Engineering Program Manager

Ghost Robotics; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Ghost Robotics in Philadelphia, PA, is seeking an execution leader to own the integrated development framework for our product programs. You will manage milestones, dependencies, budgets, and release readiness, coordinating with Product Owners and Engineering Leads to ensure the program stays on date.

This role does not involve direct people management of engineers but requires the credibility to hold senior engineers to commitments and to surface risks early. Travel up to 20% is expected.

Qualifications

• 7+ years leading complex engineering programs (hardware + software).
• Experience with integrated master schedules and formal risk management.
• Experience releasing physical products, not just software releases.
• Ability to drive senior engineers to commitments through credibility.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the integrated program plan: milestones, critical path, dependencies, release objectives.
• Translate priorities into an executable schedule for the whole organization.
• Lead risk and issue processes; surface and mitigate risks early.
• Drive release readiness across engineering, manufacturing, software, docs, training, and field support.
• Own development budget tracking and flag impacts before surprises.
• Facilitate program reviews and readiness gates; close action items.
• Deliver monthly health reports to executive leadership: progress, risks, decisions.

Skills

Program management

Integrated master scheduling

Risk management

Budget tracking

Cross-functional coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related technical field

Tools

MS Project

Job description

Description

Ghost Robotics builds legged robots for defense, security, and industrial customers operating in environments where failure is not recoverable. Getting a machine like that from concept to fielded product means hardware, firmware, software, verification, manufacturing, and documentation all landing on the same date. That coordination is this job.

You will own the execution framework for our product development programs: the integrated schedule, the risk register, the dependency map, and the release readiness plan. You will work alongside Product Owners and Engineering Leads who own the technical decisions, and you will make sure those decisions are visible, sequenced, and funded.

This is an execution leadership role. You will not be the technical decision-maker, and you will not manage engineers directly. You will be the person leadership turns to when they need to know whether the program is actually going to make its date.

What you'll do

• Build and maintain the integrated development plan for assigned programs: milestones, critical path, dependencies, and release objectives.
• Translate product priorities from Product Owners and Engineering Leads into an executable schedule the whole organization can work from.
• Run the risk and issue process. Surface risks early, drive mitigation, escalate the ones that need a leadership decision.
• Drive release readiness across engineering, manufacturing, software release management, technical documentation, training, and field support.
• Own development budget tracking against plan and flag cost, schedule, or resource impacts before they become surprises.
• Facilitate program reviews and readiness gates. Close action items.
• Deliver monthly program health reporting to executive leadership: progress, schedule, budget, risks, and decisions pending.
• Find and remove the things blocking engineering from shipping.

Requirements

What you'll need

• 7+ years running complex engineering development programs, including integrated hardware and software.
• Working fluency with integrated master schedules, critical path analysis, and formal risk management.
• Experience driving a physical product through release, not just a software release train.
• The ability to hold a room of senior engineers to a commitment through credibility rather than reporting lines.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related technical field, or equivalent experience.

Strong plus

• Robotics, autonomous systems, aerospace, defense, or complex electromechanical products.
• Programs under DoD or government customer cadence: gate reviews, milestone reporting.
• Hands-on with MS Project.
• Hybrid execution models where hardware runs stage-gate and software runs sprints.

Location

Philadelphia, PA area, preferred.

Travel

20% Domestic and/or International Travel depending on the assigned program(s). Available to travel on short notice

and willing to travel from a few days to more than a week at a time.

Compensation

Competitive base, full benefits and highly motivating equity incentive package. Flexible time-off policy. Focus on output

and ability to work with a stellar team of interdisciplinary functions.

Background Check

Ability to clear standard employment background checks. May be required to obtain security clearances in the future.

Physical Requirements

? Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.

? Must be able to lift 50 pounds.

? Ability to travel and navigate by automobile, train, airplane, etc