Technical Program Manager — Firmware

On-Sit role

Job Description:

• Client's Advanced Hardware Engineering team is in charge of delivering all the autonomous hardware, infotainment electronic control units and electrical components that go into client's future fleet of self-driving vehicles.
• Firmware is what brings that hardware to life, and we are looking for a technical program manager to help lead the firmware development programs for our existing and next-generation robotaxi, spanning sensor and perception hardware firmware, compute platform BSP and bootloader, and infotainment ECU firmware.
• In this role, you will work cross-functionally with client internal teams, and partner closely with our suppliers and outside contract manufacturers (CMs), to deliver our strategic and tactical milestones.
• You will work with engineering teams to develop firmware release plans, identify milestones, flag risks, and clearly communicate ongoing progress and risk to cross-functional teams and leadership.
• As with any startup, we move fast here at client, and many candidates will be asked from time to time to wear many hats.
• We would love to hear from you if you are up for solving very challenging problems across numerous cross-functional teams, delivering milestones with numerous dependencies and scaling your impact by developing and adopting structured ways of working.
• Additionally, if you are an expert at herding cats and influencing without formal authority, then this role was made for you.

In this role, you will:

• Own end-to-end program management for firmware development across sensor and perception hardware, the compute platform BSP and bootloader, and infotainment ECUs, from requirements and architecture through bring-up, integration, and validation, and into production release and sustaining.
• Build and drive the firmware release plan, feature freeze, code complete, integration, validation, and sign-off and keep it synchronized with hardware build events (EVT/DVT/PVT) and vehicle program milestones.
• Work closely with cross-functional teams, Hardware (HW), Firmware (FW), Functional Safety, Validation, Manufacturing, Procurement, and Vehicle Development, to align priorities, dependencies, and deliverables, and ensure every team understands what they need to deliver at all times.
• Drive bring-up readiness with the HW and FW teams so that bootloaders, drivers, diagnostics, and test firmware are ready when boards arrive, and build events are never gated by firmware.
• Own the manufacturing side of firmware end to end: factory flashing and provisioning, secure key injection, end-of-line test firmware, firmware version control at the CM, and the firmware content of every build event.
• Establish standard reports and regularly report out to cross-functional teams and leadership on program progress, status, issues/risks, defect burn-down, and accomplishments.
• Ensure problems are transparent and risks are identified early, and proactively drive risk-mitigation actions to closure with the relevant engineering teams, CMs, and vendors.
• Set agendas for key decisions to be made at each meeting to eliminate bottlenecks and minimize risks.
• Support key decisions working cross-functionally across engineering, finance, and strategy to reach the right conclusions.

Qualifications:

• 6+ years of Technical Program Management or Engineering Program Management experience supporting firmware or embedded software programs, with demonstrated end-to-end experience taking embedded products from requirements through bring-up and validation to production release.
• Direct experience driving firmware through manufacturing, including factory flashing and provisioning, end-of-line test requirements, and firmware version control at a contract manufacturer.
• Strong preference for candidates with end-to-end development experience in Automotive industry or Consumer Electronics at the systems or sub-system level.
• BS degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related engineering discipline (or equivalent experience), with a strong embedded/firmware background.
• Experience owning release management and defect triage for embedded software, including branching and release strategy, code freeze, and sign-off criteria.
• Demonstrated ability to work closely with cross-functional teams spanning hardware, software, firmware, functional safety, and systems engineering.
• Strong communication skills, with a proven ability to report program progress and risk clearly and concisely to cross-functional teams and leadership.
• Proficient in tools required to manage complex programs (e.g., JIRA, Confluence, Gantt charts), and comfortable with Git-based workflows and CI systems.
• Understands and deals well with rapid development cycles; remains flexible and calm in the face of uncertainty.
• Self-motivated and proactive problem-solver.

Bonus Qualifications:

• Working knowledge of embedded firmware development, including SoC and MCU bring-up, bootloaders and secure boot, Linux BSP and device drivers, sensor interfaces. (MIPI/CSI, SerDes, Ethernet, SPI, I2C), time synchronization, field/OTA update, and diagnostics.
• Prior experience holding silicon, sensor, and module vendors accountable to BSP and SDK delivery schedules.
• Directly managed 2+ full program development cycles for a system with tight HW/FW/SW integration.
• PMP or equivalent.
• Experience with autonomous vehicles, test platforms, and/or automotive or aerospace processes.
• MS degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science.
• TPM experience on production programs during mass production (MP) and post-MP sustaining phases, including field firmware updates and firmware change control.
• Strong references that highlight your ability to build strong working relationships with senior leaders and engineers across functions and departments.

About us:
At our organization, we take our mission and values to heart! We are on a mission to offer more and better jobs all over the world! Our goal is to care for you while you care for our clients and get you paid the highest pay possible. All our associates working with us are expected to embrace our RACE values: R - Results Matter, A- Approachable, C - Care, and E - Emergency i.e. work with a sense of urgency.

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