Senior Staff Product & Program Manager, Autonomy Sensing

Aurora Innovation•Mountain View, CA

About The Position

Aurora hires talented people with diverse backgrounds who are ready to help build a transportation ecosystem that will make our roads safer, get crucial goods where they need to go, and make mobility more efficient and accessible for all. We’re searching for a Technical Product & Program manager who will work with our Autonomy Sensing team. In this role, you will Lead large cross-functional programs that are predominantly driven by Autonomy Sensing/Perception engineering scope. This includes programs to expand the Aurora Driver’s Weather ODD and to expand Perception capabilities as the Aurora Driver operates on more advanced hardware kits and scales to new geographies. Deeply understand the company-level roadmap and translate this into a Sensing/Perception technical roadmap with clear milestones and metrics. Deeply understand customer and business needs and use this understanding to prioritize work across the Sensing/Perception organization. Help facilitate tradeoff discussions based on awareness of engineering effort and product needs (ROI awareness). Own the overlap of technical roadmaps among partner teams within Autonomy Sensing including: Perception, Machine Learning Data Engine, and Sensor Simulation to define the required evolution of data sourcing, simulation, model training, and testing. Ensure this roadmap allows the team to deliver on company level goals. Provide strategic guidance on make/buy data decisions. Influence a strategy for real world sourcing versus simulation by exploring all available options and presenting possible solutions. Author PRDs to define product requirements for the Sensing/Perception team. Define new metrics and dashboards to improve how we measure and track execution. Own program schedules, program reviews, and executive communications. Identify key bottlenecks within Autonomy Sensing from both a staffing perspective as well as a process perspective. Propose solutions for eliminating bottlenecks and accelerating output. Serve as a thought leader in both the Product Management and Program Management space by providing best-in-class PM and TPM leadership, mentorship, and product/program execution. Understand technical implementation at the architectural level and propose technical alternatives when necessary; ask questions that clarify priorities and push the team to be effective.

Requirements

Minimum of 7 years experience as a Technical Program Manager, Technical Product Manager, Engineering Manager, or Engineer in an autonomous systems, robotics, machine learning, or software development environment.
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Math, Information Systems or a related area, or the equivalent in experience with evidence of exceptional ability preferred.
A strong familiarity with robotics or computer vision systems and their architecture or broad background with ML or data systems.
Solid technical aptitude and an ability to understand technical designs, software development lifecycle, challenges and risks; ability to work closely with engineers.

Responsibilities

Lead large cross-functional programs that are predominantly driven by Autonomy Sensing/Perception engineering scope.
Expand the Aurora Driver’s Weather ODD and to expand Perception capabilities as the Aurora Driver operates on more advanced hardware kits and scales to new geographies.
Translate the company-level roadmap into a Sensing/Perception technical roadmap with clear milestones and metrics.
Prioritize work across the Sensing/Perception organization based on customer and business needs.
Facilitate tradeoff discussions based on awareness of engineering effort and product needs (ROI awareness).
Own the overlap of technical roadmaps among partner teams within Autonomy Sensing including: Perception, Machine Learning Data Engine, and Sensor Simulation to define the required evolution of data sourcing, simulation, model training, and testing.
Provide strategic guidance on make/buy data decisions.
Influence a strategy for real world sourcing versus simulation by exploring all available options and presenting possible solutions.
Author PRDs to define product requirements for the Sensing/Perception team.
Define new metrics and dashboards to improve how we measure and track execution.
Own program schedules, program reviews, and executive communications.
Identify key bottlenecks within Autonomy Sensing from both a staffing perspective as well as a process perspective.
Propose solutions for eliminating bottlenecks and accelerating output.
Serve as a thought leader in both the Product Management and Program Management space by providing best-in-class PM and TPM leadership, mentorship, and product/program execution.
Understand technical implementation at the architectural level and propose technical alternatives when necessary; ask questions that clarify priorities and push the team to be effective.