Product Manager, Machine Tending
Formic
Chicago
Who we are:
Formic is on a mission to reshape American manufacturing by making automation accessible to every factory. As labor constraints rise, costs increase, and global competition intensifies, automation is no longer optional for manufacturers that want to stay competitive.
We deliver automation through a Robotics-as-a-Service model that combines industrial robotics, proprietary software, and full-service support into a single, integrated solution. By removing the traditional barriers of cost, complexity, and risk, we enable manufacturers to deploy automation quickly and realize measurable gains in throughput, safety, and operational efficiency without large upfront capital investment.
Backed by leading investors including Lux Capital, Initialized Capital, Blackhorn Ventures, and Mitsubishi HC Capital North America, Formic is scaling rapidly and building the foundation for a new era of high-performance, Made in America production.
About the team:
The Automation Engineering Team is responsible for delivering robotics-driven automation deployments across a wide range of customer applications. The team partners cross-functionally to translate customer requirements into deployed systems, ensuring solutions are integrated, commissioned, and validated to perform reliably in real manufacturing environments. Automation Engineering works closely with customers, internal technical teams, and external integrators to execute deployments on schedule while maintaining high standards for quality, safety, and repeatability.
About the role: As Product Manager, Machine Tending, you will own the development, commercialization, and growth of Formic's machine tending offering across both tracks. You will decide which applications we pursue, define standard configurations and pricing, and lead the engineering work that makes them repeatable to deploy. You will need enough engineering depth to make technical decisions and enough business sense to make commercial ones. You will set direction, get hands-on when needed, and serve as Formic's subject matter expert for the vertical. The goal is an offering Sales can confidently sell, Engineering can consistently deliver, and customers can rely on.
In this role you will:
- Own the machine tending product:
- Own the strategy, roadmap, and portfolio across third-party and internally developed solutions
- Prioritize applications across CNC mills, lathes, machining centers, and press equipment, and define standard configurations and application boundaries
- Set requirements for robots, CNC interfaces, workholding, EOAT, controls, software, and safety, favoring compact footprints, quick changeovers, and minimal programming
- Develop a robust portfolio of offerings that span the common use cases of our customers. This will include systems to sport a full range of offerings in the High Mix / Low Volume and High Volume / Low Mix applications.
- Develop third-party system integration and partnerships:
- Evaluate and select third-party machine tending platforms and integration partners against Formic standards for safety, uptime, serviceability, and cost
- Define integration standards for partner systems (Formic telemetry, remote monitoring, safety review, documentation, and spares) so each one is supported like any other fleet asset
- Negotiate and manage relationships with integrators, machine tool builders, and OEMs, including pricing, lead times, support terms, and co-marketing
- Aggregate lessons from partner deployments into the requirements for Formic's internal product
- Develop Formic-designed machine tending systems:
- Lead robot arm selection across collaborative and industrial platforms (FANUC, Yaskawa, Universal Robots, ABB, KUKA, Others), weighing payload, reach, cycle time, safety architecture, CNC integration support, cost, and serviceability
- Scope a modular design framework that covers turning, milling, grinding, Swiss-type, and press applications from a common base of cell frame, controls, safety, and software
- Define part presentation options (drawers, grids, carts, pallets) and EOAT libraries scaled to part size, weight, and batch volume
- Validate designs on reference cells before release, and partner with Project Engineering on controlled models, BOMs, and documentation
- Lead technical development and deployment:
- Turn requirements into development plans, scope, and milestones across mechanical, electrical, controls, software, and applications engineering
- Development of standardized options for Machine Tool interface. Determination of the best practice for the most common machine tools and supplementary system for models that are unique
- Own the deployment playbook from site survey through FAT, SAT, commissioning, and handoff to Field Operations, including safety risk assessments
- Reduce install time and support needs using field feedback, and evaluate vision and AI where they add reliable value
- Support sales and commercialization:
- Serve as the technical subject matter expert for Sales, Solutions Engineering, and customers across active and queued clusters
- Build a qualification framework that fits applications to standard offerings and flags custom work early, enabling accurate one-shot quoting
- Support scoping, estimates, and quotations, ensuring NRE and application-specific costs are captured
- Create specifications, application guidelines, and sales materials, and support launch events, IMTS, and named-customer case studies
- Manage product economics and partnerships:
- Own cost targets and improve margins through design, standardization, sourcing, and reconditioned equipment
