Hybrid opportunity at
ZooxSenior/Staff Technical Program Manager - Core Autonomy Capabilities
Zoox is seeking a Senior or Staff Technical Program Manager to join its Program Management Office. The employer is building a purpose-built robotaxi and operating a…
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About This Role
Zoox is seeking a Senior or Staff Technical Program Manager to join its Program Management Office. The employer is building a purpose-built robotaxi and operating a Toyota Highlander test fleet to deliver a completely autonomous vehicle ecosystem for urban mobility. In this hybrid position, the professional will direct a portfolio of core autonomy initiatives that are critical to the company launch roadmap, including perception and motion planning stacks, safety features,…
Job Description
Zoox is seeking a Senior or Staff Technical Program Manager to join its Program Management Office. The employer is building a purpose-built robotaxi and operating a Toyota Highlander test fleet to deliver a completely autonomous vehicle ecosystem for urban mobility. In this hybrid position, the professional will direct a portfolio of core autonomy initiatives that are critical to the company launch roadmap, including perception and motion planning stacks, safety features, collision avoidance, and behavior models.
This portfolio role suits candidates capable of leading complex technical projects without formal authority while navigating high ambiguity. The selected professional will guide capability delivery from initial architecture through deployment, establish completion standards, and operate as the main conduit for executive leadership reviews. Responsibilities include identifying scheduling risks early, negotiating scope constraints, and collaborating with cross-functional teams across engineering, vehicle development, manufacturing, and safety.
Ideal candidates bring technical expertise from safety-critical domains such as robotics or autonomous systems. The role requires partnering with other program managers, resolving cross-departmental bottlenecks, and proposing concrete trade-offs when launching novel capabilities. Zoox values diverse perspectives and does not require applicants to meet every single qualification to apply.
Responsibilities
- Own outcomes for fundamental autonomy and safety capability programs from architecture through release
- Partner with individual capability program managers to ensure consistent planning, reporting, and unblocking of issues
- Make scheduling dependencies visible early to allow leadership to handle trade-offs explicitly
- Serve as the primary liaison for executive leadership by synthesizing status updates and running decision-oriented reviews
- Arbitrate scope during planning phases, prioritize portfolio staffing with engineering leaders, and present priced options
- Engage directly in technical trade-offs and drive execution in uncharted territory without an established playbook
Requirements
- 8+ years of engineering, program management, or management consulting experience focused on product development
- Demonstrated success guiding complex, cross-functional technical programs from inception to completion
- Technical depth in autonomy, robotics, or another complex safety-critical domain
- Ability to influence peers and stakeholders across organizational boundaries without formal authority
- Comfort leading teams through ambiguity
- Strong written, verbal, and presentation communication skills
- Proficiency with program management software like Jira
Qualifications
- Bachelor or Master degree in an engineering discipline or equivalent experience
- Experience transitioning a novel capability from research or prototype stages into production
- Experience deploying machine-learned components into production-grade, safety-critical systems
- Experience handling verification, validation, release qualification, or safety case creation
- Experience building and scaling engineering or operational processes entirely from scratch
Core Skills
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The position is full-time.
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