Principal Product Manager - Robotics & Safety

About the company

RobCo builds a full-stack, AI-driven robotics platform that automates industrial manufacturing tasks through self-learning robots delivered via a robotics-as-a-service model.

About this role

About the Role at RobCo RobCo is building the category of Autonomous Industrial Robotics and we're doing it fast. We believe that automating the ordinary frees humans to do the extraordinary, and we're building the end-to-end robotics infrastructure to make that possible - hardware, software, and AI in one stack that just works.   As our Principal Product Manager – Robotics & Safety (m/f/d), you own the long-term product vision across RobCo's software, AI, and hardware capabilities. You bridge the digital and physical, ensuring smart, modular, and safe automation across our product portfolio. Your Responsibilities - Define the product vision – Own and shape the long-term roadmap for RobCo's software, AI, and hardware capabilities, setting strategic direction for smart, modular, and safe automation across the product portfolio. - Bridge digital and physical – Drive seamless integration between software intelligence and mechanical systems at an organizational level, ensuring a cohesive, high-performance, and safe experience across multiple product lines. - Gather and translate requirements – Partner directly with key customers, executive stakeholders, and engineering leadership to define product strategy and specifications for both hardware and software, embedding safety and regulatory considerations from the outset. - Guide hardware development – Provide senior-level guidance on concept validation, component selection, and prototype reviews for new modules and mechanical sub-systems, mentoring other PMs through the process. - Bridge technology and robotics – Translate emerging technical capabilities into a coherent product strategy, from perception to motion optimization, predictive maintenance, and risk mitigation. - Validate and iterate – Establish frameworks for testing, data analysis, and continuous improvement across hardware and software products, raising the bar for the broader product organization. - Drive simplicity – Champion product simplicity and safety as core principles across teams, ensuring complex robotic systems remain intuitive and accessible for users across industries. We're looking for someone who has: - 10+ years of experience in product management for robotics, automation, or mechatronic systems, with deep exposure to both software and hardware development. - Proven track record of owning product strategy end-to-end, including go-to-market decisions and cross-functional alignment at a senior level. - Strong understanding of software architectures, APIs, cloud systems, and safety-related requirements in robotic products. - Deep hands-on familiarity with hardware development processes, including mechanical design, component testing, and manufacturing readiness. - Expert-level ability to discuss robot kinematics, sensors, drive systems, and control architectures at a technical level with engineering leadership. - Demonstrated experience mentoring or leading other product managers. - Proven ability to write crisp, technically sound product requirements and manage complex, multi-team development projects. - Experience working in agile environments and balancing long-term product vision with rapid iteration. - Strong strategic and analytical mindset, with a track record of driving product scalability and business impact. - Excellent communication and influencing skills across engineering, product, executive, and commercial teams. - Professional fluency in English (German is a plus). Why join RobCo? - Develop modular, software-defined robotics solutions with us that set new standards in automation. - Help us build robots equipped with state-of-the-art AI that perceive their environment, analyze data, and make intelligent decisions in real time. - As part of a very dynamic and fast-growing scale-up, you will take on responsibility from day one, drive your own projects, and see the direct impact of your work. - Flat hierarchies, open communication, and regular 360° feedback enable fast decisions and support your professional and personal development. - Wellpass membership (7,200+ studios across Germany), regular team events, and a team that takes both the work and the culture seriously. - Flexible working hours, a modern office, and—depending on the role—the option to work from home. - Regular team events—from relaxed beer & pizza nights on the rooftop terrace to shared experiences on ski trips or at Oktoberfest. About RobCo Founded in Munich in 2020, RobCo leads the transition toward fully Autonomous Industrial Robotics. Our mission is to deploy RobCo in every factory - solving the industrial labor shortage through end-to-end robotics that just works. Powered by Physical AI, our solutions combine a scalable modular hardware architecture with intelligent software that adapts to your use case, improves over time, and requires zero upfront investment through our Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) model. We solve our customers' most pressing pain points - labor shortage, cost pressure, workplace safety, and national reshoring - across the full spectrum of Autonomous Industrial Robotics. With $160M raised from investors including Lightspeed, Lingotto Innovation, and Sequoia, 200+ people globally, and 2.5M+ operating hours in the field, we are deploying robots in factories across Europe and the United States - with our US operations headquartered in Austin, TX, and our RobCo Bay Area Demo Lab in San Francisco. Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles. At RobCo, applicants are selected regardless of ethnic origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation. All decisions throughout the recruitment process are based solely on applicants’ qualifications, skills, knowledge, and experience, as wel