Technical Program Manager

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’s ability to achieve its mission is determined by our ability to work together — as defined by our core values: Agency, Velocity , Craft , and Truth . We seek individuals who embody these values, as they are instrumental in ensuring our team consistently delivers excellence and fosters an engaging and supportive culture

Phaidra is based in the USA, but we are 100% remote with no physical office. We hire employees internationally with the help of our partner, OysterHR . Our team is currently located throughout the USA, Canada, UK, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Singapore, Australia, and India.

Who You Are

• You’re an independent worker, skilled in organization, planning, and project management.

• You have technical knowledge of industrial controls, building automation systems, and/or air or water cooled chiller plants.

• You have the drive to learn about different industries and technologies, and a passion to help customers operate their plant more efficiently and effectively with Phaidra’s AI supervisory control system.

• You can take ownership of your assigned customers and delight them!

• You can guide internal and external teams as you coordinate the configuration and installation of the customers industrial plant AI Agents, and provide professional support while you grow customer relationships for future expansion and advocacy.

• You thrive in a process-driven environment, yet possess the flexibility to adapt and tailor those processes to each customer's unique needs.

• You enjoy collaborating with cross-functional teams to tackle complex projects, leveraging your expertise to drive successful outcomes.

**This role is posted at multiple levels (mid-level and senior). Final leveling, title, and compensation will be determined based on the candidate's experience, skills, and qualifications during the interview process.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end delivery of complex, large-scale customer programs, including multi-site, multi-product, and highly customized deployments, ensuring successful execution from kickoff through long-term support and customer satisfaction.

• Lead program strategy and planning by defining timelines, milestones, resource allocation, and risk mitigation plans across concurrent initiatives, aligning execution with both customer goals and company objectives.

• Serve as the primary customer-facing program leader and trusted advisor, proactively guiding customers through technical and operational challenges while delivering strategic recommendations.

• Work closely with engineering and product teams to ensure our customer solutions are configured correctly and delivered on time according to the customer’s specific site requirements.

• Independently manage high-complexity engagements, navigating ambiguity, prioritizing competing demands, and ensuring consistent delivery against scope, schedule, and quality expectations.

• Lead executive-level communication, presenting complex technical concepts, program updates, and risks in a clear, concise, and actionable manner to stakeholders at all levels.

• Proactively identify program risks, inefficiencies or gaps in delivery workflows, and lead initiatives to update playbooks or processes that improve delivery, customer experience, and internal operations.

• Shape and influence customer strategy by aligning evolving customer needs with long-term product and company direction, providing structured feedback to inform product development.

• Establish and continuously improve program management best practices, including documentation standards, onboarding processes, and delivery frameworks.

• Own comprehensive program documentation, including project progress milestone records, critical customer decisions, technical requirements, and customer-facing materials.

• Lead complex internal initiatives that enhance product capabilities, deployment methodologies, or operational tooling.

• Peer-mentor other TPMs on project execution and technical domain nuances; provide 'on-the-job' guidance during onboarding to help new hires navigate internal processes and manage their first customer deployments

• Adapt and apply appropriate project management methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, hybrid approaches) based on program complexity and customer requirements.

• Uses AI tools strategically to accelerate delivery, improve quality, and guide others in effective AI-assisted workflows.

Key Qualifications

• 5+ years of technical program or project management experience, with demonstrated ownership of complex, cross-functional initiatives.

• Proven ability to independently lead large-scale, technically complex customer programs with high levels of ambiguity.

• Strong experience working with enterprise customers and distributed, cross-functional teams.

• Exceptional ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences, including executive stakeholders.

• Demonstrated experience in stakeholder management, risk management, and program execution at scale.

• Ability to translate explicit and implicit customer needs into structured requirements and influence product and engineering roadmaps.

• Demonstrated expertise in at least two of the following domains, with working proficiency across others:

• Data centers

• Industrial controls and automation systems

• HVAC and mission-critical cooling systems

• AI / Machine Learning applications in industrial environments

• Proficiency in a wide range of program management tools and methodologies, including Agile, Waterfall, and risk management frameworks.

• Strong documentation and organizational skills with a focus on creating scalable, repeatable processes.

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent experience.

• Alignment with Phaidra's values: Agency, Velocity, Craft, & Truth.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Strong track record of driving process improvements and operational excellence initiatives.

• Experience leading cross-functional technical solution delivery involving engineering, research, and product teams.

• Proven ability to mentor, coach, and develop team members.

• Experience influencing product strategy through customer insights and program learnings.

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent.

Onboarding

In your first 30 days…

• You will be immersed in an onboarding program that introduces you to Phaidra and our product.

…