.
Key Responsibilities
- Own the integrated program plan, including scope, milestones, dependencies, budget, risks, resource and priority conflicts, and recovery plans.
- Ensure clear, consistent communication across time zones, enabling effective decision-making across international teams.
- Lead cross-functional execution from product definition through design, prototype builds, validation, manufacturing release, and production ramp.
- Partner with engineering leads to frame technical decisions, assess program impacts, and resolve cross-functional dependencies.
- Align globally distributed internal teams, suppliers, and manufacturing partners on priorities, deliverables, and decisions.
- Drive product readiness, including bill of materials maturity, drawing and documentation readiness, factory testing, and production capacity.
- Present to senior leadership and communicate program health, risks, tradeoffs, and decisions.
- Establish effective program practices across teams and mentor others in program planning, risk management, and cross-site execution.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, a related technical field, or equivalent experience; a master’s degree is preferred.
- 10-15+ years of relevant experience, including leading complex technical hardware programs through development, validation, and manufacturing scale-up.
- Experience working with international, cross-functional teams and external partners.
- Ability to influence stakeholders and drive decisions in fast-paced, matrixed environments.
- Experience with program management and reporting tools such as Jira, Confluence, Power BI, or equivalent.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with solar, energy storage, microgrids, or utility-scale equipment.
- Grid-connected systems, protection, power quality, and site integration.
- Experience managing programs with high voltage, high power, or significant certification requirements.
- Design for manufacturing, supplier qualification, bills of materials, change control, and factory test.
- Product verification, reliability testing, and applicable safety or certification processes.
We are Nextpower
Nextpower offers a comprehensive benefits package. We provide health care coverage, dental and vision, 401(K) participation including company matching, company paid holidays with unlimited paid time off, generous discretionary company bonuses, life and disability protection and more. Employees in certain positions may be eligible for stock compensation. All plans are in accordance with relevant plan documents.
Pay is based on market location and may vary based on factors including experience, skills, education and other job-related reasons. The annual salary range for this position is $190,000 to $205,000 (eligible in California).
At Nextpower, we are driving the global energy transition with an integrated clean energy technology platform that combines intelligent structural, electrical, and digital solutions for utility-scale power plants. Our comprehensive portfolio enables faster project delivery, higher performance, and greater reliability, helping our customers capture the full value of solar power. Our talented worldwide teams are redefining how solar power plants are designed, built, and operated every day with smart technology, data-driven insights, and advanced automation. Together, we’re building the foundation for the world’s next generation of clean energy infrastructure.
Nextpower is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
Job Description:
Position Title: Staff Engineering Program Manager
Location & Work Arrangement: Fremont, CA. | Hybrid
Travel Requirements: internationally roughly once a year
About Nextpower
Nextpower is a global leader in intelligent energy technology, delivering innovative solutions across solar power, electrical infrastructure, automation, and digital technologies. Our products and services help optimize energy performance, improve efficiency, and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable energy future. Driven by innovation and collaboration, our global teams are shaping the future of energy.
Job Summary
We are seeking a Staff Engineering Program Manager to lead complex power conversion programs from product definition through validation, manufacturing release, and production ramp. The role brings engineering, systems integration, product management, supply chain, manufacturing, quality, compliance, and commercial teams together to deliver reliable products that meet performance, cost, and schedule goals.
The ideal candidate has a proven track record leading power conversion hardware programs with globally distributed teams, managing complex dependencies, and driving decisions across organizational boundaries.
Key Responsibilities
- Own the integrated program plan, including scope, milestones, dependencies, budget, risks, resource and priority conflicts, and recovery plans.
- Ensure clear, consistent communication across time zones, enabling effective decision-making across international teams.
- Lead cross-functional execution from product definition through design, prototype builds, validation, manufacturing release, and production ramp.
- Partner with engineering leads to frame technical decisions, assess program impacts, and resolve cross-functional dependencies.
- Align globally distributed internal teams, suppliers, and manufacturing partners on priorities, deliverables, and decisions.
- Drive product readiness, including bill of materials maturity, drawing and documentation readiness, factory testing, and production capacity.
- Present to senior leadership and communicate program health, risks, tradeoffs, and decisions.
