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Principal Technical Program Manager (Contract)

Mountain View, CA

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 Technical Program Manager role within the Hardware organization is intended for an individual with a broad background in electronic hardware development, significant experience with project management and hardware launch management for mass production.
 
The Technical Program Manager will be responsible for achieving project objectives of on time, on spec, on budget and on quality deliveries and will be responsible for coordinating internal meetings with hardware team members and coordinating tasks with the international development team and contract manufacturing plants. You will be responsible for working with ECU Hardware manufacturing partner in a joint development mode starting from project initiation, PCB Layout, mechanical housing, prototype build, test setup, DV testing, quality process, capacity planning, manufacturing line readiness and mass introduction.
 
In addition to managing the full ECU hardware lifecycle you will also work closely with embedded software teams (Linux and Android platform) to ensure hardware-software integration is aligned throughout development, testing, and launch. This includes coordinating with SoC vendors for both hardware and software enablement and ensuring system-level readiness for production.

Role Responsibilities:

ECU Hardware & Embedded Software Project Management
  • Responsible for achieving project objectives of on time, on spec, on budget and on quality deliveries.
  • Lead cross-functional proof of concept (PoC) efforts in collaboration with hardware, embedded software, and systems teams to evaluate design tradeoffs, prototype critical features, and support early validation activities.
  • Prepare, maintain and track formal project plans including schedules and deliverables, including those from Electrical Engineering (EE), Mechanical Engineering (ME), Industrial Design (ID), Firmware (FW), and Embedded Software (SW) teams.
  • Communicate engineering requirements, specifications, project schedule, and budget constraints to cross-functional teams, including engineers (HW and SW), senior management and consultants.
  • Responsible for project, resource planning, reporting and escalation.
  • Work closely with embedded software engineering teams to align hardware interfaces with software requirements and platform integration timelines.
  • Ensure synchronized development across hardware and embedded Software components, including dependencies related to drivers, board support packages (BSP), HAL, and OS integration (Linux and Android).
Launch Management with Manufacturing Partner
  • Work closely with embedded software teams and manufacturing partners to ensure production test setup and diagnostic tools are validated for software-driven features.
  • Responsible and main interface for manufacturing partner from project initiation to launch.
  • Establish project schedules, financial parameters and technical requirements with manufacturing partner.
  • Work closely with Failure Analysis Engineers and to provide guidance to the debug technicians and develop a better understanding of the product.
  • Test/Assembly process support: test code verification, test automation, bug reporting, test process improvements and cost reductions.
  • Technical and project management interface with development team for Layout, Mechanical assembly as part of joint development project.
  • Responsible for early engagement of manufacturing team for design review, DFM, Testing setup, DV plan/executing etc.
  • Coordinate with manufacturing partner from early prototype build, production line set up, quality review, QA plan, ramp up plan, end of line test setup plan, mass production plan, strategy for field quality issue resolution etc.
  • Arrange review at each quality gate with manufacturing partner
Cross-functional HW/SW Tooling and Vendor Collaboration
  • Support project teams in procuring and setting up new hardware and software development tools, including build systems, emulators, and debugging tools necessary for embedded platform development.
  • Collaborate with SoC vendors for both hardware-level support and software enablement (e.g., SDKs, reference BSPs, middleware support) across Linux and Android-based platforms.

​Required Specialized Skills:

  • Extensive knowledge of establishing project schedules, financial parameters, and technical requirements, managing projects from initiation to mass production
  • Strong technical background with a good understanding of manufacturing, manufacturing processes, materials, electronics, and mechanical aspects
  • Extensive knowledge of electrical HW development, specifically circuit design and validation preferred
  • Prior experience in automotive projects, especially in the field of Electronic Control Unit (ECU)
  • Familiarity with embedded software development, particularly Linux and Android platforms, and ability to coordinate cross-functional hardware-software integration efforts across internal and external teams
Preferred Skills:
  • NPI project experience
  • Test/Assembly process support: test code verification, test automation, bug reporting, test process improvements and cost reductions

​Workplace Flexibility:

  • ​This is a contract W2 position
  • This role is based in Mountain View, CA and requires onsite presence, remote arrangements not available 
  • Immediate availability is required. The selected candidate is expected to start promptly upon offer acceptance and pending successful completion of a standard background check and drug screening
  • Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. We are unable to provide visa sponsorship now or in the future
  • We do not accept C2C (Corp-to-Corp), 1099, or third-party agency submissions for this position

​Years of Relevant Experience:

  • 15+ years of technical program management experience, specifically in electronic hardware development

​Required Education:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a related field

​Desired Education: 

  • MBA and/or Master’s Degree in Electrical/Software Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a related field
  • Program Management certificate is strongly preferred

Compensation

The hourly contract rate for this position in Mountain View, CA is $110 – $120, depending on factors such as qualifications, certifications, relevant experience, and training.

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. 

 

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