Technical Program Manager, Robotics

Key Responsibilities

1. Program Strategy & Client Engagement

• Serve as the primary technical liaison between clients, engineering teams, and internal stakeholders for robotics and UAV programs.
• Translate client operational needs into scalable robotics solutions, system architectures, and program roadmaps.
• Lead technical discovery sessions, solution workshops, and program kickoff meetings.
• Develop program-level proposals, technical documentation, and commercial scopes aligned with technical feasibility and cost efficiency.
• Maintain strong relationships with clients and stakeholders throughout the program lifecycle.

1. Program Planning & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Drive planning and execution of robotics programs involving multiple projects, teams, and deployments.
• Define program timelines, technical milestones, resource allocation, and delivery roadmaps.
• Coordinate across hardware, firmware, software, flight operations, and field engineering teams to ensure alignment and integration.
• Facilitate program reviews, sprint planning, technical checkpoints, and risk mitigation discussions.
• Track program performance, manage dependencies, and escalate critical risks when necessary.

1. Technical Program Oversight

• Provide technical leadership across robotics and UAV system development programs.
• Guide integration of flight controllers, payloads, communication systems, onboard sensors, and autonomous capabilities.
• Leverage expertise in ArduPilot firmware, hardware architecture, mission planning, and system tuning to support engineering teams.
• Ensure system reliability, performance validation, and compliance with aviation regulations and safety standards.
• Review system architecture decisions and ensure alignment with long-term product and platform strategies.

1. Field Deployment & Operational Readiness

• Oversee technical readiness for field trials, pilot deployments, and operational rollouts.
• Coordinate site surveys, system configuration, environmental testing, and operational validation.
• Support field teams during complex deployments, troubleshooting, and system optimization.
• Ensure documentation of testing results, flight performance data, and lessons learned to improve future deployments.

1. Program Delivery & Continuous Improvement

• Ensure successful delivery of robotics programs across development, integration, and deployment phases.
• Drive post-deployment support coordination with engineering teams to resolve field issues and implement system improvements.
• Capture program insights, technical learnings, and best practices to improve future program execution.
• Support internal roadmap planning by providing field feedback, technical insights, and client requirements.

Qualifications

Must-Have

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, Electronics, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• 3–5+ years of experience in robotics, UAV systems, or autonomous systems development and deployment.
• Proven experience managing complex technical programs or cross-functional engineering projects.
• Excellent stakeholder management and client-facing communication skills.

Nice-to-Have

• PMP, Agile, or Technical Program Management certification.
• Experience with ROS / ROS2, PX4, or autonomous robotics frameworks.
• Familiarity with UAVCAN, companion computers, edge AI, or autonomy stacks.
• Working knowledge of geospatial tools and aerial data processing platforms (Pix4D, Agisoft, etc.).
• Experience with aviation compliance, safety cases, and operational risk assessments.
• Strong working knowledge of ArduPilot ecosystem (Pixhawk, MAVLink, Mission Planner, QGroundControl).
• Experience with UAV hardware integration, system testing, and field operations.

Key Competencies

• Technical Program Leadership
• Systems Thinking in Robotics & Autonomous Platforms
• Cross-Functional Team Coordination
• Structured Problem Solving
• Strategic Planning & Execution
• Stakeholder & Client Management
• Clear Technical Communication
• Delivery Under Complex Operational Constraints