Principal Technical Program Manager

We are CARIAD, an automotive software development team with the Volkswagen Group. Our mission is to make the automotive experience safer, more sustainable, more comfortable, more digital, and more fun. To achieve that we are building the leading tech stack for the automotive industry and creating a unified software platform for over 10 million new vehicles per year. We're looking for talented, digital minds like you to help us create code that moves the world. Together with you, we'll build outstanding digital experiences and products for all Volkswagen Group brands that will transform mobility. Join us as we shape the future of the car and everyone around it.

Role Summary:

The Principal Technical Program Manager will be responsible for laying the groundwork and driving program deliverables while supporting internal software engineering teams through the full software development lifecycle. You will represent the team with the vehicle program, partner engineering teams, contractors, and vendors building clarity, rapport, and alignment around goals. You will own the project planning, release cadences implemented by the internal software engineering team, and partner with off-shore and near-shore extended teams.

Role Responsibilities:

Strategic Roadmap Planning:

• Partner with engineering teams, contractors, and vendors building clarity, rapport, and alignment around goals.
• Responsible for driving the overall program and deliverables for the Infotainment Platform by coordinating internal development.
• Coordinate with cross-functional Engineering teams to align on technical architecture, integration points, validation strategies, and overall timing of deliverables.
• Work with vehicle development milestones, key stakeholders, and engineering leadership to define goals for the organization over the planning period.
• Provide software development and project management, cross-functional coordination and team communication to deliver the projects outcomes.
• Manage software program by defining milestones, success criteria and successful on-time delivery.

Tactical Execution:

• Utilize and tailor the appropriate agile methodologies for your teams and circumstances to maximize engineering productivity towards the goals in the Strategic Roadmap.
• Continuously reconcile, document, and communicate actual progress against planned implementation.
• Define maturity expectations and coordinate readiness for vehicle level milestones
• Lay the groundwork for common tools, processes, and reporting.
• Use technical judgment while working with large, cross-functional and distributed teams.
• Manage the sprint planning, SOS and others Agile related meetings.

Crisis Management:

• Lead cross-functional teams to manage responses to critical issues, create clarity around problem statements, ensure blockers are removed, and provide visibility to executive stakeholders on status and forecasted outcomes.
• Prioritize projects and work with the design and engineering teams to map out programs and initiatives.
• Triage and troubleshoot issues and document best practices for scale.

Software Development Lifecycle Optimization:

• Create, maintain, and enforce engineering best practices through consistent processes and workflows.
• Manage the projects to be compliant with A-Spice and ISO.

Reporting & Documentation:

• Generate reporting that scales from high level executive overviews to detailed execution status against plan of record.
• Lead process Definition & Documentation for all vehicle programs

Engineering Liaison:

• Primary point of contact for vehicle program, key stakeholders, product and requirement organizations, partner engineering teams, and vendors.
• Communicate schedules, priorities and status at all levels in Cariad.
• Work with software managers, engineers and others engineering teams to get high-quality products and features through the software project life cycle.
• Manage project schedules, identify possible issues and communicate to projects stakeholders.
• Manage release schedules and milestones in a fast-paced environment.

General Skills:

• Expert communicator across cultural and team boundaries.
• Expertise in motivating teams and fostering a collaborative and productive environment.
• Background in managing multiple and competing stakeholder interests; establishing trust, clear roles and responsibilities, and good will between partner engineering organizations.
• Experience managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects (product teams, system and validation teams, hardware teams).
• Collaborate and work with partners for software development and tests.
• Collaborate and work with multiple teams across geographies and time zones

Required Specialized Skills:

• Extensive knowledge of establishing project schedule, financial parameters and technical requirements, managing project from initiation to mass production.
• High level understanding of embedded systems and software-defined vehicle architecture.
• Highly experienced with software development and managing execution of programs that span multiple engineering teams
• Experience with lifecycle management in a fast-paced software environment.
• Ability to use technical judgment to solve software engineering challenges involving bug triage, source control, continuous integration
• Working understanding of Platform Software architecture and CI/CD.
• Mastery of Agile methodologies and software development lifecycles.
• Experience working cross functionally in a CI/CD environment.
• Detailed knowledge of JIRA administration, reports, dashboard and tools.
• Detailed knowledge of team workspace tools like Confluence.
• Understanding of ASPICE framework and implementation.
• Experience in leading projects and people in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience in leading hiring strategy discussions and headcount planning.

Desired Skills:

• Experience in car industry
• Detailed understanding of vehicle development phases and milestones.
• Experience in Consumer Product industry with very large volume
• Experience with ISO26262 or equivalent Functional Safety standard in other industries
• Experience launching software into production with regular OTA.
• Experience using Generative AI or Large Language Models (LLM) to improve software development efficiency and quality

Workplace Flexibility:

• Calls, (virtual) meetings & workshops (overlapping with German/US business hours as needed) to align with leadership and development teams.
• Occasional international and domestic travel (25%) to provide on-site support and planning/integration workshops with our internal and external stakeholders

Years of Relevant Experience:

• 12+ years of experience with Software Project and Launch management.

Required Education:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Project Management Professional Certification

Desired Education:

• Master's degree in Engineering

Compensation

Salary range is dependent on factors such as geographical differentials, credentials or certifications, industry-based experience, qualification and training. In the city of Mountain View, California, the salary range for this position is $154,100 - 235,000.

CARIAD, Inc. provides performance based merits and annual bonus along with a competitive benefits package. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, 401k with employer match and defined contribution plan, short and long term disability, basic life and AD&D insurance, employee assistance program, tuition reimbursement and student loan repayment plans, maternity and non-primary caregiver leave, adoption assistance, employee referral program and vacation and paid holidays. We also offer a unique vehicle lease program that covers registration and insurance fees.

CARIAD is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome and encourage applicants from all backgrounds, and do not discriminate based on race, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, color, gender identity/expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by applicable laws.