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 create technical breakthroughs in industries like 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

We are seeking a highly motivated Technical Program Manager to join our team and drive the development and deployment of our cutting-edge autonomy programs. Our work spans agriculture, construction, and turf sectors. Our mission is to deliver innovative, reliable, and safe products to our customers, driving efficiency and profitability across these industries. This technical program manager will lead a complex cross-functional program from concept to field deployment, ensuring alignment with product, safety, and operational goals for John Deere autonomy machines.

• Employment Type: Full-Time
• Work Location: Remote in the United States
• Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Job Responsibilities

A combination, not necessarily all-inclusive, of the following:

• Manages end-to-end programs of moderate to high complexity, spanning multiple teams and functions.
• Develops detailed plans, optimizes workflows, and ensures deliverables align with strategic objectives.
• Proactively identifies, analyzes, and manages program risks, issues, and dependencies, demonstrating good judgment in developing and deploying mitigation strategies.
• Drives consensus and influences without direct authority among cross-functional stakeholders to achieve program objectives.
• Facilitates effective communication between technical and non-technical teams, providing clear program status and communicating challenges to stakeholders.
• Tracks and measures project outcomes, identifying opportunities for continuous improvement and process optimization.
• Removes impediments to enable engineering development and holds team members accountable for deliverables.
• Proactively follow up with team members to ensure on-time delivery of their committed outputs.

Required Experience and Skills

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant technical field (e.g., Computer Science, Engineering) or equivalent work experience.
• A minimum of 2 years of project/program management experience and 4+ years of professional experience, aligning with Level 2-3 progression.
• Demonstrated competency in deploying project/program planning tools (e.g., Jira, Smartsheet, Airtable) to manage project complexity.
• Analytical problem-solving skills within large-scale systems and the technical insight to identify engineering risks.
• Proven ability to manage cross-functional initiatives and drive alignment across diverse organizational groups.
• Excellent communication, time management, and prioritization skills, along with a focus on creativity and promoting innovative solutions.
• Agility and adaptability to work in a dynamic environment, while effectively collaborating with Blue River Technology cross-org teams and John Deere teams.
• Familiarity with Software and Hardware Development Life Cycles.

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Previous involvement in projects related to autonomous systems, machine learning, computer vision, or artificial intelligence.
• Familiarity with autonomy, robotics, CVML, vision sensors (i.e., camera imaging), and data analytics.

At Blue River, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package. For this position, the reasonably expected pay range is between $91,000 - $199,000/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 to which you are more suited. 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.