PROGRAM MANAGER-R&D - SR. PROGRAM MANAGER-R&D - Physical AI - Robotics

Southwest Research Institute; San Antonio (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, TX, seeks a Program Manager-R&D focusing on Physical AI and robotics. You will lead development of advanced robotic capabilities, manage projects, and drive new business in industrial robotics domains such as fabrication and automation.

Requirements include advanced robotics education, 10–20 years of R&D experience, strong C++/Python skills, ROS experience, and a valid driver’s license.

Qualifications

• Requires a Bachelor's, Master's or PhD in Robotics or related field.
• 10–20 years of robotics R&D experience in industrial settings.
• Strong software skills in C++ and Python.
• ROS experience required.
• A valid driver's license is required.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical role, project management, and customer engagement.
• Design, build, debug and implement robotic solutions using software.
• Coordinate project teams and align goals with organizational objectives.
• Prepare proposals and cost estimates.
• Interact with customers to promote new business and gather requirements.
• Special focus on software design for industrial robotic manipulators and mobile manipulators.

Skills

C++

Python

Technical leadership

Project management

Communication

Education

Bachelors/Masters/PhD in Robotics or related engineering

Tools

ROS

Job description

PROGRAM MANAGER-R&D - SR. PROGRAM MANAGER-R&D - Physical AI - Robotics

10-01548

Who We Are:

The Intelligent Systems Division develops automated and robotic solutions for commercial and government clients in multiple domains.

Objectives of this Role:

• Join the Robotics Department to contribute to building advanced capabilities, technologies and solutions in the field of industrial robotics and automation that solve real-world challenges faced by our customers.
• Lead novel Physical AI and Robotic application development with vision-language-action (VLA) 3D perception and complex surface reconstruction.
• Business development for new applications, industries, and clients for novel robotic capabilities; more specifically fabrication robotics (heavy industry, foundries, assembly, shipbuilding, etc).
• Technical leadership and project management of cutting edge robotics applications.
• Visit https://robotics.swri.org to learn about some of the work we do.

Daily and Monthly Responsibilities:

• Communicate effectively with internal team, external clients, and industry partners.
• Design, build, debug and implement robotic and automation solutions primarily using software skills.
• Lead technical role, project management, and customer engagement.
• Coordinate individual performance goals and objectives set by the organization as well as lead project teams to realize organizational objectives.
• Prepare proposals and cost estimates.
• Interact with customers to promote new business and develop technical requirements.
• Has a special focus on software design for industrial robotic manipulators and high degree-of-freedom mobile manipulators.

Requirements:

• Requires a Bachelors, Masters or a PhD in Robotics, Mechatronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Software Engineering, or other robotics-related engineering degree. Fewer years of experience may be considered for those with graduate degrees.
• 10-20 years: Relevant industry experience in robotic systems research and development in organizations to include a manufacturer, robotics company, robotics integrator, etc.
• 10-20 years: Strong software skills; C++ or Python required.
• 2-5 years: Robot Operating System (ROS) experience required.
• A valid/clear driver's license is required.

Special Requirements:

Applicant selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. Applicant must be a U.S. citizen.

For benefits information at our San Antonio location, click here .
For benefits information at all other locations, click here .

An Equal Employment Opportunity Employer: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and veteran status.