Principal Engineer Robotics

Tennant Company•Golden Valley, MN

7d•$113,600 - $175,700

About The Position

Tennant Company is seeking a Principal Robotics Engineer - Machine Integration Lead for its TNC Robotics Product Development and R&D organization. The role leads technical execution of systems and architecture integration across complex electromechanical, software, and partner technologies, including Brain Corp, for Tennant’s robotic cleaning solutions. The engineer translates product vision into functional, compliant, and cost-effective integrated designs. Success is measured by the robustness of system architecture execution, integration speed, and effective application of new technologies to complex problems. The Machine Integration Lead guides technical team execution against system definition and development plans and leads system integration events across New Product Development efforts. The role includes cross-functional technical planning, requirements translation, system architecture and integration, design reviews, prototyping, partner technology integration, risk mitigation, and compliance with relevant industry standards.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics, Robotics, Systems, or Computer Engineering from an ABET-accredited institution.
10 or more years of experience in machine and systems integration on complex software-driven electromechanical systems, including leadership of project execution teams.
Ability to translate program objectives into technical work plans, establish deliverables and ownership, integrate cross-functional dependencies, and drive execution against development, integration, and V&V milestones.
Ability to proactively manage technical risks, trade-offs, and corrective actions to maintain program commitments.
Proficiency in systems engineering principles, including requirements development and decomposition, system architecture and interfaces, traceability, integration, and verification and validation.
Skill in applying FMEA, HARA, and DVP&R to manage technical risk and verify system-level requirements.
Proven ability to lead structured problem solving and root-cause identification, including use of the 8D Problem Solving methodology.
Strong ability to build partnerships and collaborate on cross-functional teams, including Mechanical, Hardware, Systems, Software, Production, and Supply Chain.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree.
Product design and certification experience with autonomous mobile robotic (AMR) products to standards such as IEC/UL 60335-1, IEC/UL 60335-2-72, and IEC 63327.
Product development experience complying with Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and CE marking of machinery.

Responsibilities

Lead cross-functional technical planning, identify key decisions and knowledge-building work, define system scope and work breakdown structures with deliverables, interfaces, and owners, and drive execution against integrated plans, milestones, integration events, verification and validation, and dependencies.
Escalate risks, trade-offs, and corrective actions to keep development on track and meet commitments.
Translate customer, business, and technical requirements into clear technical specifications linked to verification and validation activities.
Lead delivery and integration of system- and subsystem-level designs, define interfaces across system boundaries, and ensure integrated designs meet machine cost, performance, and quality requirements.
Lead disciplined cross-functional design reviews that identify risks early, generate actionable feedback, and align stakeholders on decisions; ensure reviews address requirements compliance, V&V strategy and progress, and readiness for prototype and production builds, including manufacturing, sourcing, and quality plans.
Plan, build, and coordinate prototype build and integration events supporting V&V of proofs of concept and requirements, identifying and reducing risks throughout product development.
Lead end-to-end integration of partner technologies by defining interface requirements, owning integration and verification plans, and aligning partners and internal teams on technical expectations and decision timelines.
Evaluate design risks using tools such as DFMEA and HARA.
Ensure design compliance with applicable industry standards, including UL, IEC, EMC, ESD, IEC/UL 60335-1, IEC/UL 60335-2-72, IEC 63327, and Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC.