Principal Engineer - Robotics Safety and Complianc

ArcBest; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

ArcBest seeks a Principal Product Manager - Robotics Safety and Compliance to direct the end-to-end lifecycle of the Vaux Smart Autonomy robotics portfolio. You will drive strategy, safety architectures, and compliance across multi-category standards while guiding cross-functional teams to deliver safe, scalable autonomy solutions.

You will own roadmaps, lead hazard analyses, and translate customer insights into testable requirements, pricing models, and measurable outcomes that support

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in a technical field is required.
• Master's degree or MBA is preferred.
• Experience with robotics, autonomy, or industrial automation products is required.
• Experience with cross-functional teams spanning hardware, perception, autonomy software, and control systems is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own multi-horizon roadmaps translating strategy into actionable product requirements.
• Lead safety and compliance strategy for robotics systems and certifications.
• Oversee hazard analysis, risk mitigation, and validation planning for certification.
• Collaborate with engineering to embed safety across hardware, software, and controls.
• Manage relationships with OEMs and suppliers to support certifications and scalability.
• Provide technical leadership and communicate progress to leadership and stakeholders.
• Drive voice of customer programs, evaluate deployments, and refine roadmaps.
• Balance resources to maximize customer value, commercial impact, and scalability.
• Develop PRDs translating insights into testable requirements and outcomes.
• Build models for Smart Autonomy pricing to maximize profitability.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Cross-functional leadership

Product lifecycle management

Safety standards

Regulatory compliance

Pricing analytics

Data-driven decision making

Stakeholder communication

Analytics tools

Vendor & OEM collaboration

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Robotics, Electrical/Mechanical/Systems/Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field

Master's Degree (or MBA) in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Confluence

Jira

Miro

Job description

Job Description

The Principal Product Manager - Robotics Safety and Compliance drives execution and value creation across Vaux's autonomous intralogistics portfolio. Reporting to the Vice President, Smart Autonomy Business Line - Vaux, this position bridges commercial strategy, product management, and functional safety engineering to deliver differentiated and safe autonomy solutions. The Principal Product Manager - Robotics Safety and Compliance owns the end-to-end product lifecycle, from market discovery and requirements definition through backlog prioritization, validation, release, and post-launch optimization. This position translates customer insights and operational feedback into clear product requirements, guiding development priorities and roadmap decisions. The Principal Product Manager - Robotics Safety and Compliance ensures the safe design, development, and deployment of the Vaux Smart Autonomy robotics platform. Working closely with robotics engineering teams, this position integrates safety architectures, risk mitigation strategies, and compliance with relevant global industry standards and certifications across functional safety, electrical, cybersecurity, and communications into product design and deployments. The Principal Product Manager - Robotics Safety and Compliance requires strong leadership and communication skills to align cross-functional teams, translate complex safety requirements for internal and external stakeholders, and drive product outcomes that support recurring revenue growth and margin performance. This position is ideal for professionals passionate about robotics, automation, and data-driven decision-making who thrive in cross-functional collaboration with customers, engineering, commercialization, and deployment teams.

Responsibilities

• Own and lead translation into multi-horizon roadmaps of Smart Autonomy business line strategy into actionable product roadmaps and detailed product requirements.
• Lead product safety and compliance strategy to ensure robotics systems meet applicable multi-category standards and certifications, including robotic safety, functional safety, electrical safety, and regulatory market requirements.
• Oversee hazard analysis, risk mitigation design, and verification and validation planning to support certification and safe deployment of new products.
• Collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to embed safety and compliance requirements across hardware, software, and control systems throughout the development lifecycle.
• Manage relationships with OEMs and key suppliers to ensure component and system selections support required certifications and long-term platform scalability.
• Provide technical leadership to multidisciplinary teams and communicate product progress, performance metrics, compliance outcomes, and roadmap decisions to leadership and stakeholders.
• Direct and mature voice of customer programs, evaluate live deployments, develop strategic customer relationships, and review product performance data to identify product requirements and product roadmaps.
• Exercise decision-making authority to establish and adjust Smart Autonomy engineering priorities, proactively rebalancing technical resources to maximize customer value, commercial impact, and long-term platform scalability.
• Own the product what" and "why" by developing product requirement documents (PRDs) that translate customer insights, field observations, and operational data into testable requirements and expected economic outcomes.
• Build, refine, and maintain quantitative models to determine Smart Autonomy pricing to maximize Vaux profitability.
• Leverage analytics and telemetry data to monitor performance, usage, and reliability, driving data-informed iteration cycles.
• Support product marketing efforts to prioritize target markets for Vaux Smart Autonomy portfolio, define TAM, set customer hit lists, and define the ideal customer profile.
• Serve as a primary business representative in cross-functional sprint and release planning, facilitating clear trade-off decisions and prioritization based on value and risk.
• Communicate development status, product metrics, and roadmap decisions effectively to leadership and stakeholders.
• Other duties and projects, as assigned.

Requirements

Education:

• Bachelor's Degree in Robotics, Electrical/Mechanical/Systems/Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field, required
• Master's Degree (or MBA) in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, or related field, preferred

Experience:

• 8 years of relevant experience, preferred
• Experience with robotics, autonomy, or industrial automation products, required
• Experience working closely with robotics engineering teams across hardware, perception, autonomy software, and control systems, including supporting field deployments of complex automation systems and translating operational feedback into product improvements, preferred

Computer Skills:

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, required
• Experience analyzing product performance and operational data using analytics tools (e.g., Excel, SQL, Python, Tableau, or similar), required
• Familiar with Confluence, Jira, and Miro, preferred

Certifications:

• Certified Functional Safety Engineer (TÜV Rheinland) or similar functional safety expertise, preferred
• Functional Safety Expert/Electrical Safety Expert Certification(s), preferred
• Project Management Professional (PMP)® - Project Management Institute, preferred

Additional Requirements:

• Working knowledge of robotics safety standards relevant to industrial robotics and autonomous mobile robots, including ISO 3691-4, ISO 10218, ISO 13849, IEC 61508, and ANSI/RIA standards, required
• Familiar with product certification and regulatory compliance requirements across safety, electrical, and wireless domains (e.g., UL, CE, FCC), required
• Understanding of robotics system architecture including sensing, perception, autonomy software, motion control, and safety systems, required
• Demonstrated quantitative ability (e.g., pricing, financial modeling, and/or statistics), required
• Strong strategic thinking and business acumen, required
• Expertise in product lifecycle management and customer value analysis, required
• Skilled in customer-facing role, including ability to represent a brand with enterprise accounts and determine customer problems, required
• Experience in scaling a robotics startup or incubated product launch, preferred

Other Details

Work Hours:

• Generally, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm with occasional irregular hours depending on workload.

Travel Requirements:

• Occasional (25%-50%) Travel expected to support business line operations, customer engagements, and strategic initiatives.

Compensation:

• This is a salary position paid biweekly.

About Us

ArcBest® (Nasdaq: ARCB) is a multibillion-dollar integrated logistics company that helps keep the global supply chain moving. Founded in 1923 and now with 14,000 employees across 250 campuses and service centers, the company is a logistics powerhouse, using its technology, expertise and scale to connect shippers with the solutions they need — from ground, air and ocean transportation to fully managed supply chains. ArcBest has a long history of innovation that is enriched by deep customer relationships. With a commitment to helping customers navigate supply chain challenges now and in the future, the company continues to invest in purpose-built technology such as ArcBest View ™, its digital logistics platform that brings quoting, booking, shipment visibility and reporting into one connected experience.