Expand human ambition in the physical world.
Critical infrastructure is constrained by labor shortages, hazardous working conditions, and operational complexity. Watney builds and deploys autonomous robotic systems that increase the speed and capacity of buildout, starting with data centers.
About the Role
At Watney, the Engineering Program Manager owns the hardware programs that teach our robots new tasks - the fixtures and rigs that generate the training data behind robot autonomy.
This is a 0-to-1 role, and every program you run touches the robot itself. You build the schedule, the budget, and the cross-functional coordination starting with the first task.
What You'll Do
Own schedule, budget, and cross-functional delivery for the hardware programs that teach robots new tasks.
Take a program from first build to validated, with no existing process to lean on.
Work directly with the engineers designing and building the hardware - enough to earn their respect, not to do their job.
Grow into owning robot build and manufacturing programs as they need one.
You May Be a Good Fit If You:
Have run a hardware program at a large company through at least one 0-to-1 cycle.
Are technical enough that engineers trust your calls, without needing to design the hardware yourself.
Took what a big company taught you and proved it at a small one.
Are comfortable owning a program before anyone has defined what "done" looks like.
We’re committed to building a diverse, inclusive team. At Watney Robotics, we welcome people of all backgrounds and identities, and we make hiring decisions based on skills, experience, and potential. If you’re passionate about robotics but don’t meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply!
Curious to learn more?Follow us here on X and LinkedIn
Skills Required
- Experience running a hardware program at a large company through at least one 0-to-1 cycle
- Technical understanding sufficient to make decisions trusted by engineers without designing the hardware
- Experience applying lessons from a large company in a small-company environment
- Comfort owning programs when success criteria and processes are undefined
What We Do
Join us on our mission to deploy an abundant, intelligent workforce. Watney develops autonomous robots to enable the growth of critical infrastructure. Having recently raised $21 million in seed funding from Conviction, Abstract and A*, we’re partnering with the world’s largest hyperscalers to accelerate datacenter buildout and breakfix. You'll work alongside - The former GSM for the iPhone - The former founding engineer at Worldcoin - The engineer who built the world’s fastest EV racecar at ETH Zurich - … and many more Join now for a ground-floor seat with outsized ownership and visibility as we scale from prototype to production fleets. Ship real systems, shape the rollout playbook, and leave fingerprints on a category-defining robotics company.
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