Engineering Program Manager

Ghost Robotics Corporation•Philadelphia, PA

19h•Hybrid

About The Position

Ghost Robotics builds legged robots for defense, security, and industrial customers operating in environments where failure is not recoverable. The Engineering Program Manager owns the execution framework for product development programs, coordinating hardware, firmware, software, verification, manufacturing, and documentation to meet release dates. This is an execution leadership role: Product Owners and Engineering Leads own technical decisions, while the Program Manager makes those decisions visible, sequenced, and funded. The role does not make technical decisions or directly manage engineers. It serves as a key source of reliable information for leadership about program delivery and schedule confidence. The position is based in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area, which is preferred, and includes approximately 20% domestic and/or international travel depending on assigned programs. Travel may be required on short notice and may last from a few days to more than a week. Compensation is $130,000–$160,000, with full benefits, an equity incentive package, and a flexible time-off policy. Candidates must be able to clear standard employment background checks and may need to obtain security clearances in the future.

Requirements

At least 7 years of experience running complex engineering development programs, including integrated hardware and software.
Working fluency with integrated master schedules, critical path analysis, and formal risk management.
Experience driving a physical product through release, rather than only a software release train.
Ability to hold senior engineers to commitments through credibility rather than reporting lines.
Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related technical field, or equivalent experience.
Ability to clear standard employment background checks.
Ability to travel on short notice, including trips lasting from a few days to more than a week.
Ability to lift 50 pounds.
Ability to travel and navigate by automobile, train, airplane, or other means.

Nice To Haves

Experience with robotics, autonomous systems, aerospace, defense, or complex electromechanical products.
Experience with programs following DoD or government customer cadence, including gate reviews and milestone reporting.
Hands-on experience with MS Project.
Experience with hybrid execution models where hardware runs stage-gate and software runs sprints.
Philadelphia, PA area location preferred.

Responsibilities

Build and maintain integrated development plans for assigned programs, including milestones, critical paths, dependencies, and release objectives.
Translate product priorities from Product Owners and Engineering Leads into executable schedules for the organization.
Run the risk and issue process, surface risks early, drive mitigation, and escalate matters requiring leadership decisions.
Drive release readiness across engineering, manufacturing, software release management, technical documentation, training, and field support.
Track development budgets against plan and flag cost, schedule, or resource impacts before they become surprises.
Facilitate program reviews and readiness gates, and close action items.
Deliver monthly program health reports to executive leadership covering progress, schedule, budget, risks, and pending decisions.
Find and remove blockers preventing engineering from shipping.