Chief Product & Technology Officer; Consumer Hardware Device

Position: Chief Product & Technology Officer (Consumer Hardware Device)
Location:

Mumbai (On-site / frequent on-ground presence required)

Product:
Consumer Hardware | Behaviour Replacement | Deep Tech

The Opportunity
Company is building a first-of-its-kind consumer hardware product designed to replace a harmful global habit with a safer, non-combustive, non-addictive ritual.
This is not a vape, e-cigarette, heated tobacco product, or nicotine device. It is a new category,
combining technology, design, safety, and human psychology.
We are early-stage, pre-institutional funding, and entering a critical execution window. The decisions made now will define the product and the company for years.
We are not hiring an employee. We are evaluating a founder-calibre Product & Technology leader who wants real authorship.

Role Summary
You will be the single-point owner of product and technology execution, from blank-sheet architecture through EVT → DVT → early PVT and an investor-grade “Golden Prototype”.
This is a hands-on, decision-heavy role. If you prefer delegation over building, this is not a fit.

What You Will Own
You will personally own and drive:
1. Product & System Architecture

• Translate behavioural intent into a buildable system

• Decide what is core vs optional

• Make irreversible trade-offs consciously

• Freeze the right things at the right time
2. Industrial Design & Mechanical Execution

• Work deeply with industrial designers

• Own materials, tolerances, airflow, ergonomics, hygiene

• Resolve  engineering conflicts decisively

• Ensure the product feels right, not just functions
3. Electronics & Firmware Orchestration

• Own electronics architecture decisions (even if not coding)

• Coordinate firmware logic, safety states, and control flows

• Understand power, battery, and reliability implications

• Catch wrong assumptions early
4. EVT → DVT Execution

• Personally drive EVT and DVT builds

• Design experiments, interpret failures, iterate fast

• Decide when to redesign vs move forward
5. Manufacturing & ODM Engagement

• Direct engagement with ODMs (China / Asia)

• Own BOM, yield assumptions, and cost-quality trade-offs

• Protect IP while collaborating pragmatically
6. Validation, Safety & Compliance Readiness

• Design-for-compliance from Day 1

• Coordinate with labs and regulatory advisors

• Avoid late-stage surprises
Who This Role Is For
You are likely a fit if you:

• Have 10–20 years in hardware / product / system roles

• Have taken at least one real 0→1 hardware product through EVT/DVT

• Are comfortable working with manufacturers and ODMs

• Think in systems, not components

• Enjoy ambiguity and decision ownership

• Are willing to get hands dirty in early builds
Strong preference for:

• Consumer hardware experience

• Battery-powered devices

• Products requiring certification

• Asia manufacturing exposure
Who This Role Is NOT For
This role is not suitable if you:

• Are salary-first or risk-averse

• Prefer advisory or fractional roles

• Need large teams to feel effective

• Want structure before momentum

• Are uncomfortable with early-stage uncertainty
Mindset & Personal Alignment
We are intentionally filtering for:

• Founder mentality: ownership > title

• Comfort with delayed gratification

• High integrity, low ego

• Willingness to be wrong and correct fast
Smoker / ex-smoker / vaper is a positive, purely for product empathy.
Location & Commitment

• Mumbai-based strongly preferred

• Frequent on-ground presence required

• Full-time commitment only

• No parallel consulting or advisory roles
This cannot be done remotely.
Compensation & Structure
This is not a market-salary role.

• Modest monthly sustenance compensation (pre-funding)

• All approved work expenses reimbursed

• Equity-heavy, cash-light philosophy

• Clear intent to evaluate long-term leadership or co-founder partnership
Equity is not promised upfront. It is earned through execution and ownership.
What Success Looks Like
Success is defined by:

• Working EVT and DVT prototypes

• Scientific and safety validation

• Manufacturing feasibility clarity

• Compliance readiness

• Investor confidence in the product and team
Not by team size or slide decks.

Final Note
This is a career-defining role, not a stepping stone. It will be demanding, ambiguous, and execution heavy. But for the right person, it offers rare authorship: to build a category-defining consumer product from first principles.