General Motors

Staff Product Manager - Robotics Integration

Warren, Michigan, United States of America Full time

Job Description

At General Motors, our product teams are redefining mobility. Through a human-centered design process, we create vehicles and experiences that are designed not just to be seen, but to be felt. We’re turning today’s impossible into tomorrow’s standard —from breakthrough hardware and battery systems to intuitive design, intelligent software, and next-generation safety and entertainment features.  

Every day, our products move millions of people as we aim to make driving safer, smarter, and more connected, shaping the future of transportation on a global scale.

Staff Technical Product Manager, Robotics Systems Integration (IC)

At General Motors, our product teams are redefining mobility. Through a human-centered design process, we create vehicles and experiences that are designed not just to be seen, but to be felt. We’re turning today’s impossible into tomorrow’s standard — from breakthrough hardware and battery systems to intuitive design, intelligent software, and next-generation safety and entertainment features.

Every day, our products move millions of people as we aim to make driving safer, smarter, and more connected, shaping the future of transportation on a global scale.

This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the successful candidate is expected to report to Warren, Michigan three times per week, at minimum.

The Role

As a Staff Technical Product Manager (Individual Contributor) for Robotics Systems Integration, you will own the vision, definition, and technical execution for complex robotics solutions across manufacturing environments. You will operate as a senior individual contributor, setting product direction, defining system capabilities and interfaces, and partnering with cross-functional leaders to ensure robotics systems deliver measurable business impact at scale.

You will bridge hardware and software disciplines, translating stakeholder needs into structured product requirements while ensuring alignment with business strategy, safety standards, and plant operations. You will work closely with engineering and operations teams to drive deep technical discussions, manage complex tradeoffs, and guide products through the full lifecycle — from concept definition and architecture through deployment and continuous improvement in production.

This position calls for strong systems-level thinking, deep technical fluency, and the ability to influence without direct authority. You will model best practices in requirements development and lifecycle ownership, mentor more junior product managers informally, and ensure that robotics systems are designed for manufacturability, safety, and scalability while meeting program milestones.

What You’ll Do

  • Define Product Vision and Strategy

    • Own the product definition and multi-release roadmap for key robotics systems integration initiatives, aligned with GM manufacturing, safety, and business priorities.

    • Quantify value propositions and develop success metrics (throughput, quality, safety, cost, uptime) to guide decision-making and measure impact.

  • Synthesize Complex Information

    • Gather and reconcile input from user experience design, controls and robotics engineering, safety, operations, IT, and business stakeholders to define product needs and priorities.

    • Create a unified, systems-level view of product requirements, technical constraints, and cross-team dependencies for complex robotics deployments.

  • Develop, Document, and Maintain Product Inputs

    • Create and maintain product definitions that tie directly to business strategy, manufacturing strategies, and plant-level use cases.

    • Author and continuously refine product requirements (functional specs, interface definitions, performance targets, verification criteria) throughout the development cycle.

    • Build and maintain financial and operational models (e.g., BOM cost sensitivity, line throughput, utilization, ROI targets) to inform roadmapping and tradeoffs.

    • Support and influence program management by owning prioritized backlogs, defining release scope, and aligning feature sets and integration milestones with major program and plant launch timelines.

  • Lead Technical Product Execution

    • Embed with engineering and integration teams, participating in standups, design reviews, and technical working sessions to stay closely aligned and proactively unblock progress.

    • Use your multidisciplinary expertise (mechanical, electrical, controls, software, safety) to drive and facilitate tradeoff decisions across user experience, mechanical, electrical, and software teams.

    • Partner with system architects and lead engineers to define architectures, interfaces, and integration patterns for robotics cells and supporting infrastructure.

  • Influence and Collaborate Across Organizations

    • Proactively identify and shape opportunities in adjacent physical and virtual manufacturing infrastructure (e.g., MES, vision systems, tooling, material handling) to enable robotics integration at scale.

    • Develop and advocate for “robot-friendly” interfaces and standards for upstream and downstream systems, driving consistency across plants and programs.

