Senior/Staff Technical Program Manager - AI & Autonomy

Front Door Defense; Foster City (CA); On-site; USD 205,000 - 284,000; Full time

Job summary

Zoox in Foster City, California seeks a Senior/Staff Technical Program Manager for AI & Autonomy to own end-to-end program management of autonomous driving system development and integration.

You will partner with engineering, product, operations, and strategy to translate roadmaps into deliverables, define KPIs, and maintain technical understanding of vehicle platforms, software lifecycle, and safety testing.

Qualifications

• BS or MS degree in an engineering discipline or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of experience in engineering, program management, or management consulting with a focus on product development.
• Experience leading complex cross-functional technical programs from start to finish.
• Excellent written, presentation, and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Translate the top-down corporate strategy and milestones into detailed technical roadmaps, timelines, and deliverables.
• Influence decisions across engineering, product, operations, and strategy to reach optimal outcomes.
• Establish standard reports for stakeholders on program status, issues/risks, and accomplishments.
• Define, develop, and track KPIs to measure progress toward goals.
• Ensure program goals align with business objectives and maintain cross-functional momentum.
• Maintain a strong technical understanding of vehicle platforms, software lifecycle, safety clearance, and test operations.

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional leadership

Communication

Ambiguity tolerance

Education

Engineering degree (BS/MS)

Tools

Jira

Job description

Senior/Staff Technical Program Manager - AI & Autonomy

Own the end-to-end program management for autonomous driving system development and integration.

Location: Foster City, California

Compensation: $205,000 - $284,000 USD / year

About The Role

The Program Management Office (PMO) at Zoox is responsible for driving cross‑functional program planning and execution at the highest level. We partner with leaders from across the company in vehicle development, system design, software engineering, manufacturing, fleet operations, and business functions to develop and deliver major corporate milestones on the path to launch, and beyond. Our program managers contribute to the end‑to‑end success of technical, integrated product milestones involving both of our vehicle platforms - the Toyota Highlander test fleet and Zoox’s purpose‑built robotaxi.

The Autonomy and Product SW Technical Program Manager (TPM) in PMO is an experienced cross‑functional program management leader who will be responsible for planning and executing technical and integrated product milestones for our vehicle platforms. This person will work on programs to develop, validate, and improve our autonomous driving system, ultimately enabling the Zoox robotaxi to serve riders in a rapidly expanding operational design domain. This person will also be responsible for integration of Zoox’s cloud software systems, which include customer‑facing products as well as operational tooling.

In this role, you will:

• Partner with a wide range of department managers to translate the top‑down corporate strategy and milestones into detailed technical roadmaps, timelines, and deliverables
• Influence key decisions working cross‑functionally across engineering, product, operations, and strategy to reach the right outcomes
• Establish standard reports to provide concise and effective communications to key stakeholders on program status, issues/risks, and accomplishments
• Define, develop, and track new KPIs and other methods to measure performance that best translate progress towards goals
• Ensure program goals are aligned with business objectives; build and sustain momentum among cross‑functional TPMs and workstreams towards delivering on time and on target
• Maintain a strong technical understanding of our vehicle platforms, software development lifecycle, safety clearance process, and test operations

Qualifications

• BS or MS degree in an engineering discipline or equivalent experience
• 8+ years of experience in engineering, program management, or management consulting with a focus on product development
• Success in leading complex cross‑functional technical programs from start to finish
• Comfortable leading through ambiguity and enabling teams to perform in this environment
• Excellent written, presentation, and verbal communication skills are a must
• Proficient in using program management tools such as Jira

Bonus Qualifications

• Experience with autonomous vehicles, robotics or other complex, safety‑critical systems
• Experience with developing from scratch and scaling engineering or operational processes
• Experience in a high‑growth company

Compensation and Benefits

$205,000 - $284,000 a year Base Salary Range There are three major components to compensation for this position: salary, Amazon Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), and Zoox Stock Appreciation Rights. A sign‑on bonus may be offered as part of the compensation package. The listed range applies only to the base salary. Compensation will vary based on geographic location and level. Leveling, as well as positioning within a level, is determined by a range of factors, including, but not limited to, a candidate’s relevant years of experience, domain knowledge, and interview performance. The salary range listed in this posting is representative of the range of levels Zoox is considering for this position. Zoox also offers a comprehensive package of benefits, including paid time off (e.g. sick leave, vacation, bereavement), unpaid time off, Zoox Stock Appreciation Rights, Amazon RSUs, health insurance, long‑term care insurance, long‑term and short‑term disability insurance, and life insurance.