Engineering Program Manager - Robotics at Watney (San Francisco, CA)
Watney· San Francisco, CA·
Role details
Job description
OUR MISSION
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 x.com/watneyrobotics and LinkedIn linkedin.com/about
Why work at Watney
- In-Office culture: All roles are based in San Francisco (HQ); the company emphasizes in-person collaboration.
- Ground-floor opportunity: With outsized ownership and visibility, employees shape the “rollout playbook” for a category-defining robotics company.
- Technical challenge: Work on real systems that combine robotics, AI, hardware, and infrastructure at scale.
- Notable peers: Colleagues include alumni from Scale AI, Amazon Web Services, Tools for Humanity, Warburg Pincus, and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
- Growth trajectory: A very young company (founded 2024) with rapid hiring and clear product-market fit, ideal for early-stage career builders.