Principal Engineer

Job Summary

The Robotics Principal (Solution Owner) is responsible for owning and driving the development, evolution, and adoption of specific robotics solutions within the Robotics Intelligence CoE.

This role combines product ownership, technical understanding, and program leadership to transform robotics capabilities-such as demos, accelerators, and co-innovations-into scalable, reusable, and market-ready solutions.

The Robotics Principal acts as the end-to-end owner of selected solution areas, from concept through pilot to scaled delivery, ensuring strong alignment between engineering execution, customer value, and business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

1. Solution Ownership & Productization

• Own one or more robotics solution domains (e.g., autonomous inspection, warehouse automation, digital twins, robotics AI platforms).
• Define and evolve the solution vision, scope, and roadmap aligned with CoE strategy and market demand.
• Drive transformation of:
• Demos → structured solutions
• PoCs → reusable accelerators
• First-of-a-kind builds → scalable offerings
• Define clear value propositions, use cases, and differentiation for each solution.
• Ensure solutions are modular, reusable, and aligned with reference architectures.
• Track adoption, reuse, and business impact of owned solutions.

2. Capability Development & Engineering Alignment

• Work closely with engineering, AI, and architecture teams to guide solution development.
• Prioritize backlog and define development milestones aligned with roadmap.
• Ensure alignment across:
• Robotics software (ROS/ROS2, autonomy stacks)
• Simulation environments (e.g., Nvidia Omniverse, USD)
• AI/ML models and perception pipelines
• Hardware platforms and integrations
• Drive technical trade-offs balancing innovation, feasibility, scalability, and cost.
• Ensure high-quality documentation, packaging, and readiness for reuse.

3. Customer Co-Innovation & Early Engagements

• Lead solution-centric customer engagements including:
• Co-innovation initiatives
• Pilots and first deployments
• Early-stage solution shaping
• Translate customer needs into structured solution enhancements.
• Act as the solution authority in customer discussions, demos, and workshops.
• Ensure successful execution of pilots with clear success criteria and KPIs.
• Capture learnings and feed them back into solution evolution.

4. Transition to Scaled Delivery

• Define criteria and readiness for scaling solutions into delivery engagements.
• Ensure structured handover to delivery teams, including:
• Architecture and design documentation
• Implementation guidelines
• Effort models and deployment patterns
• Support initial scale-up phases to ensure continuity and success.
• Minimize transition risks and ensure solution integrity as it scales.

5. CoE Operations & Ecosystem Contribution

• Contribute to CoE operational planning in collaboration with PMOs:
• Resource planning for owned solution areas
• Budget input and prioritization
• Procurement needs (hardware, tools, platforms)
• Engage with ecosystem partners (robot OEMs, platform vendors, AI providers).
• Support conferences, demos, and showcase events as a solution owner.
• Contribute to overall CoE roadmap and capability strategy.

Skill Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Robotics, Engineering, Computer Science, or related fields
• 8-15 years of experience in robotics, AI, or complex engineering program environments
• Experience in:
• Robotics solution development or system integration
• Product ownership, solutioning, or program leadership
• Strong customer-facing experience in pilots, PoCs, or pre-sales
• Proven ability to bridge engineering, business, and delivery teams

Other Requirements

Technology Context

Strong working understanding of:

• ROS/ROS2 ecosystems and robotics middleware
• Autonomy, navigation, manipulation, and perception systems
• Simulation platforms (e.g., Nvidia Omniverse, USD)
• Python/C++ in robotics environments
• AI/ML and GenAI applications in robotics
• Cloud integration and industrial data platforms

Key Competencies

• Product mindset with ownership mentality
• Strong technical depth combined with business awareness
• Ability to translate innovation into scalable solutions
• Stakeholder alignment across engineering, delivery, and customers
• Structured execution with flexibility for innovation environments
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and shaping new solution areas

Success Measures

• Adoption and reuse of owned robotics solutions
• Conversion rate from PoC/pilot to scaled engagements
• Time-to-productization of new capabilities
• Customer impact and satisfaction in early engagements
• Contribution to CoE growth and differentiated offerings