Technical Program Manager, Actuators

OpenAI's Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and advancing toward AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world environments. We are looking for a Technical Program Manager to own actuator development and integration from system goals through production readiness.

The actuator program spans mechanical, electrical, firmware, harnessing, controls, test, reliability, manufacturing, and supply chain. In this role, you will:

• Drive actuator programs end-to-end, aligning scope, milestones, interfaces, dependencies, and exit criteria across engineering teams.
• Drive scope lock and technical convergence for sprints, MVPs, and stretch goals.
• Coordinate actuator development across motors, gears, sensing, electronics, and firmware.
• Lead validation planning from early prototypes through production readiness.
• Drive tradeoff decisions across cost, quality, performance, schedule, and lead time.
• Establish effective mechanisms for technical reviews, change control, design releases, and decision tracking.
• Surface risks early and drive decisions to closure.

You might thrive in this role if you have led complex electromechanical hardware programs from development through manufacturing, are comfortable reasoning about actuator architecture and integration, and understand hardware development realities.

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