[Hiring] Vice President, Strategic Program Management Office @Agility Robotics

Role Description

The Vice President of Strategic Program Management (SPMO) is a newly created leadership role reporting directly to the COO. This executive owns the discipline, structure, and rigor of program management across Agility's portfolio of new product development and launch programs. You will build and lead a team of Technical Program Managers (TPMs), each accountable for driving individual product launch programs from concept through general availability, while you own the strategic view: portfolio prioritization, cross-functional operating rhythm, risk management, and executive-level reporting.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You will coach and develop TPMs, intervene directly on at-risk programs, and serve as the primary conduit between engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, and commercial teams and the executive staff on program health, tradeoffs, and decisions.

Key Responsibilities

• Build, lead, and grow the Strategic Program Management Office, including hiring, mentoring, and performance management of Technical Program Managers.
• Develop and enforce a consistent program management methodology, toolset, and cadence (gate reviews, milestone tracking, risk registers) across all new product launch programs as well as other programs across the business.
• Own the portfolio-level view of all active launch programs: sequencing, resourcing, interdependencies, and tradeoffs across the product roadmap.
• Partner with engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, quality, finance, and commercial leadership to align cross-functional teams around program milestones and commitments.
• Establish and run the executive program review cadence, delivering clear, data-driven status, risk, and decision recommendations to the COO and executive staff.
• Identify at-risk programs early and drive recovery plans, escalating and resolving cross-functional blockers before they impact launch timelines.
• Develop and track program-level KPIs (schedule, cost, quality, scope) and drive continuous improvement in program predictability and execution.
• Champion change management and process maturity as Agility scales from prototype and pilot programs to high-volume production programs.
• Manage program budgets and resource allocation in partnership with Finance and functional leaders.
• Represent the program management function in strategic planning, new product introduction (NPI) governance, and annual operating planning.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of technical program or project management experience, including 5+ years in a people-leadership role managing a team of program or technical program managers.
• Experience leading new product introduction (NPI) or new product development (NPD) programs in a hardware, robotics, automotive, aerospace, or complex electromechanical products environment.
• Track record building or scaling a program management function (PMO/SPMO) inside a fast-growing or scaling organization.
• Strong executive presence; demonstrated ability to communicate program status, risk, and tradeoffs clearly to C-suite and board-level audiences.
• Deep fluency in program management methodology and tools (stage-gate processes, risk management, critical path/schedule management, earned value or equivalent).
• Experience partnering across engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, and quality functions in a hardware product company.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering, business, or a related field; advanced degree (MBA or technical master's) a plus.
• PMP, PgMP, or equivalent program management certification preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in robotics, humanoid/mobile robotics, or advanced automation.
• Experience taking a hardware and integrated software product from pilot production through volume manufacturing ramp.
• Familiarity with modern program management tooling (e.g., Smartsheet, Jira, Monday, or similar) and portfolio reporting dashboards.

Benefits

• The opportunity to shape how a category-defining robotics company builds and scales its program management discipline.
• Direct partnership with the COO and executive staff on the company's most strategically important programs.
• Competitive base salary, equity, and comprehensive benefits.
• 401(k) Plan: Includes a 6% company match.
• Equity: Company stock options.
• Insurance Coverage: 100% company-paid medical, dental, vision, and short/long-term disability insurance for employees.
• Benefit Start Date: Eligible for benefits on your first day of employment.
• Well-Being Support: Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Time Off:
  • Exempt Employees: Flexible, unlimited PTO and 12 company holidays, including a winter shutdown.
  • Non-Exempt Employees: 10 vacation days, paid sick leave, and 12 company holidays, including a winter shutdown, annually.
• On-Site Perks: Catered lunches four times a week and a variety of healthy snacks and refreshments at our Salem and Pittsburgh locations.
• Parental Leave: Generous paid parental leave programs.
• Work Environment: A culture that supports flexible work arrangements.
• Growth Opportunities: Professional development and tuition reimbursement programs.
• Relocation Assistance: Provided for eligible roles.
• Annual Discretionary Bonus: Provided for eligible roles.