Sr Technical Program Manager, See & Spray

We’re Blue River, a team of innovators driven to create intelligent machinery that solves monumental problems for our customers. We empower our customers - farmers, construction crews, and foresters to implement safer and more sustainable solutions, driving increased profitability with less reliance on scarce labor. We believe that focusing on the small stuff, pixel-by-pixel and task-by-task, leads to big gains.

Blue River Technology aligns with John Deere’s vision to “innovate on behalf of humanity” by quickly identifying and solving high-value, high-uncertainty challenges in AI, machine learning, computer vision, and robotics. BRT acts as a research and development flywheel, building not only new products but also new platforms that reliably create value for both Deere and its customers. From fully autonomous machines to highly precise farming equipment, BRT and Deere are partnering to deliver technical breakthroughs across industries such as agriculture and construction.

Our people are at the heart of what we do. Through cross-disciplinary collaboration, this mission-driven team is eager to define the new frontier of robotics. We are always asking hard questions, rapidly iterating, and getting our boots in the field to figure it out. We won’t give up until we’ve made a tangible and positive impact on the planet!

Blue River Technology is based in Santa Clara, CA.

Summary

Blue River's See and Spray and See and Scout product lines use advanced computer vision and machine learning to transform how farmers manage their fields -- reducing chemical use, improving yields, and enabling precision at scale. The Program Management team drives cross-functional execution across our mission-based teams (MBTs), ensuring complex hardware, software, and systems integration programs deliver on time and with quality. We operate at the intersection of engineering, product, and operations—and we are growing.

We are seeking a Senior Technical Program Manager to own the processes, tools, and systems that enable our software releases and field deployments. This is not a role where you manage a single product release — you will support Robotics development (RSW), Computer Vision Machine Learning (CVML) model development, and internal tooling infrastructure that all mission-based teams depend on.

You will help ensure our release pipeline runs on a predictable cadence and that our data-collection feedback loops are automated and reliable, delivering features to customers in a timely manner. This role requires someone who can drive cross-organizational alignment across engineering, product, and field operations.

• Employment Type: Full-Time
• Work Location: Santa Clara, CA (Hybrid) (2 days a week in office SF/Santa Clara)
• Visa sponsorship: Open to visa sponsorship.

Job Responsibilities

The main job responsibilities include:

• Program leadership
  • Own end-to-end delivery of complex robotics programs spanning perception and application software.
  • Develop and maintain program schedules that account for the inherent uncertainty of ML development, including experimentation, data collection cycles, and model evaluation.
  • Define program structure, milestones, definitions, and exit criteria in collaboration with engineering leads - including what “good enough to ship” means.
• Technical risk management
  • Identify technical risks proactively, beyond status reports, from understanding what is being built and what can go wrong.
  • Distinguish between ML performance risks (model performance targets), hardware risks (camera development, sensor data and actuator reliability), system integration risks (latency, VPU timing), and data risks (managing shifts between training and deployment environments).
• Specific missions focus and cross-functional coordination
  • Support current Over-the-Air update infrastructure while helping identify/resolve issues to increase overall customer and dealer trust in the technology.
  • Manage data collection cycles spanning the data pipeline, hardware deployment, field engineering coordination, and simulation tools to deliver high-quality ML and robotics models.
  • Accelerate the model development loop by ensuring faster feedback loops to enable a self-sustaining pipeline.

Required Experience and Skills

• BS or MS in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 8+ years of experience in technical program management, systems engineering, or a related technical role. 2 years minimum in a robotics or ML-intensive product environment.
• Experience managing cross-organizational dependencies without direct authority over the teams involved. Expert at finding the right escalation points.
• Strong systems thinking ability to understand how changes in one part of the stack (new sensor, model update, firmware/middleware change) ripple through the rest.
• Track record of defining metrics, standing up dashboards, and using data to drive decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to deploy the right tools (Jira, GitHub, risk matrices, dashboards, AI agents) to match the program's complexity.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to present to executive leadership.
• Strong technical acumen—ability to read architectural diagrams, write specs and test plans, and go deep on engineering issues when needed.

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Experience in autonomous systems.
• Familiarity with machine learning model development and deployment pipelines.
• Experience with HIL/SIL/XIL test infrastructure or V and V processes for safety-critical systems.
• Experience with OTA update systems, field deployment logistics, or dealer- and customer-facing technical programs.
• Demonstrated ability to own and improve SDLC processes across multiple teams. Experience with CI/CD pipelines, test automation frameworks, and DevOps practices.
• Knowledge of data collection pipelines, log management systems, and data governance.

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Only individual applicants will be considered. We do not work with unsolicited third-party agencies or proxy interview services.

At Blue River, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package. For this position, the reasonably expected pay range is $158,000 – $238,000/year for the level at which this job has been scoped. Your base pay will depend on several factors, including your experience, qualifications, education, location, and skills. This position is also eligible for an annual performance bonus and a competitive benefit package. During the recruitment process, we may identify an alternative role or level that better suits you. If your ideal role at Blue River differs from the advertised position, we will provide an updated pay range as soon as possible during the hiring process.

We’re passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. While we have more work to do to advance diversity and inclusion, we’re investing in our programs, including recruiting, mentorship, career development, and learning & development, to ensure they support our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion goals. We support each employee in living a full life, enabling a thriving career, and accomplishing a meaningful, challenging mission while collaborating with incredible people. We are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align completely with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway.

We are an equal-opportunity employer and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform essential job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request an accommodation.

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