Senior Program Manager, Robotics

With more than $1B in revenue, Tennant Company is a globally recognized leader in the cleaning equipment industry. For the past 150 years, we have been passionate about developing and manufacturing innovative and sustainable solutions for our customers. At Tennant Company, we are committed to stewardship and creating a cleaner, safer and healthier world. With manufacturing, operations and sales, service, and support functions across the globe, your journey at Tennant can take you places you never expected.

We are seeking a highly motivated and execution-focused Senior Program Manager to lead complex product development programs for the TNC Robotics Venture. This pivotal role is the governance and cross-functional coordination engine accountable for driving the rigorous execution of the robotics product roadmap from concept initiation through post-launch delivery. 

The Senior Program Manager is accountable for the overall leadership and success of their assigned programs. Success is measured by program performance as defined by metrics related to schedule, cost, quality, and ROI, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, and on scope. 

Key Responsibilities 

The Senior Program Manager is accountable for rigorous program leadership, execution rigor, and comprehensive governance throughout the product lifecycle: 

• Program Leadership & Planning: Lead highly motivated cross-functional product development teams comprised of members from all disciplines, including Engineering, Marketing, Operations, Supply Chain and Sales. Develop and execute comprehensive product development plans that align with product and departmental strategies. 
• Execution, Governance & Decision-Making: Lead teams through the proper governance processes, ensuring information is available for sound decisions on tradeoffs and risks. Manage stakeholder needs and expectations by effectively facilitating tradeoff decisions. 
• Schedule, Budget & Resource Control: Accountable for the overall schedule and cost performance of the program. Coordinate program documentation required by the product development process, including gate review materials and presentations. Align people, budget, and capacity across R&D, manufacturing, supply chain, and customer-facing teams. 
• Risk & Issue Management: Objectively evaluate risks to program objectives. Identify technical, financial, partner, or schedule risks and drive resolution with the core team, escalating as appropriate.  
• Process Oversight & Communication: Lead the creation, documentation, and implementation of new product development processes and improvements as required. Provide transparent and timely updates to stakeholders and effectively communicate all aspects of program status, including risks/issues threatening program deliverables. 

Education & KSAs 

• Education: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree is required. Knowledge of engineering fundamentals is necessary. 
• Experience: Minimum of 7+ years experience in a product development environment, with 3+ years experience leading cross-functional teams. Strong project planning / management experiences are highly desirable. 
• Leadership & Drives Results: Strong leadership and team building skills. Ability to effectively lead through ambiguity and promote collaborative decision-making. Proven capability to consistently achieve commitments. 
• Financial Acumen: Capability to leverage basic financial tools in making project decisions based on ROI and other financial metrics (e.g., NPV, IRR). 
• Process Mastery & Collaboration: Exceptional planning and management skills using industry standard tools and methods. Exceptional cross-functional perspective including engineering, marketing, procurement, sales, and service. 

Capabilities 

• Decision-Making Under Pressure: Skilled in balancing competing priorities to make informed, timely decisions that uphold program objectives. 
• Risk and Opportunity Management: Knowledge of structured risk identification and mitigation processes that enable proactive course correction. 
• Creative Problem Solving: Ability to challenge assumptions, stimulate innovative thinking, and drive the team toward inventive, practical solutions under constraints. 
• Leadership and Influence: Capable of inspiring cross-functional teams, fostering accountability, and gaining alignment among diverse technical and business stakeholders. 
• Integrate Cross-Function