Technical Program Manager

AIM•Seattle, WA

3d•$150,000 - $200,000

About The Position

AIM builds autonomy for the real world - robots that move mountains. Our systems fuse hardware, robotics, autonomy, and mission-critical software into ruggedized, safety-critical machinery that operates on job sites across the world. We are replacing decades of manual, error-prone, high-risk work with intelligent, automated machines that transform how earthmoving is done. You’ll drive programs that bring autonomy from development into the physical world. AIM machines operate across challenging real-world environments - varying terrain, climates, materials, and operating conditions. TPMs at AIM orchestrate the engineering, hardware, and field efforts required to ensure our autonomy stack performs consistently and safely across these real operational domains. We’re growing fast, scaling globally, and building the operational backbone that will define the next century of construction. About you You’re looking for a career where you lead programs that matter - programs where success is measured in moving earth, saving lives, and unlocking economic productivity. You thrive in ambiguity and enjoy stitching together hardware, robotics, AI, and software into coherent, executable plans. You look at problems holistically and understand that the last mile of autonomy is not just an algorithm problem - it’s a systems engineering, safety engineering, and program execution problem. You’re deeply technical. You can dive into architecture discussions on perception pipelines, real-time control loops, hardware interfaces, and ruggedization constraints; but you can also zoom out to define business goals, manage risk, and help teams make the right trade-offs. You’re able to influence engineers, leadership, vendors, customers, and partners - through crisp communication, sound judgment, and a reputation for delivering results. You’re comfortable driving programs that span firmware, autonomy, embedded systems, cloud infra, hydraulics, relays, safety circuits, GNSS/INS, and on-machine compute. You partner closely with engineering managers and principal engineers to turn chaos into clarity, ambiguity into strategy, and strategy into execution. About us together We’re going to change how the world builds. Along the way, we’ll face seemingly impossible challenges - machine safety, sensor reliability, end-to-end latency, customer deployment friction, supply chain unpredictability, and the unforgiving physics of 100-ton machines moving autonomously. We will argue passionately about the best solutions, iterate quickly, confront the truth when things don’t work, and build mechanisms that allow us to scale with quality. We’ll make hard decisions, but they will be grounded in data, field learning, and customer value. And we’ll do it as a single, aligned engineering culture. If this excites you - you’re the kind of TPM who thrives here. What you will own: As a Senior TPM, you will orchestrate the end-to-end lifecycle of AIM’s most critical cross-functional programs: Define & Drive Programs (Strategic + Tactical) Own the roadmap for complex programs spanning hardware, robotics, autonomy, and cloud infrastructure. Define program mission, vision, tenets, success metrics, and long-term goals. Translate ambiguous problems into clear requirements and orchestrate delivery across multiple engineering teams. Work backwards from customers, field operations, and OEM partners to ensure deployments meet safety, performance, and reliability bars. Technical Leadership Dive deep into system architecture - hardware interfaces, perception pipelines, control systems, on-machine compute, system health, and data flows. Ask the right technical questions, identify architectural risks early, and ensure trade-offs are made with full awareness of long-term consequences. Partner with senior engineers to force-multiply engineering capacity and simplify system interactions across teams. Execution Excellence Manage the lifecycle of highly complex, multi-team programs - requirements, design, implementation, integration, testing, deployment, and maintenance. Drive critical path decisions, mitigate risks proactively, clear blockers, coordinate dependencies, and escalate with perfect judgment. Build and evolve mechanisms for predictable program delivery across teams - ORRs, CoEs, design reviews, cross-team schedules, and risk frameworks. Cross-functional Influence Collaborate with engineering, field ops, deployment teams, OEM partners, vendors, and customers across global time zones. Communicate at all levels - from deeply technical engineering discussions to executive-level program narratives. Harmonize conflicting viewpoints and drive alignment across hardware, software, autonomy, and operations. Operational Excellence Ensure programs uphold the highest bars for safety, availability, testability, serviceability, and customer readiness. Identify systemic gaps and drive mechanisms that eliminate repeat issues. Continuously raise engineering quality and process rigor across teams. How you’ll stand out You can operate seamlessly from the field (inside a dozer cab) to a whiteboard with principal engineers. You are respected by engineers for your technical judgment and by leadership for your crisp decision-making. You simplify, clarify, and drive alignment in environments with high ambiguity and high stakes. You make teams faster, better, and more aligned - and you do it through mechanisms, not heroics.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in CS, EE, Robotics, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering - or equivalent hands-on technical experience.
7+ years of technical program management, engineering management, robotics deployment, or equivalent cross-functional experience.
Proven success driving complex, cross-disciplinary engineering programs from inception to delivery.
Ability to dive deeply into technical system design and communicate trade-offs, risks, and decisions clearly.
Experience working directly with hardware, firmware, robotics, or mission-critical software.
Demonstrated ability to manage ambiguity, reduce complexity, and deliver predictable outcomes across multiple teams.
Strong judgment and experience managing programs with competing priorities, tight timelines, and high operational risk.
Hands-on experience with engineering process development - sprints, ORRs, incident management, testing, QA, or deployment readiness.
Experience working with suppliers, vendors, or cross-organizational partners.
Willingness to travel to customer sites, OEM partners, and global deployments.

Nice To Haves

Experience with autonomous systems, robotics, industrial controls, heavy machinery, or real-world hardware-software systems.
Prior experience managing programs involving GNSS/INS, LiDAR, perception systems, real-time embedded systems, or machine safety.
Demonstrated success running high-risk field deployments or customer-facing technical operations.
Strong ability to simplify complex systems and drive architectural clarity across teams.
Ability to influence system architecture, engineering processes, and organizational mechanisms at scale.
Experience managing OEM partnerships or government/enterprise programs with high compliance requirements.
Mastery of modern program mechanisms: PR/FAQ, 6-pagers, risk matrices, design reviews, and operational readiness frameworks.

Responsibilities

Define & Drive Programs (Strategic + Tactical)
Own the roadmap for complex programs spanning hardware, robotics, autonomy, and cloud infrastructure.
Define program mission, vision, tenets, success metrics, and long-term goals.
Translate ambiguous problems into clear requirements and orchestrate delivery across multiple engineering teams.
Work backwards from customers, field operations, and OEM partners to ensure deployments meet safety, performance, and reliability bars.
Technical Leadership
Dive deep into system architecture - hardware interfaces, perception pipelines, control systems, on-machine compute, system health, and data flows.
Ask the right technical questions, identify architectural risks early, and ensure trade-offs are made with full awareness of long-term consequences.
Partner with senior engineers to force-multiply engineering capacity and simplify system interactions across teams.
Execution Excellence
Manage the lifecycle of highly complex, multi-team programs - requirements, design, implementation, integration, testing, deployment, and maintenance.
Drive critical path decisions, mitigate risks proactively, clear blockers, coordinate dependencies, and escalate with perfect judgment.
Build and evolve mechanisms for predictable program delivery across teams - ORRs, CoEs, design reviews, cross-team schedules, and risk frameworks.
Cross-functional Influence
Collaborate with engineering, field ops, deployment teams, OEM partners, vendors, and customers across global time zones.
Communicate at all levels - from deeply technical engineering discussions to executive-level program narratives.
Harmonize conflicting viewpoints and drive alignment across hardware, software, autonomy, and operations.
Operational Excellence
Ensure programs uphold the highest bars for safety, availability, testability, serviceability, and customer readiness.
Identify systemic gaps and drive mechanisms that eliminate repeat issues.
Continuously raise engineering quality and process rigor across teams.