Technical Program Manager, Software

Roboticsconnected; Iowa; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Mind Robotics is seeking a Software Program Manager to own the integrated software program plan across multiple teams, from roadmap through release to the fleet, ensuring the program delivers the intended outcomes.

You will design the program management practice, define milestones and done criteria, track metrics, and align software with hardware in a single program picture. The role requires 5+ years in technical program management for software in robotics, with a hands-on ownership mindset.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years in technical program management for software products in robotics or related field.
• Proven track record delivering software from development to release.
• Strong software fundamentals for architecture, planning, and systems integration.
• Experience managing programs across multiple software domains with hardware dependencies.

Responsibilities

• Own the software program plan end to end from roadmap through implementation, integration, validation, and release to the fleet.
• Design how software program management works at Mind: planning rhythm, milestones, and done criteria.
• Build software plans aligned with org milestones and define clear done criteria at each step.
• Track and report on key program metrics; communicate status, blockers, and risks to leadership.
• Develop a tracking layer to show whether we are on or off track across systems teams.
• Identify and elevate technical, dependency, and resourcing risks early and drive resolution.
• Engage in architecture and design discussions to stress-test estimates and impact on business goals.

Skills

Program management

Software architecture

Cross-functional collaboration

Robotics software

Software fundamentals

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or CS

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 Software Program Manager you will own the integrated program plan across all of software 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 hardware program management so that software and hardware roll up into one program picture rather than two competing ones.

Responsibilities:

• - End-to-End Ownership: Own the software program plan end to end — from roadmap planning through implementation, integration, validation, and release to the fleet — and own the functional outcome, not just the schedule.
• - Program Practice Design: Establish how software program management works at Mind: the planning rhythm that connects team-level work to org-level milestones, what qualifies as a milestone, what \"done\" means at each one, and the artifacts that support both the individual engineer and leadership in prioritization and decision making.
• - Milestone Planning: Build software plans that align with org-level milestones, including clear definitions of what \"done\" means at each step.
• - Metric Tracking: Monitor and report on key program metrics, and communicate status, blockers, and risks to leadership.
• - Progress Tracking & Status Integrity: Build the tracking layer that answers whether we are on or off track, drawn from the systems teams already work in.
• - Risk Mitigation: Identify and elevate technical, dependency, and resourcing risks early, and and drive them to resolution.
• - Technical / Business Judgment: Engage directly in architecture and design discussions at a depth sufficient to stress-test engineering estimates and pressure-test readiness. Drive decisions at that level with understanding of the impacts to our business goals.

REQUIREMENTS:

• - Educational Background: Bachelor's degree in engineering (software / computer science preferred), or equivalent experience.
• - Industry Experience: 5+ years of experience in technical program management for software products, ideally in robotics, autonomous systems, or another domain where software ships against hardware and real-world deployment constraints.
• - Proven Track Record: Demonstrated success taking software from early development through release and sustained operation.
• - Technical Depth: Strong software fundamentals with the ability to engage meaningfully in architecture, planning, and systems integration discussions.
• - System Complexity: Experience managing programs spanning multiple interdependent software domains along with their dependencies on hardware revisions and the availability of test hardware.
• - Execution & Ownership: High sense of urgency, comfortable with ambiguity, and driven by an \"engineering curiosity\" to understand how the entire system works.