Principal Technical Program Manager, Autonomy

Position Overview

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Motional is seeking an expert Autonomy Principal Technical Program Manager (TPM) to lead integrated software programs. This role requires strong leadership across product, autonomy, infrastructure, systems, operations, and testing teams to achieve company milestones. The ideal candidate excels in ambiguous environments, evaluates tradespaces, and drives organizational alignment. A strong understanding of delivering a driverless robotaxi (or comparable autonomous system) and championing the "definition of done" is essential. This is an exciting opportunity to impact autonomous vehicle technology at the forefront.

Responsibilities

• Partner deeply with engineering leaders driving autonomy-led programs across teams and organizations.
• Ensure the organization’s technical roadmap is well-defined and integrated with top-level programs.
• Instill an efficient program management mindset and workflow across teams.
• Enable and accelerate complex programs by improving prioritization clarity, identifying gaps and blind spots, and managing healthy issue escalations.
• Proactively identify and communicate risks, working with teams to minimize impact and likelihood.
• Partner with engineering leaders to scope, staff, and deliver mature AV behaviors/capabilities to achieve company milestones.
• Define efficient communication processes, drive adoption, and amplify program visibility broadly.
• Communicate to leadership in regular forums, contribute to executive deliverables, and provide team analyses and recommendations clearly and concisely.
• Understand technical implementation at the architectural level and propose technical alternatives when applicable; ask questions that expose blind spots and challenge the status quo.
• Champion development efficiency and act as an effective proxy for engineering leads in program/organizational matters.

Requirements

• Minimum 7+ years of experience in program management roles leading complex multi-disciplinary engineering programs.
• Knowledge of autonomous systems and development processes (e.g., perception, prediction, hardware, model training, simulation).
• Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, or a relevant technical field.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex engineering issues to diverse audiences.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced work environment across time zones with a can-do attitude.

Bonus Points

• Demonstrated ability to coach and mentor junior team members.
• Experience in robotics, applied AI/ML, or relevant complex technical domains.
• Extensive demonstrated experience with the development lifecycle of ML models.
• Extensive demonstrated experience managing various stakeholder inputs at multiple levels.

Application Instructions

If you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications, we encourage you to apply if you believe you would excel in this position and have demonstrated experience growing into and excelling at new roles.

Company Information

Candidates for certain positions are eligible to participate in Motional’s benefits program. Motional’s benefits include but are not limited to medical, dental, vision. The salary range for this role is an estimate based on various compensation factors including skills, experience, role location, certifications, licenses, and business needs. The estimated compensation range reflects base salary only and may include additional forms of compensation such as bonus or company equity. The assigned recruiter can share more specific compensation and benefit details during the hiring process.