Technical Project Manager - Mobile Robotics (NPD) - HayBeeSee｜Meet.jobs

Starting Date: March 2021

Location: R&D Center in Katowice (Poland), part-remote work possible from other city in Poland or other cummutable conutry in the region

Introduction

HayBeeSee is introducing fundamental change to "agronomy" and farming best-practice utilising state-of-the-art robotics and AI. Meet the CropHopper®, world’s first robot designed for fast and efficient jumping across fields which frequently acts in fields, collecting and processing unique ultra-resolution data as well as targeted weeding and spot spraying, when there is still time to act!

Some of our investors include the London Business Angels, London Co-Investment Fund, Innovate UK, and European Space Agency (ESA BIC) as well as our advisor, ex Head of Future Programmes at Airbus Defence & Space. We have the support from experts such as our advisor Prof Mirko Kovac, Director of the Aerial Robotics Laboratory in Imperial College London as well as the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) in Cambridge.

We need someone to work as a key member of our world-class team in a rapid design-simulate-build-test-trial cycle environment with a passion for novel hardware, robotics and modern agronomy! This is a chance to help drive forward our revolution in agriculture and beyond!

The Role:

• Leading Project Management activities for development, prototyping and testing (NPD - New Product Development) of Robotics Platform - Jumping Robot for Intensive Scouting of Crops - and Agronomy Platform - Software Analytics Platform
• Key focus is on enabling effective communication within a senior multi-disciplinary engineering team (size of around 12) as well as effectively leading this team to solve technical multi-disciplinary challanges (ME, EE, SW, GNC/ Robotics, Computer Vision) along all three phases of NPD: 1. Design, 2. Prototype + Iterations & Fixing / Improvements, 3. Customer Trials
• Risk management, project planning, budgeting and control
• Role will require coordination of hardware prototyping and manufacturing related activities together with Manufacturing Partner incl. logistics of hardware prototypes delivery and shipment, quality control process and both in-house and Partner test campaigns
• Liaising closely with Lead Systems Engineer and CTO on the planning and the Systems Engineering process incl. requirements and system architecture
• Working with Agronomy Project Manager, CEO and Lead Systems Engineer to understand and refine customer and market requirements and include them in systems requirements and project planning
• Choosing and setting up framework, tool(s) and managing project management process. This includes defining, planning, executing, control and evaluation of high-level roadmaps and more detailed project plans incl. all core engineering disciplines: software, computer vision/ data science, GNC/ robotics, electronics/ avionics, mechanics

Key Skills:

• 5+ years of experience working as a project manager / lead on development of new complex hardware (incl. mechatronics) and software products in sectors such as e.g. mobile robotics/ autonomous vehicles (big bonus), defence, aerospace, automotive
• Significant experience as design engineer ideally within mechanical engineering or mechatronics discipline
• Experience and understanding of product reliability challanges around materials and structures especially the following: stress, fatiugue, environmental conditions, loading cycles, design margins, quality systems
• Signigicant experience leading multi-disciplinary teams (ME, EE, SW, GNC/ Robotics, Computer Vision etc.) on technical side through all three NPD phases of complex projects (ideally mechatronics products operating in outdoor / harsh conditions): 1. Design. 2. Prototype + Iterations & Fixing / Improvements. 3. Customer Trials.
• Significant experience managing internal and external stakeholders at all levels of an organisation
• Experience with coordination or managing HW prototyping and manufacturing related activities together with Manufacturing Partner inlc. logistics of hardware prototypes delivery and shipment, quality process and both in-house and Partner test campaigns
• Experienced and familiar with (bonus - certified) at least one project management methodology applicable to complex hardware & software products
• Extensive experience with standard project management tools at various levels of application incl. roadmap level and specific functional engineering disciplines level applicable to hardware and software (e.g. MS Project, JIRA)
• Good understanding of Systems Engineering concepts and principles
• Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent, in engineering or technical field
• Conflict management skills in a multi-disciplinary environment
• Self-motivated with good interpersonal skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
• Ability to travel as required

Bonus Skills:

• Experience with most NPD phases for mobile robot or small vehicle project with focus on mechanical engineering and reliability aspects
• Experience working with Contract Manufacturer on joint new product development program incl. contracts negotiations, development phase and prototypes manufacturing
• Deep experience with System Engineering process
• Experience working in or with technology SMEs / startups
• Experience with managing resource and logistics of field trial campaigns in remote locations distributed across many locations
• Experience with managing development of modern Machine Learning / AI based analytics products especially computer vision object classification and localisation based functionalities incl. data aggregation process
• Interest in robotics, sustainability, agriculture, agronomy, field trials, or grew up on a farm

Resources:

• In-house Advanced Robotics Lab incl. simulated field environment and motion capture system (think of “Mars Yard”)
• State-of-the-art tools & work equipment (incl. high spec ultrabook), conference & training budget
• World-class experts in agronomy, novel robotics, mechatronics, materials, avionics & electronics hardware, computer vision and manufacturing technologies

Why should you apply?

• Central role in shaping this early but rapidly growing company
• Help solving a really big and meaningful problem in the industry
• Competitive salary, meaningful share options and attractive benefits package
• Company off-site trips incl. Silicon Valley and Yosemite National Park in California