Staff Technical Program Manager, Robotics Systems

About 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.

Responsibilities

• 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.

Requirements

• 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.
• Exceptio

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