PROGRAM MANAGER-R&D - SR. PROGRAM MANAGER-R&D - Physical AI - Robotics

Who We Are:

The Intelligent Systems Division develops automated and robotic solutions for commercial and government clients in multiple domains.

Objectives of this Role:

• Join the Robotics Department to contribute to building advanced capabilities, technologies and solutions in the field of industrial robotics and automation that solve real-world challenges faced by our customers.
• Lead novel Physical AI and Robotic application development with vision-language-action (VLA) 3D perception and complex surface reconstruction.
• Business development for new applications, industries, and clients for novel robotic capabilities; more specifically fabrication robotics (heavy industry, foundries, assembly, shipbuilding, etc).
• Technical leadership and project management of cutting edge robotics applications.
• Visit https://robotics.swri.org to learn about some of the work we do.

Daily and Monthly Responsibilities:

• Communicate effectively with internal team, external clients, and industry partners.
• Design, build, debug and implement robotic and automation solutions primarily using software skills.
• Lead technical role, project management, and customer engagement.
• Coordinate individual performance goals and objectives set by the organization as well as lead project teams to realize organizational objectives.
• Prepare proposals and cost estimates.
• Interact with customers to promote new business and develop technical requirements.
• Has a special focus on software design for industrial robotic manipulators and high degree-of-freedom mobile manipulators.

Requirements:

• Requires a Bachelors, Masters or a PhD in Robotics, Mechatronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Software Engineering, or other robotics-related engineering degree. Fewer years of experience may be considered for those with graduate degrees.
• 10-20 years: Relevant industry experience in robotic systems research and development in organizations to include a manufacturer, robotics company, robotics integrator, etc.
• 10-20 years: Strong software skills; C++ or Python required.
• 2-5 years: Robot Operating System (ROS) experience required.
• Strong communication skills.
• A valid/clear driver's license is required.