Staff Technical Program Manager, Robotics Systems
Job Description
The Role
We're looking for a Staff Technical Program Manager to serve as the operational and strategic backbone of Mind Robotics' core platform development. This is a founding program management role — the connective tissue between our hardware, software, and data collection teams as we scale from prototype to fleet deployment.
You will own the integrated master plan for our robotics platform: the full-stack convergence of dexterous hardware, real-time control systems, and the data flywheel that trains our models. You are not a timeline tracker. You are a systems thinker who can hold the big picture, identify dependencies before they become blockers, and push every team to deliver against a shared roadmap. This role is the difference between hardware and software operating in parallel — and operating as one.
You will work directly with our founder and functional leads. You will make this company move faster.
What You'll Do
Cross-Functional Program Leadership
Own the integrated master program plan across hardware, software, and data collection — maintaining a single source of truth for milestones, dependencies, and critical path items.
Identify and surface cross-functional risks before they become schedule-critical blockers; drive resolution with urgency and clarity.
Serve as the primary connective layer between the hardware engineering, software/ML, and data operations teams — ensuring no workstream operates in isolation.
Lead structured program reviews that keep leadership and teams aligned on priorities, trade-offs, and resource requirements.
Hardware Program Management
Manage the complexity of our electromechanical system: part-level ownership, supplier lead times, sourcing strategies, and DVT/EVT iteration cycles.
Build and maintain a rigorous parts and supplier tracking system — ensuring every component on the critical path has an owner, a plan, and a fallback.
Partner closely with the hardware lead to translate design decisions into program-level implications across the full stack.
Proactively model the downstream impact of hardware iteration loops on software readiness and data collection timelines.
Hardware-Software Integration
Own the integration checkpoints where hardware and software must converge — defining the criteria, the owners, and the escalation path when they don't.
Ensure software feature development is sequenced against hardware availability; prevent decoupled roadmaps from creating surprise dependencies.
Drive alignment on platform commitments — gripper design, sensing modalities, actuation systems — so that data collection and model training are never blocked by an unresolved hardware decision.
Roadmap & Milestone Execution
Translate high-level product goals into a detailed, dependency-mapped roadmap with clear ownership at every stage.
Define and track the program milestones that matter: hardware readiness gates, data collection launch criteria, model deployment checkpoints, and fleet scale targets.
Hold the team accountable to commitments without creating bureaucratic drag — this is a role about velocity, not process for its own sake.
Core Responsibilities — First 6 Months
Immediate (Days 1–30)
Integrated roadmap audit: Map the current state of hardware, software, and data collection timelines into a single dependency graph. Surface the top 5 cross-functional risks within the first 30 days.
Supplier & parts baseline: Establish a living tracker for all hardware components on the critical path — lead times, ownership, sourcing status, and risk flags.
Program cadence: Stand up a lightweight but rigorous cross-functional program review cadence with standardized inputs from each team.
Near-Term (Days 30–90)
Hardware-software integration plan: Define the formal integration checkpoints for the first full system build — criteria, owners, and go/no-go gates.
DVT/EVT planning: Working with the hardware lead, map the full iteration loop plan through first deployable units — including resource requirements and schedule risk.
Data collection dependency map: Partner with the data lead to ensure the data flywheel build plan is gated appropriately against hardware readiness milestones.
Six-Month Milestone
Path to fleet: Own and maintain the program plan for our first meaningful robot deployment in Normal — with all cross-functional dependencies resolved, resourced, and tracked.
Qualifications
10+ years in technical program management, with significant experience owning hardware-software integrated systems at a senior IC level.
Proven track record managing complex electromechanical programs through full development cycles — from early prototype through production or scaled deployment.
Deep instincts around hardware lead times, supplier management, and the downstream program implications of physical iteration cycles.
Experience in robotics, autonomous systems, automotive (EV/software-defined vehicle), semiconductor systems, or adjacent deep tech hardware industries.
Exceptional cross-functional operator: known for bringing clarity to ambiguous programs, not adding process overhead.
Strong technical foundation — comfortable engaging directly with mechanical, electrical, and software engineers at a level of depth that earns credibility.
Startup builder mentality: you create structure from ambiguity, own outcomes end-to-end, and move with urgency.
Experience scaling hardware systems from 0 to meaningful fleet deployment is a strong plus.