Director, Program Management

About the role

Slip Robotics is at the forefront of robotic automation, delivering cutting-edge solutions that transform how businesses move goods. Our autonomous platforms redefine efficiency, reliability, and scalability in logistics. We're a fast-growing team of innovators passionate about helping customers adopt automation seamlessly and successfully.

We're hiring a Director of Program Management to own the product lifecycle end-to-end—from development gates, through production, to customer deployments and field monitoring. You will build and lead the program management function, ensuring programs pass gates based on completion, not calendar deadlines, and provide a trusted portfolio view for the executive team.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead a small program management team from nearly scratch, defining roles, running hiring, setting standards, and developing talent. Expect to hire 1-2 additional PM/TPMs in the first year, aligned with portfolio needs.
• Own the full program lifecycle: carry products through development gates, production ramp, first deployments, and post-launch field monitoring until stability is achieved and lessons are integrated back into the process.
• Manage the NPD program portfolio, including gate sequencing, gate packages, program schedules, and risk for multiple active products.
• Own and refine the stage-gate process: define the SOP, publish the gate calendar, and run every gate with authority.
• Maintain an integrated master schedule per program, ensuring cross-functional dependencies are visible and risks are surfaced early.
• Oversee requirements traceability with change control for each program.
• Produce a single, current portfolio view for the executive team without requiring engineering involvement in status updates.

Requirements

• 8+ years of program management experience on physical products (hardware or hardware plus software), including 3+ years hiring, leading, and developing program managers or TPMs.
• Experience building or substantially growing a program management team from scratch, with the ability to articulate role definitions and rationale.
• End-to-end ownership of a stage-gate NPD process, from concept gates through production release, for a shipped product.
• Experience carrying a program past launch, including production ramp, early field issues, and feedback loops into engineering.
• Proven ability to build and maintain integrated master schedules that engineering teams actively use.
• Technical fluency to assess risks in electromechanical or software design reviews.

Preferred: Robotics, automotive, or aerospace background; experience standing up a PMO in a company without one; government or defense program experience; familiarity with requirements and program management tooling.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and equity in an early-stage robotics company.
• Comprehensive benefits including health, dental, and vision.
• Permissive time off policy.
• A small team where your work has direct, visible impact on shipped products.