Senior Technical Program Manager

Our Mission:

Driving technology always feels old. Not by a little bit. We believe vehicles can be a thousand times smarter, safer, and more connected to the world around us, and our mission is to see it happen. In 2019, we joined forces with Honda as their first startup acquisition, and now we’re expanding our vision into building the future of electric vehicles (BEV) for millions of people around the world.

Why Drivemode:

Join Drivemode for an exciting startup environment and a vibrant culture that combines impactful work, competitive compensation, and excellent benefits. By becoming a part of our team, you'll contribute to a crucial mission that revolutionizes the way people engage with vehicles, addressing both business needs and the world's environmental challenges. This presents an exceptional opportunity to be at the forefront of innovation and drive Honda's success in the EV market.

About the role

We are looking for a Senior Technical Program Manager who not only drives execution across backend, platform, and mobile systems, but also builds the tools and reporting systems needed to make execution visible, measurable, and scalable.

This is a hands-on role for someone who believes TPMs should not depend on others to create visibility - but instead can independently build dashboards, scripts, and lightweight systems to strengthen delivery.

You will operate at the intersection of Product, Design, Engineering, QA, and PMO, owning both:

• Delivery execution

• Execution infrastructure (tooling, reporting, metrics)

What you do

• Own end-to-end delivery of backend, platform, and mobile-facing initiatives across regions

• Drive execution discipline through clear requirements, ownership, dependency tracking, and release readiness criteria

• Partner with engineering to define system boundaries, APIs, and realistic delivery plans

• Lead cross-functional alignment across Product, Design, Engineering, QA, and regional teams

• Identify risks, dependencies, and bottlenecks early; drive mitigation and escalation

• Design and build execution dashboards, reports, and tracking systems using real data (e.g., Jira APIs, logs, metrics)

• Develop lightweight tools, scripts, or applications to automate reporting and improve visibility across programs

• Ensure tracking systems reflect reality - intervene when signal quality breaks down

• Create metrics frameworks for delivery, quality, and release readiness

• Continuously improve PMO tooling, reporting accuracy, and decision-making capabilities

• Ensure alignment between frontend (mobile) and backend systems, including APIs, data flows, and performance expectations

• Partner with engineers to understand technical trade-offs and system constraints

• Drive clarity in end-to-end system behavior, not just individual components

• Support production readiness, including reliability, scalability, and compliance considerations

• Translate complex technical realities into clear, honest updates for leadership and stakeholders

• Provide structured, data-driven insights into program status, risks, and trade-offs

• Enable better decision-making through accurate, real-time visibility

What we are looking for

• 5+ years of experience in Technical Program Management, Engineering Program Management, or similar roles

• Strong technical fluency in backend systems, APIs, and distributed architectures

• Experience working across frontend (mobile) and backend systems

• Proven ability to drive execution across Product, Engineering, QA, and Design

• Standard working hours are Monday through Friday. To support collaboration with our Japan-based teams, core hours are 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM PT from Monday through Thursday. The team works in-office on Mondays and Tuesdays. Thursdays and Fridays offer more flexibility, particularly in the evenings, while remaining full working days

  Hands-On Technical & Tooling Skills (Critical)

• Ability to independently build tools, scripts, or dashboards to support execution and reporting

• Experience working with data and APIs (e.g., Jira APIs, REST APIs, logs, metrics pipelines)

• Proficiency in at least one scripting or programming language (e.g., Python, JavaScript, or similar)

• Experience creating automated reporting, dashboards, or internal tools (e.g., Streamlit, SQL-based reporting, or similar)

• Strong ability to translate raw data into actionable insights

• This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship or visa transfers.

Nice to Have:

• Prior experience as a software engineer, system architect, or technical lead

• Experience building internal tools or automation for PMO / engineering workflows

• Experience with data visualization or dashboarding tools

• Familiarity with service-oriented architectures and platform systems

• Experience in automotive, IoT, or connected-device ecosystems is a plus

• Japanese language proficiency is highly preferred but not required