    • Build and maintain strong relationships with partner teams (manufacturing engineering, plant operations, controls, safety, IT, platform and infrastructure teams) for seamless collaboration and aligned delivery.

  • Own Integration into Production and Lifecycle Management

    • Own the end-to-end product lifecycle for your robotics integration products — from concept through pilot, launch, and scaled deployment.

    • Champion design for manufacturability, deployability, serviceability, and maintainability, ensuring solutions can be efficiently rolled out, supported, and evolved across multiple sites.

    • Manage feature intake and issue triage for deployed products, working closely with plant stakeholders and support teams to prioritize fixes and enhancements.

    • Actively seek the voice of the customer (operators, maintenance, plant leadership) via field visits, pilots, and data to drive continuous improvement and inform roadmap decisions.

  • Elevate Product Management Practices

    • Model high-quality requirements, documentation, and decision records; informally mentor and coach junior product managers and cross-functional partners on best practices.

    • Contribute to and help refine standards, templates, and processes for robotics-related product management within the broader organization.

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

  • Experience

    • 7+ years in a technical product management or closely related role, with direct involvement in hardware/software co-development, systems integration, or robotics/automation product delivery.

    • Demonstrated experience leading complex, multi-team technical products from concept through production deployment, preferably in manufacturing or industrial environments.

  • Requirements Development

    • Expert in translating stakeholder input, operational constraints, and regulatory/safety needs into structured product requirements, including functional specifications, interface definitions, performance targets, and verification/validation criteria.

    • Proven track record of managing and evolving requirements across multiple releases and deployments while maintaining traceability to business and technical outcomes.

  • Technical Fluency

    • Strong understanding of complex hardware/software and electromechanical systems, with the ability to engage deeply in technical discussions and evaluate tradeoffs across controls, robotics, perception, safety, and infrastructure.

    • Background in complex electromechanical system design, advanced perception systems (e.g., machine vision), robotics/automation, and/or industrial safety systems is strongly preferred.

    • Demonstrated ability to quickly learn new technologies, ask the right questions, and synthesize input into clear, actionable direction for engineering teams.

  • Strategic and Analytical Thinking

    • Ability to connect detailed technical decisions to business strategy, manufacturing strategies, and financial impact, using data and modeling to drive prioritization.

    • Experience defining and tracking product KPIs and using them to guide roadmap evolution and continuous improvement.

  • Communication and Influence

    • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, capable of translating complex technical concepts for diverse audiences (executives, plant leadership, engineering teams, and operators).

    • Demonstrated ability to influence senior technical and business stakeholders without direct authority, drive alignment, and lead through ambiguity.

  • Tools

    • Proficiency with requirements management tools such as Jama.

    • Familiarity with collaboration and design tools such as FigJam, Lucidspark/Lucidchart.

    • Comfortable working with product and project management tools used in both Agile and waterfall development environments.

    • Excellent communication through written narrative documents and slide presentations.

  • Education

    • Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Robotics, Controls, or related field) preferred.

    • Equivalent technical experience will be considered.

What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications)

  • Experience launching robotics or automation products into production environments, particularly in high-volume manufacturing.

  • Previous experience working with teams developing against industrial safety standards (e.g., ISO 13849, IEC/ISO 61508) or within an analogous regulated environment (e.g., medical devices, aerospace, automotive functional safety).

  • Direct exposure to manufacturing environments, including time spent on the plant floor observing, piloting, or supporting robotics systems in live production.

  • Experience standardizing or scaling platforms, interfaces, or reference architectures for robotics cells or automation solutions across multiple plants or programs.

  • Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives spanning product, engineering, manufacturing, safety, and IT, with measurable business outcomes.

This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the selected candidate is expected to report to a specific location at least 3 times a week {or other frequency dictated by their manager}. The selected candidate will be required to travel <25% for this role. This job may be eligible for relocation benefits.

About GM

Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.

Why Join Us 

We believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one General Motors team.

Benefits Overview

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