Robotics AI Strategy & Program Lead

Robotics AI Strategy & Program Lead

OEM is building one of the most ambitious AI and robotics programs in manufacturing, developing systems capable of autonomously manipulating thousands of parts across OEM global plant network. Our Robotics AI organization sits at the intersection of AI research, robotics, manufacturing engineering, and AI product management, driving both cutting-edge technology and real factory impact.

We are looking for a Robotics AI Strategy & Program Lead who can own end-to-end, cross-functional initiatives that cut across AI research, robotics engineering, data infrastructure, and manufacturing operations. They will be known as an operator who gets things done across complex organizations.

This role blends strategy, program management, analytics, and hands‑on AI tools work: you will structure the problems, build the dashboards, dive into the data, leverage and build AI agents, and drive large programs to completion while unblocking teams across IT, Purchasing, Vendors, Finance, HR, and Manufacturing.

You will be embedded with AI researchers, roboticists, AI engineers, data engineers, and AI product managers, translating between technical and non-technical stakeholders and ensuring that what we build is strategic, measurable, and shippable - from fast‑turnaround experiments to multi-year-old platform bets.

• Own end-to-end cross-functional projects from problem framing and strategy through execution, measurement, and iteration.
• Program manage large, multi-team initiatives (e.g., new robotics AI capabilities, data/telemetry programs, analytics or tool rollouts) with clear milestones, owners, and success metrics.
• Build and maintain program roadmaps, dependency maps, and risk registers; proactively identify and resolve blockers across teams.
• Drive operating rhythms (standups, reviews, steering forums) with AI Research, AI Engineering, Robotics Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, and AI Product Management.
• Roll up your sleeves to push work through organizational and process complexity-coordinating with IT, Purchasing, Vendors, Finance, HR, and other partners to keep programs moving.
• Comfortably manage multiple initiatives at once, switching contexts between short‑turnaround deliverables and long‑horizon programs without dropping details
  
  Strategy, storytelling, and decision support
• Partner with leadership to define and refine Robotics AI strategy, including problem selection, sequencing of bets, and success metrics.
• Structure clear narratives and storyboards that connect technical work to OEM‑level business outcomes and manufacturing KPIs.
• Prepare executive‑ready presentations and decision docs (SVP and above), highlighting what has changed, what is at risk, and what decisions are needed.
• Translate complex technical options into simple, structured trade‑off frameworks for senior decision‑makers.

• Go deep on data: define questions, shape logging/telemetry requirements, pull and analyze data using SQL, Python, or R, and translate findings into actionable insights.
• Build and maintain dashboards (e.g., Looker, Power BI) that track program KPIs, model and system performance, factory deployment health, and operational metrics.
• Partner with Data Engineering and platform teams to leverage Databricks and other infrastructure for analytics and reporting.
• Design and orchestrate GenAI‑powered workflows and agents to automate repetitive analysis, reporting, and operational tasks where appropriate.
• Continuously learn and adopt new AI, data, dashboarding, and tracking tools, and help the broader team do the same AI, robotics, and technical collaboration
• Act as a fluent technical partner to AI…