Technical Program Manager, Hardware

Roboticsconnected; Iowa; On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Mind Robotics is seeking a Hardware Program Manager to own the integrated plan for hardware development across mechanical, electrical, compute, actuation, and sensor systems. You will partner with design, software, and data teams to align milestones with organizational goals and ensure timely delivery of deployed robots.

The role requires 5+ years in technical hardware program management, strong engineering foundations, and a proven ability to drive architecture, planning, and cross‑functional

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in technical program management for hardware product development, ideally in robotics.
• Proven track record taking hardware projects from ideas to reliable products.
• Strong fundamentals in engineering/science with ability to engage in architecture, planning, and systems integration discussions.
• Experience managing programs across multiple interdependent domains with cross‑functional teams such as software and operations.
• High sense of urgency, comfortable with ambiguity, and driven by engineering curiosity.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering, or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• End-to-End planning of the robot development across mechanical, electrical, compute, actuation, and sensors.
• Technical/Business grounding: engage in architecture and design discussions to stress-test estimates and align with goals.
• Guiding technical decisions: move decisions to closure or escalate when needed.
• Program practice design: define hardware program management practices and milestones alignment.
• Progress tracking: build metrics to show status and communicate blockers and risks.
• Risk and issue management: identify risks early and drive mitigations.

Skills

Technical program management

Hardware integration

Robotics domain knowledge

Systems architecture

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Job description

ABOUT MIND:

Mind Robotics is building Physical AI for real-world industrial deployment, starting with the factory floor. We believe the hardest problems in AI are solved when researchers and engineers are hands‑on with the physical world every day - and we're looking for people who are passionate about robotics, value ownership, and are excited to tackle difficult problems. Join us if you want to move beyond digital intelligence and put intelligence into motion.

ABOUT THE TEAM AND THE ROLE:

Program Management at Mind is an operational catalyst. We own outcomes, drive the trade-offs that keep engineering moving, and set the metabolic rate of the teams we partner with — clearing roadblocks, closing stalled decisions, carrying risk upward, and protecting the focus engineers need to build. As a Hardware Program Manager you will own the integrated program plan across all of hardware and build the practice itself: how teams define their own milestones and commit to org‑level ones, how we know week over week whether we are on or off track, and how problems surface early enough that we can still do something about them. You will partner directly with the industrial design, software, and data teams so that our plans collectively roll up to meet our goals of deployed robots doing real work.

Responsibilities:

• End-to-End Planning: Own the overall plan for development of our robot — including subsystem plans and investigations across mechanical, electrical, compute, actuation, and sensor systems.
• Technical/Business Grounding: Engage directly in architecture and design discussions at a depth sufficient to stress‑test engineering estimates and ensure alignment with business goals.
• Guiding Technical Decisions: Keep technical decisions moving to closure — resolved at the team level where possible, escalated when they can’t be.
• Program Practice Design: Establish how hardware program management works at Mind: the planning rhythm that connects team‑level work to org‑level milestones and the artifacts that support both the individual engineer and leadership in prioritization and decision making.
• Progress Tracking: Build the tracking layer that answers whether we are on or off track, drawn from the systems teams already work in. Monitor and report on key program metrics, and communicate status, blockers, and risks to leadership.
• Risk and Issue Management: Identify and communicate technical, dependency, and resourcing risks early. Drive the process for mitigations and resolution.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Industry Experience: 5+ years of experience in technical program management for hardware product development, ideally in robotics or other products that integrate mechanical, electrical, compute, actuation, and sensing systems.
• Proven Track Record: Demonstrated success taking hardware projects from nothing more than ideas to hardened, reliable products.
• Technical Depth: Strong fundamentals in engineering/science with the ability to engage meaningfully in architecture, planning, and systems integration discussions.
• System Complexity: Experience managing programs spanning multiple interdependent domains along with dependencies on broader cross‑functional teams such as software engineering and operations.
• Execution & Ownership: High sense of urgency, comfortable with ambiguity, and driven by an \"engineering curiosity\" to understand how the entire system works.
• Educational Background: Bachelor's degree in engineering, or equivalent experience.