Senior Manager, Systems Engineering

Agility Robotics is a pioneer. Our robot, Digit, is the first to be sold into workplaces across the globe. Our team is differentiated by its expertise in imagining, engineering, and delivering robots with advanced mobility, dexterity, intelligence, and efficiency -- robots specifically designed to work alongside people, in spaces built for people. Every day, we break through engineering challenges and invent new solutions and capabilities that will one day make robots commonplace and approachable. This work is our passion and our responsibility: our mission is to make businesses more productive and people’s lives more fulfilling.

About Agility Robotics

Agility Robotics is at the forefront of developing humanoid robots designed to operate in real-world environments. Our mission is to build robots that seamlessly integrate into human workflows, solving complex challenges in logistics, manufacturing, and beyond. As we scale, we are looking for a Senior Manager, Systems Engineering to lead and strengthen our Systems Engineering team—ensuring structured, scalable development processes while maintaining the agility and execution speed required in a fast-paced startup environment.

Location:

This position can be based either within commuting distance of our Salem, OR headquarters or remotely in the San Francisco Bay Area.   For remote candidates, regular travel to Salem, typically 1, but sometimes 2 weeks per month will be required. 

About the Role

As Senior Manager of Systems Engineering, you will lead and grow a high-performing team responsible for end-to-end system architecture, requirements development, and technical execution of Agility’s humanoid robotics platform.  You will play a key role in shaping how Systems Engineering is applied in a startup environment, leveraging model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and the V-model of systems engineering to drive structured yet adaptable development processes.

You will be expected to work hands-on with cross-functional teams in mechanical, electrical, software, firmware, and test engineering to ensure that clear, well-structured, and testable system requirements and interface control documents (ICDs) are generated and maintained.

This role is ideal for a technical leader who thrives in fast-paced, high-growth environments like aerospace, automotive, autonomous vehicles, robotics, or most ideally, humanoid robotics.

About the Work

Systems Engineering Leadership

• Lead and mentor a high-performing Systems Engineering team, fostering a culture of ownership, technical rigor, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Define and implement best practices for Systems Engineering, ensuring a balance between structured processes and the pragmatism needed in a fast-moving startup.
• Drive adoption of Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) to improve traceability, design validation, and system architecture.
• Champion the V-model of Systems Engineering, adapting it for the rapid iteration cycles of humanoid robotics development.

Requirements & Interface Management

• Own the generation, decomposition, and validation of system requirements and derived requirements at multiple levels (system, subsystem, and component).
• Ensure all requirements are clear, actionable, and testable, collaborating closely with Test Engineering to define verification and validation strategies.
• Establish and enforce best practices for requirements traceability, ensuring alignment across engineering disciplines.
• Develop and maintain Interface Control Documents (ICDs), collaborating closely with mechanical, electrical, firmware, and software teams to define and document system interactions.
• Work with Test Engineering to ensure that requirements translate into effective test cases and that system validation efforts are comprehensive and efficient.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Execution

• Work closely with engineering teams to ensure system requirements are actionable, testable, and well-integrated into design and development.
• Participate directly in design reviews, technical planning, and problem-solving sessions, ensuring system-level performance and reliability.
• Drive risk identification and mitigation strategies to ensure design robustness and manufacturability.
• Lead trade studies and architecture decisions, balancing performance, cost, and scalability.

Scaling & Process Development

• Build and refine Systems Engineering processes and tools that enable scalable product development as Agility grows.
• Establish clear frameworks for design ve