Technical Program Manager

Job description

Gravis Robotics is a high-growth Series A start-up backed by SoftBank, bringing Physical AI to the construction industry, turning heavy construction machines into autonomous robots. Gravis began as an ETH Zurich spin-out, and our unique combination of learning-based automation and augmented remote control lets one operator safely conduct a fleet of earthmoving machines in a gamified environment. Backed by deep robotics research and now deployed across multiple countries with leading construction and equipment partners, our team is rapidly growing to bring this technology to a trillion-dollar industry. Gravis builds the RACK, our manufacturer-agnostic hardware and software system that turns excavators and loaders into autonomous machines, alongside Slate, our platform for planning, perception, and machine intelligence. ### About the role You will own end-to-end program delivery for one or more key initiatives at Gravis. Technical Program Managers sit at the intersection of strategic, commercial and customer requirements, and engineering execution on squads that draw from our functional teams. We are looking for candidates with a background in technical program management, product management, or engineering management with solid experience structuring and delivering complex cross-team programs from planning through commercial delivery. ### What you will do **Program ownership** - Own end-to-end program planning and reporting for major initiatives spanning software releases, hardware integration, and field validation, tracking milestones, dependencies, and risks across distributed teams. - Translate high-level strategic, commercial and product goals into structured plans, roadmaps, and quarterly commitments in partnership with engineering leads. - Identify and resolve blockers before they hit the critical path. - Coordinate software release processes, including integration testing, regression validation, and staged rollouts to field deployments. **Collaboration & reporting** - Act as the operational interface with external partners: OEM integrators, construction contractors, and equipment rental providers, coordinating requirements and delivery schedules. - Lead cross-team alignment and program reviews, producing clear documentation (roadmaps, RACI matrices, status dashboards) for engineering, operations, and leadership. - Gather structured feedback from field deployments and translate it into actionable input for engineering teams. ### What we're looking for We recognise that excellent candidates come from diverse backgrounds with varied combinations of skills. If you meet most but not all of the core qualifications below, we encourage you to apply. **Core qualifications** - 5–10 years of experience in technical program management, product management or engineering program management, or a closely related role, with a track record of delivering complex, multi-team programs from planning through commercial delivery in a fast-paced, deep-tech environment. - Solid technical foundation as evidenced by technical degree(s) in engineering or related fields. - Hands-on experience with agile / iterative development methodologies and tools such as Jira or Linear. - Good working knowledge of software and hardware development practices, system architecture, and CI/CD or testing practices. - Comfortable navigating ambiguity, aggressive timelines, and cross-functional collaboration across engineering, field, and commercial stakeholders. - Willingness to travel as required by business projects. - High proficiency in English with the ability to read, write and present technical materials clearly and concisely. **Nice to have** - Experience with robotics or hardware product development cycles and embedded systems. - Exposure to safety-critical or field-deployed systems. - Experience coordinating programs across multiple countries or regulatory environments. - Prior experience at an early-stage hardware/software startup. ### This role is a great fit if… - You care about building things that directly impact the real world at scale and work reliably outside the lab, with imperfect data, real constraints, and genuine stakes. - You want to help build the program management function at Gravis from the ground up, establishing practices that scale as the company grows. - You thrive when bridging disciplines, moving fluidly between hardware, software, and field operations conversations in the same day. - You value a collaborative culture built on thoughtful design, creative problem-solving, mutual respect, and pragmatism.