About Phaidra
Phaidra is building the future of industrial automation.
The world today is filled with static, monolithic infrastructure. Factories, power plants, buildings, etc. operate the same they've operated for decades — because the controls programming is hard-coded. Thousands of lines of rules and heuristics that define how the machines interact with each other. The result of all this hard-coding is that facilities are frozen in time, unable to adapt to their environment while their performance slowly degrades.
Phaidra creates AI-powered control systems for the industrial sector, enabling industrial facilities to automatically learn and improve over time. Specifically:
- We use reinforcement learning algorithms to provide this intelligence, converting raw sensor data into high-value actions and decisions.
- We focus on industrial applications, which tend to be well-sensorized with measurable KPIs — perfect for reinforcement learning.
- We enable domain experts (our users) to configure the AI control systems (i.e. agents) without writing code. They define what they want their AI agents to do, and we do it for them.
Our team has a track record of applying AI to some of the toughest problems. From achieving superhuman performance with DeepMind's AlphaGo, to reducing the energy required to cool Google's Data Centers by 40%, we deeply understand AI and how to apply it in production for massive impact.
Phaidra is based in the USA but 100% remote; we do not have a physical office. We hire employees internationally with the help of our partner, OysterHR. Our team is currently located throughout the USA, Canada, UK, Norway, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and India.
**Please only apply to one opening. If you are a better fit for another opening, our team will move your application. Candidates who apply to multiple openings will not be considered.**
Who You Are
You’re a self starter and you’re comfortable with the unknown and understand that startup life means that you’re going to be wearing multiple hats. You’re accountable, curious, and obsessed with improvement, both in yourself and in others. You like a challenge, aren’t afraid to fail and learn from your missteps and are excited to help build a world-class company from the ground up.
As the Technical Program Manager (Lead) at Phaidra Engineering, you will own the core TPM function. The ideal candidate is an influential technical leader who can thrive and succeed in an entrepreneurial environment. You are able separate what's important from what's urgent and find the best path forward from among multiple scenarios, earn the trust of stakeholders, and improve the efficiency of our cross-functional organization. You possess a strong technical program management background and have demonstrated experience leading medium to large projects.
*We are seeking a team member located within one of the following areas: USA/Canada/UK/EU
Responsibilities
- Core Technical Program Management & Cross-Functional Leadership: Develop and manage complex technology projects across multiple teams, ensuring operational excellence -
- Work with engineering and product leadership to solve key problems. Have a wide view of the architecture & teams and help identify what already exists and doesn’t exist in terms of technology, skill set, headcount and processes.
- Work with product & engineering teams to ensure the solution is broken down into manageable pieces, functional specifications & inter-team contracts are well defined and that the project is scoped correctly.
- Define the schedule with checkpoints & milestones and ensure on time delivery of the project.
- Be a voice to senior leadership to ensure appropriate hiring is done in the technical teams.
- Understand security & compliance considerations of the entire **project and ensure they are included in the non-functional requirements.
- Drive the right vendor partnerships & support to de-risk projects.
- Monitoring & Communication: Monitor program progress and keep all stakeholders & leadership informed of the progress of all projects and of any issues that may impact deliverables.
- Risk & Dependency Management: Proactively identify potential risks and issues within projects, developing contingency plans and solutions to address them.
- Process Development: Establish and implement effective processes and methodologies to ensure efficient delivery. Be flexible around process, using process as a tool when it makes sense for a team. Drive continuous improvement in processes and methodologies.
- Scale Engineering Teams: Up-level engineering teams by coaching them on core project management skills to make them self-sufficient for smaller projects than span 1-2 teams.
Onboarding
In your first 30 days, you will...
- Go through an onboarding program that introduces you to Phaidra, our product and our customers.
- Spend time in the Engineering and Product orgs, learning how the teams operate, solve problems and deliver.
- Participate in recurring meetings with individual engineering teams, with engineering and product leadership teams and in company wide business reviews and All Hands.
- Find your footing.
In your first 60 days, you will...
- Build an understanding of our work processes and tools.
- Build an understanding of Phaidra’s technical architecture.
- Learn how Phaidra onboards and support’s it’s customers.
- Take over engineering and product’s reporting and execution mechanisms.
In your first 90 days, you will...
- Establish and drive your first technical program.
- Own org’s internal and external communication.
- Own and drive engineering support processes.
- Fully integrate into the company.
Key Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- 7+ years of work experience in a technology company with 4+ years of PM / TPM experience.
- Strong prior experience driving technical software programs from kick-off to delivery, demonstrating critical, analytical and problem-solving thinking and cross-functional leadership.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with an ability to negotiate and resolve conflict smoothly with or without formal authority.
- Ability to collaborate across time zones by leveraging documentation first and async communication approaches. Prior experience working with distributed teams is a big plus.
- Experience operating autonomously and leading multiple medium to large-scale efforts across diverse teams and functions.
- Share our company values: curiosity, ownership, transparency & directness, outcome-based performance, and customer empathy.
Bonus Skills & Experience
- Experience working in an AI/ML environment.
- Exposure to industrial control systems and/or processes.
General Interview Process
All of our interviews are held via Google Meet, and an active camera connection is required.
- Initial screening interview with a People Operations team member (30 minutes)
- Meeting with the Hiring Manager (60 minutes)
- System Design Interview (90 mins)
- Interview with Head of Product or Staff Product Manager (30 minutes)
- Culture fit interview with Phaidra’s co-founders (30 minutes)
Base Salary
- United States Residents: $100,000-$199,200/year
- UK Residents: £83,200-£136,800/year
This position will also include equity.
These are best faith estimates of the base salary range for this position. Multiple factors such as experience, education, level, and location are taken into account when determining compensation.
Benefits & Perks
- Fast-paced and team-oriented environment where you will be instrumental in the direction of the company.
- Phaidra is a 100% remote company with a digital nomad policy.
- Competitive compensation & equity.
- Outsized responsibilities & professional development.
- Training is foundational; functional, customer immersion, and development training.
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance (exact benefits vary by region).
- Unlimited paid time off, with a minimum of 20 days off per year requirement.
- Paid parental leave (exact benefits vary by region).
- Home office setup allowance and company MacBook.
- Monthly remote work stipend.
On being Remote
We are thoughtful about remote collaboration. We look to the pioneers - like Gitlab - for inspiration and best practices to create a stellar remote work environment. We have a documentation-first culture and actively practice asynchronous communication in everything we do. Our team stays connected through tools like Slack and video chat. Most teams meet daily, and we have dedicated all-hands meetings bi-weekly to build strong relationships. We hold virtual team building events once per month - and even hold virtual socials to watch rocket launches! We have a yearly in-person, all-company summit in locations like Seattle, Athens, Goa, and Barcelona.
Equal Opportunity Employment
Phaidra is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Phaidra is governed on the basis of merit, competence, and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status. We welcome diversity and strive to maintain an inclusive environment for all employees. If you need assistance with completing the application process, please contact us at [email protected].
E-Verify Notice
Phaidra participates in E-Verify, an employment authorization database provided through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA). As required by law, we will provide the SSA and, if necessary, the DHS, with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization for those residing in the United States.
Additional information about E-Verify can be found here.
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