- Compare the full cost of third-party versus internal products, including development, deployment, and support
- Build relationships with integrators, machine tool builders, and technology suppliers
What makes you a great fit:
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering; MBA is a plus
- 7+ years in industrial automation and robotics spanning engineering and product or project management
- Direct experience deploying or productizing robotic machine tending for CNC equipment
- Hands-on CNC machining or machine shop experience
- Experience leading cross-functional development and owning product pricing, quotations, or cost
- Equipment commissioning, FAT/SAT, and on-site debugging experience
- Familiarity with FANUC, Yaskawa Motoman, Universal Robots, ABB, or KUKA robots and common CNC controls
- Knowledge of robot safety standards (ISO 10218, ANSI/RIA R15.06, ISO/TS 15066)
- Exposure to machine vision
- Commercially driven, comfortable with customers, and a strong communicator
- Ability to travel up to 30%
#LB1
Our Total Rewards:
At Formic, we believe people do their best work when they feel supported both professionally and personally. That’s why we offer a comprehensive benefits and perks package for full-time, U.S.-based team members, including:
- Equity in Formic: Participate in our stock option program and share in the success of a fast-growing start-up backed by leading global investors
- Competitive & Uncapped Commission Structure: Designed to reward performance and impact in commission-eligible roles
- Comprehensive Healthcare Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield and Unum, with 99% of employee premiums covered and 75% coverage for dependents, with optional buy-up plans available
- Additional Insurance Benefits: FSA and DCFSA, life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability through Unum, all 100% employer-paid
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Fully funded by Formic, offering support when you need it most
- Paid Parental Leave Program: Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave
- Company-sponsored 401(k): Invest in your future with our company-facilitated retirement savings plan
- Home Office Stipend: A one-time allowance for fully remote and hybrid employees to support an at-home or on-the-road work setup
- Monthly Cell Phone Reimbursement: Monthly stipend toward personal phone and internet expenses
- Flexible Time Off: Take the time you need, when you need it, supported by our flexible PTO policy
Compensation Philosophy
Formic’s pay and equity packages are thoughtfully benchmarked against peer companies at a similar growth stage. Equity represents a meaningful part of our mutual investment: when Formic succeeds, so do you.
Final offers are customized based on experience, geographic location, market considerations, and a candidate’s preferred balance of cash and equity. Our goal is to attract and reward top talent who will have significant impact, and we are open to thoughtful discussions to align on the right structure.
What we look for:
We’re building this company from the ground up, and every person we hire has an outsized impact on our culture, performance, and trajectory. While each team member brings unique strengths and perspectives, we look for people who align with our Operating Principles and embody them in action. If this sounds like you, Formic may be the right place for you!
- Fearless Optimism: You make bold bets and default optimistic. You believe in the mission, aren’t paralyzed by risk, and fear inaction more than failure. You see ambiguity as opportunity and bring energy to building what doesn’t yet exist.
- Create the Magic: You absorb complexity so customers don’t have to. Whether your customer is external or internal, you focus on delivering experiences that are clear, fast, value-added, and outcome-driven. You don’t say “not my job.” You make things work.
- Today, Not Tomorrow: You have a bias to action. You close the loop. You take extreme ownership. You understand that speed compounds, and you don’t confuse activity with results.
- Seek Truth: You think from first principles. You value data over ego and strong opinions loosely held. You’re willing to challenge assumptions, including your own, in pursuit of the best answer.
- Made of Rubber: You are resolute and adaptable. When things break or priorities shift, you rebound stronger. You treat setbacks as learning moments and move forward with grit.
- One Formic: You operate without silos. You practice radical helpfulness, document clearly, and make clean handoffs. You assume positive intent and prioritize team success over individual credit.
Equal Opportunity Employment:
Formic is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or religious creed, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, marital status, family or parental status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. All employment decisions are based on a person’s merit, business needs, and role requirements. If you require further accommodations or have questions regarding accessibility of our roles, please reach out to [email protected].
AI Use:
At Formic, fairness and transparency are at the heart of our hiring process. We use AI-powered tools in some interviews to help our teams evaluate candidate responses, but all final hiring decisions are made by humans. You can learn more about how AI is used in our recruitment process by reviewing our AI Hiring Disclosure linked here.
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