- Establish effective program practices across teams and mentor others in program planning, risk management, and cross-site execution.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, a related technical field, or equivalent experience; a master’s degree is preferred.
- 10-15+ years of relevant experience, including leading complex technical hardware programs through development, validation, and manufacturing scale-up.
- Experience working with international, cross-functional teams and external partners.
- Ability to influence stakeholders and drive decisions in fast-paced, matrixed environments.
- Experience with program management and reporting tools such as Jira, Confluence, Power BI, or equivalent.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with solar, energy storage, microgrids, or utility-scale equipment.
- Grid-connected systems, protection, power quality, and site integration.
- Experience managing programs with high voltage, high power, or significant certification requirements.
- Design for manufacturing, supplier qualification, bills of materials, change control, and factory test.
- Product verification, reliability testing, and applicable safety or certification processes.
We are Nextpower
Nextpower offers a comprehensive benefits package. We provide health care coverage, dental and vision, 401(K) participation including company matching, company paid holidays with unlimited paid time off, generous discretionary company bonuses, life and disability protection and more. Employees in certain positions may be eligible for stock compensation. All plans are in accordance with relevant plan documents.
Pay is based on market location and may vary based on factors including experience, skills, education and other job-related reasons. The annual salary range for this position is $190,000 to $205,000 (eligible in California).
At Nextpower, we are driving the global energy transition with an integrated clean energy technology platform that combines intelligent structural, electrical, and digital solutions for utility-scale power plants. Our comprehensive portfolio enables faster project delivery, higher performance, and greater reliability, helping our customers capture the full value of solar power. Our talented worldwide teams are redefining how solar power plants are designed, built, and operated every day with smart technology, data-driven insights, and advanced automation. Together, we’re building the foundation for the world’s next generation of clean energy infrastructure.
Nextpower is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
Program Engineer Job Roles in California
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Search Program Engineer Jobs in CaliforniaProgram Engineer Jobs in California: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies in California sponsor visas for program engineers?
California's largest program engineer sponsors include aerospace and defense firms such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas, semiconductor companies like Qualcomm and Applied Materials, and enterprise technology employers across the Bay Area. These companies file Labor Condition Applications regularly, signaling established sponsorship processes for engineering roles that require a qualifying degree.
Which visa types realistically fit program engineer roles in California?
Program engineers typically qualify for the H-1B, which covers specialty occupations requiring a bachelor's degree in a directly related engineering field, subject to an annual cap and selection process. Canadian and Mexican nationals may qualify for TN status under the USMCA Engineer category with the appropriate degree. EB-2 and EB-3 employment-based green cards are also viable long-term paths. F-1 students can use OPT or, with a STEM-designated engineering degree, the 24-month STEM OPT extension.
How to find program engineer visa sponsorship jobs in California?
Migrate Mate lists California program engineer roles specifically at employers with verified visa sponsorship history, so you can focus on companies that have already filed for engineering positions rather than filtering general job boards. Search by city or sub-region to target the Bay Area, Los Angeles, or San Diego clusters. Migrate Mate's data reflects actual employer filing activity, giving you a more reliable starting point than broad keyword searches.
Which California cities have the most program engineer sponsorship opportunities?
San Jose and the broader Bay Area generate the highest volume of program engineer sponsorship activity, driven by semiconductor and enterprise software employers. Los Angeles and El Segundo are strong for aerospace and defense program engineering roles. San Diego supports significant demand through defense contractors and biotech-adjacent hardware firms. Smaller but active clusters exist in Sacramento and Santa Clara, particularly tied to government contracting and chip manufacturing.
Are there state-specific factors that affect visa sponsorship for program engineers in California?
California's concentration of defense contractors introduces one important consideration: many program engineer roles require security clearances, which can complicate or delay sponsorship for foreign nationals during the clearance adjudication process. Additionally, California's large university pipeline from UC Berkeley, UCLA, Caltech, and Stanford means employers in this state are experienced with F-1 OPT and STEM OPT hiring, making those pathways particularly well-understood by local HR and legal teams.
What is the prevailing wage for sponsored program engineer jobs in California?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.