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 first Technical Program Manager within Phaidra Engineering, you will be hands on and will drive the core TPM function. You are able to 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 (EST and CST timezones)/UK/EU

Responsibilities

• Core Technical Program Management: You will develop, manage, and deliver complex technology programs across multiple teams in a timely manner, while ensuring they meet Phaidra's high-quality standards This involves ideation and execution of programs, risk assessment and communication -
• Work with engineering and product leadership to solve key customer problems. Maintain a broad view of the architecture and teams, helping to identify what currently exists and what is lacking in terms of technology, skill sets, headcount and processes.
• Champion speed over precision: push for iterative development cycles with rapid feedback loops over highly detailed, long running projects. Provide structure to projects with milestones & checkpoints that drive iterative customer value.
• Proactively identify risks and issues within workstreams, developing contingency plans and solutions to address them.
• Monitor progress and keep all stakeholders & leadership informed.
• Understand security & compliance considerations and ensure they are addressed as non-functional requirements.
• Organizational Planning and Execution Management:
• Own organizational OKR and monthly planning cycles.
• Monitor and report weekly on organizational operational excellence - including progress on all ongoing projects, on-call and support performance, service SLOs, delivery velocity and release quality.
• Keep all stakeholders & leadership informed of the progress of all projects and escalate issues that may impact monthly and quarterly deliverables.
• Own org wide weekly execution reviews and hold teams accountable against goals.
• Own product and engineering owned newsletter to the company.
• Process Development:
• Own and drive engineering support processes ensuring adherence to our support SLAs.
• Be flexible around process, using it as a tool when it makes sense for a team.
• Drive continuous improvement.
• Scale Engineering Teams: Elevate engineering teams by coaching them in core project management skills, making them self-sufficient for smaller projects spanning 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 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.

1. Initial screening interview with a People Operations team member (30 minutes)
2. Meeting with the Hiring Manager (60 minutes)
3. System Design Interview (60 mins)
4. Interview with Head of Product or Staff Product Manager (30 minutes)
5. 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, coworking space stipend, and company MacBook.

*Please not that Phaidra’s benefits and perks listed above do not apply to temporary employees such as interns.

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 weekly to build strong relationships. We hold virtual team building events once per quarter - 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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WE DO NOT ACCEPT APPLICATIONS FROM RECRUITERS.