Technical Program Manager, Actuators

OpenAI; United States; Remote; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI Robotics is seeking a Technical Program Manager to own actuator development and integration from system goals through production readiness. The program spans mechanical, electrical, firmware, harnessing, controls, test, reliability, manufacturing, and supply chain, and requires turning cross-functional decisions into clear scope, milestones, and timely choices.

Based in San Francisco, CA, the role requires in-person presence 4 days a week.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering complex actuator programs across mechanical, electrical, firmware, and manufacturing.
• Strong ability to align scope and milestones across multiple engineering teams.
• Proven track record in cross-functional decision-making and risk management.

Responsibilities

• Drive actuator programs end-to-end from goals to production readiness.
• Converge on technical plans and interface definitions for motor/gear/electronics.
• Lead validation planning from prototypes through engineering validation and manufacturing readiness.
• Collaborate across cost, quality, performance, schedule, and lead time to meet deliverables.

Skills

Actuator development

Cross-functional leadership

System engineering

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Job description

About Team

Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and advancing toward AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world environments. Working across the full model and systems stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the physical constraints of real-world systems to improve people’s lives.

About the Role

We are looking for a Technical Program Manager to own actuator development and integration from system goals through production readiness. The actuator program spans mechanical, electrical, firmware, harnessing, controls, test, reliability, manufacturing, and supply chain, and needs a TPM who can turn cross-functional decisions into clear scope, executable milestones, and timely decisions. In this role, you will help the team converge on the right technical plan, surface risks early, and deliver reliable actuator systems on schedule. This role is based in San Francisco, CA and requires in-person presence 4 days a week. In this role you will: Drive actuator programs end-to-end, aligning scope, milestones, interfaces, dependencies, and exit criteria across engineering teams. Drive scope lock and technical convergence for sprints, MVPs, and stretch goals while connecting component decisions to system performance. Coordinate actuator development across motors, gears, sensing, electronics, and firmware, and align the electrical and mechanical interfaces that connect actuators to the broader robot. Lead validation planning from early prototypes through engineering validation, reliability testing, and production readiness. Drive tradeoff decisions across cost, quality, performance, schedule, and lead time by collaborating cross-functionally and quantifying impact to meet program deliverables. Establish effective mechanisms for technical reviews, change control, design releases, decision tracking, and manufacturing readiness.