Senior/Staff Technical Program Manager - Autonomy Behaviors

AI Chopping Block; Northern, Foster City (KY, CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Zoox is seeking a Technical Program Manager to drive cross-functional AI/ML and autonomous mobility programs across software, hardware, vehicle engineering, and product teams. You will translate strategy into structured roadmaps, define milestones, flag risks, estimate budgets, and clearly communicate progress.

You will present program status and recommendations to senior leadership, build scalable TPM practices, and mentor other TPMs while coordinating with director-level stakeholders across

Qualifications

• BS/MS in computer science, engineering, or technical field or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of experience in engineering program management spanning multiple orgs or director-level stakeholders.
• Strong experience with AI/ML, autonomous vehicles, computer vision, RL, simulation, or related automotive/aerospace processes.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive complex, cross-organizational AI/ML programs across multiple teams and stakeholders.
• Translate strategy into structured roadmaps and resolve conflicting priorities.
• Define and track program metrics and communicate progress to senior leadership.
• Build scalable TPM practices, tooling, and processes and mentor other TPMs.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Strategic planning

Executive communication

Risk management

Education

BS/MS in CS/Engineering or related field

Tools

JIRA

Job description

Zoox has embarked on a highly ambitious journey to develop a full-stack autonomous mobility solution for our cities. As a technical program manager, you will work cross-functionally with engineering leaders across software, hardware, vehicle engineering, product and beyond to drive our corporate strategy into tactical and detailed road maps that facilitate effective execution at each stage of our growth curve. You will work with each engineering team to develop program schedules, identify milestones, flag risks, estimate budgets, and clearly communicate ongoing progress.

In this role, you will:

• Own and drive Zoox's most complex, cross-organizational AI/ML programs, spanning multiple engineering teams and director-level+ stakeholders, from strategy through delivery
• Translate ambiguous, top-down corporate strategy into structured roadmaps, resolving conflicting priorities across teams before they become executive-level escalations
• Define and track program-level metrics, using data to proactively surface systemic risks and drive process improvements across the org
• Present program status, trade-offs, and recommendations directly to senior leadership, building credibility and alignment at the executive level
• Build and scale program management practices, tooling, and processes for the broader TPM function, and mentor other TPMs

Qualifications

• BS/MS in computer science, engineering, technical field, or equivalent job experience
  10-12+ years of experience in engineering program management, including experience owning programs spanning multiple orgs or director-level+ stakeholders
• Deep experience with AI/ML, autonomous vehicles, computer vision, reinforcement learning, simulation, and/or automotive or aerospace processes
• Demonstrated track record of resolving high-ambiguity, cross-organizational risks and driving alignment across senior leadership
• Experience building or scaling program management processes, strategy, and tooling for a broader team or function
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to flex between technical depth with engineers and strategic framing with executives

Bonus Qualifications

• Experience in the AV industry or robotics
• Experience integrating AI tools/agents into program management workflows
• Experience using JIRA or other similar tools