OpenAI

Technical Program Manager, Sensors

OpenAI$145K — $175K *
Information Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of experience in technical project management within robotics or embedded systems.
  • Proven track record of leading electromechanical hardware programs from concept to production.
  • Strong knowledge of sensor technologies including cameras, RADAR, and LiDAR.
  • Experience with cross-functional team collaboration across engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain.
  • Familiarity with engineering development processes, version control, and change management.

Responsibilities

  • Drive requirements alignment for various sensor systems within robotics.
  • Coordinate integration of electrical, mechanical, and software modules into the robotic system.
  • Establish technical review cadences and manage BOM readiness and production approvals.
  • Align documentation and assembly processes for effective cross-functional execution.
  • Lead validation planning for reliability and functional testing of sensor systems.
  • Partner with manufacturing teams to ensure production readiness and manage dependencies.
  • Facilitate decision-making around tradeoffs in cost, quality, and performance.

Benefits

  • In-person collaboration in San Francisco at least 4 days a week.
  • Opportunity to work on cutting-edge sensor technologies in robotics.
  • Cross-functional exposure to various engineering disciplines and manufacturing processes.
Full Job Description
About the Role

We are looking for a TPM to drive development and integration of a range of sensor systems for robotics. This role will drive cross-functional alignment across requirements, engineering design, integration, validation, manufacturing, supply chain, and release processes, helping turn complex sensor-system needs into clear plans, decisions, and milestones.

Location and in-person expectations: This role is based in San Francisco, CA and requires in-person presence 4 days a week.

In this role you will:
  • Drive requirements alignment across engineering design, integration, testing, and validation for camera modules, LiDAR, IMUs, RADAR, proximity sensors, audio components and the systems they interact with.
  • Coordinate the integration of modules including electrical, mechanical, harnessing, and software interfaces with the full robotic system with deep understanding of timelines to drive the respective PCBAs, enclosures, build and test fixtures, connectors and cables.
  • Establish effective cadences for technical reviews, BOM readiness, change management, production releases, approvals, and decision tracking.
  • Align harnesses, fasteners, assembly fixtures, test fixtures, and documentation so cross-functional teams can execute against a clear plan.
  • Lead validation planning around functional, reliability, NVH failure modes, including testing needs, schedules, and exit criteria.
  • Partner with manufacturing and supply chain to manage handoffs, lead times, dependencies, and production readiness.
  • Drive tradeoff decisions across cost, quality, performance, schedule, and lead time by collaborating cross-functionally and quantifying impact to meet program deliverables.

You might thrive in this role if you:
  • Bring experience in developing camera modules, microphones/speakers, radar, proximity sensing, etc. and their integration into mobile robots.
  • Have led complex electromechanical hardware programs from requirements through manufacturing.
  • Understand engineering development systems for version control, change management, technical reviews, approvals, and production releases.
  • Can work effectively across engineering, test, manufacturing, and supply chain teams.

What success looks like:
  • Requirements, interfaces, dependencies, and validation plans are aligned across engineering teams.
  • Sensor subsystems move from design through integration and testing with clear milestones and exit criteria.
  • Technical reviews, BOM readiness, change control, and production-release mechanisms are operating effectively.
  • Functional, reliability, and NVH risks are surfaced early and driven to closure.
  • Cost, quality, performance, schedule, and lead-time tradeoffs are quantified and resolved cross-functionally.
  • Mitigation strategies are well communicated and aligned upon, acceleration of hardware development from design to trials on the floor is quantifiable.
  • Tools and workflows built are well embedded in the daily routine of all the team members, thus do not seem an added overhead to get things done.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research laboratory consisting of the for-profit corporation OpenAI LP and its parent company, the non-profit OpenAI Inc. The company was founded in 2015 by a group of technology leaders, including Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, and John Schulman. OpenAI's mission is to develop and promote friendly AI for the betterment of humanity. The company has developed a number of cutting-edge AI technologies, including GPT-3, a language processing system that can generate human-like text. OpenAI has received funding from a number of high-profile investors, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Peter Thiel.
Learn more about OpenAI
Size
100 employees
Industry
Founded
2015

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