Technical Project Manager

Job Title: Technical Program Manager - Robotics Software

Job Description

This role focuses on leading complex robotics software programs and driving end-to-end execution across multiple engineering workstreams. You will own roadmap execution, feature delivery, release coordination, dependency management, program health tracking, and leadership reporting. The position requires a senior, execution-driven Technical Program Manager who partners closely with software engineering teams, brings structure to ambiguous work, actively drives delivery, surfaces risks early, unblocks teams, and maintains predictable execution across several concurrent software initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Drive end-to-end execution of software initiatives from requirements intake through release readiness and post-launch validation.
• Build and maintain integrated program plans that clearly define scope, milestones, dependencies, risks, owners, and critical path.
• Partner with engineering leads to clarify requirements, define acceptance criteria, sequence work, and manage delivery tradeoffs.
• Coordinate roadmap execution and feature delivery across software teams with interdependent deliverables.
• Manage release schedules, readiness reviews, launch criteria, and follow-up actions to ensure smooth and predictable launches.
• Design and maintain program health mechanisms, including dashboards, KPI and SLA tracking, dependency trackers, risk registers, and status reports.
• Provide concise, structured updates to leadership on progress, risks, blockers, mitigation plans, and key decision points.
• Identify delivery risks early, drive mitigation plans, and escalate issues with clear options and tradeoffs.
• Maintain visibility into schedule health, execution confidence, open issues, and cross-team dependencies.
• Coordinate across software engineering, firmware, controls, systems engineering, QA and test, operations, deployment, support, and other partner teams as needed.
• Drive alignment across teams with competing priorities, technical dependencies, and shifting timelines.
• Facilitate execution cadences such as planning reviews, dependency reviews, risk reviews, and release readiness reviews.
• Create clear ownership, follow-through, and accountability across workstreams without relying on direct authority.
• Translate stakeholder goals and program needs into actionable delivery plans.
• Apply a strong understanding of software development lifecycles to challenge assumptions, clarify estimates, identify dependency risks, and support technical tradeoff discussions.
• Support delivery in complex environments such as robotics, automation, embedded systems, controls, platform services, distributed systems, and hardware/software integrated products.
• Establish and refine execution mechanisms that increase predictability, transparency, and delivery velocity.
• Define, track, and report program KPIs, SLAs, and other health metrics to ensure continuous improvement.
• Contribute to release governance, launch readiness, operational readiness, incident management, and postmortem mechanisms.
• Lead recovery efforts for at-risk programs through replanning, stakeholder alignment, dependency resolution, and risk burn-down.
• Use program tracking and reporting tools to maintain accurate, up-to-date views of program status and risks.
• Ensure software programs have clear owners, milestones, dependencies, risks, and decision points, and that leadership has reliable visibility into program health and delivery confidence.

Essential Skills

• At least 3 years of Technical Program Management experience supporting software engineering teams.
• Proven experience driving delivery of software products, platforms, features, or technical capabilities.
• Strong program management fundamentals, including scope, schedule, dependency, risk, issue, quality, and critical path management.
• Experience managing programs across cross-functional teams with critical technical dependencies.
• Experience coordinating roadmap execution, engineering milestones, and release schedules.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including leadership-facing status reporting and escalation management.
• Ability to operate independently in ambiguous, fast-paced environments with shifting priorities.
• Demonstrated strong ownership, follow-through, bias for action, and ability to drive accountability across teams.
• Technical background with hands-on familiarity in software engineering or software development.
• Experience with project management in technical environments.
• Experience in test engineering and validation activities.
• Ability to understand and engage with software development lifecycles and technical discussions.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience in robotics, automation, manipulation systems, autonomous systems, industrial automation, or fulfillment and logistics technology.
• Experience working with software, firmware, controls, embedded systems, simulation, perception, planning, fleet management, platform services, or distributed systems teams.
• Experience defining, tracking, and reporting KPIs, SLAs, or program health metrics.
• Experience with release governance, launch readiness, operational readiness, incident management, or postmortem mechanisms.
• Experience recovering at-risk programs through replanning, stakeholder alignment, dependency resolution, and risk burn-down.
• Familiarity with tools such as Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet, Asana, Aha, Tableau, Quip, or similar program tracking and reporting tools.
• Hands-on experience with Python in a technical or test engineering context.
• Experience using LabVIEW for testing or validation activities.
• Ability to create and execute test plans and test procedures for complex software or integrated systems.
• Strong background in software engineering, program management, test engineering, and validation in technology-driven environments.

Work Environment

This is a fully onsite role based in North Reading. You will work closely with software, firmware, controls, systems, QA and test, operations, deployment, and support teams in a collaborative, fast-paced engineering environment focused on robotics and automation. The setting emphasizes hands-on engagement with complex hardware and software systems, structured execution cadences, and frequent cross-functional coordination. The role supports predictable delivery across multiple programs while offering benefits such as fixed-term contract benefits, 15 days of paid time off, and 7 paid holidays.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract position based out of North Reading, MA.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $60.00 - $80.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: • Medical, dental & vision • Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital • 401(k) Retirement Plan - Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available • Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) • Short and long-term disability • Health Spending Account (HSA) • Transportation benefits • Employee Assistance Program • Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in North Reading,MA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Sep 22, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.