Senior/Staff Technical Program Manager - Compute Hardware

Zoox’s Advanced Hardware Engineering team is in charge of delivering all the autonomous hardware, infotainment electronic control units and electrical components that go into Zoox’s future fleet of self-driving vehicles. At the heart of our hardware architecture is the Primary Compute Unit (PCU) - the compute system that runs the AI stack that enables the vehicle to drive autonomously. We are looking for a seasoned technical program manager own the PCU program end-to-end, including the integrated program schedule.

In this role, you will work cross-functionally with our vehicle engineering, systems engineering, software, safety, supply chain, quality, manufacturing and integration teams to achieve our strategic objectives and tactical milestones. You will develop project schedules with numerous dependencies, map program milestones to company milestones, flag and mitigate risks, estimate and maintain budgets, identify solutions to complex problems, navigate ambiguity, all the while holding teams accountable and clearly communicating expectations and ongoing progress.

As with any startup, we move fast here at Zoox, 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:

• Drive the PCU program forward with thought and energetic leadership, including supporting architecture alignment, hardware development, validation, integration, cross-functional alignment and company-wide communication.
• This will be done in close partnership with the technical lead and other core team members across multiple departments.
• Work with department leaders to translate the top-down corporate strategy and milestones into detailed product roadmaps, timelines, and deliverables
• Create and maintain program assets and communication channels that ensure every team member understands what they need to deliver at all times, and is held accountable for delivering them.
• Help especially internal engineering development and test teams plan their work, and use a task management system (e.g. JIRA) to clearly structure, communicate and track the work that needs to be done.
• Work with cross-functional leaders and Finance teams to define and track resource requirements and spend against budget
• Manage technical supplier activities such as build planning and execution, and ensure robust end of line tests are put in place prior to delivery. Work closely with procurement and supplier quality teams to ensure an excellent partnership with suppliers.
• Work with our in-house manufacturing experts to ensure all is in place to perform final PCU assembly, and be accountable for ensuring needed parts are delivered on time, and to specifications.
• Coordinate issue root-cause analysis, issue resolution and overall response for issues that occur on the fleet; ensure the right level of cross-functional communication (including JIRA ticket hygiene), prioritization and momentum is placed on the topics.
• Work with all relevant departments as needed to ensure the successful delivery of our goals, including the Program Management Office, SW/FW teams, safety teams and vehicle manufacturing teams
• Provide concise and effective communications to key stakeholders on program status, issues/risks, and accomplishments, in writing and via presentations.
• Facilitate both non-technical conversations (and technical ones as needed), align team perspectives, and support the development of options matrices to help the cross-functional program team make the right decisions
• Bring a disciplined business and meeting cadence to the program, ensuring agendas are set for critical topics to be discussed at each meeting

Qualifications

• BS or MS degree in an engineering discipline or equivalent experience
• At least 10 years of work experience, and at least 5 of those in program management
• Deep experience with hardware development and HW/SW integration
• Significant experience working with contract manufacturers (CMs) to deliver products from conception to production
• Proficiency in and experience using tools required to manage complex projects (i.e. JIRA, smartsheets).
• Strong track record in managing complex, cross-functional projects
• Understands and deals with well with rapid design cycles; remains flexible and calm in the face of uncertainty
• Self-motivated and proactive problem-solver

Bonus Qualifications

• Experience working in the automotive industry, or prior experience developing compute systems
• Strong references that highlight your ability to build strong working relationships with senior leaders and engineers across functions and departments