Senior Technical Program Manager - NPI

Zoox is looking for a technical program manager to support our test development efforts to respond to New Product Introduction (NPI). In this role, you will work cross-functionally across test, manufacturing, software, vehicle engineering, and our supply chain procurement team. You will take on the role of a driver and organizer to ensure production intent changes are validated and ensure readiness for the manufacturing line. You will develop project schedules, identify risks, and drive internal and external teams to meet deliverables. 

The Test and Diagnostics Engineering (TDE) team is responsible for test solutions from “chip” to “car” to “care”. Our product responsibilities range from the sensor stack, control boards, compute units, to the autonomous platform. This role is focused on ensuring our test solutions are ready for production across all these phases and product lifecycles.

Zoox is a fast-paced environment, and we expect our TPMs to seamlessly switch between the technical and project management aspects of this role.

In this role, you will:

• Own the roadmap for NPI on the manufacturing line. This will need close work with the cross-functional leadership teams to plan and organize cut-ins for software and hardware changes slated for the Zoox robotaxi for NPI.

• Define, drive, and develop key KPIs for introducing hardware and software changes to the Zoox robotaxi on the manufacturing line.

• Establish timelines and drive deliverables cross-functionally to minimize impact to manufacturing operations.

• Coordinate with hardware and software engineering, logistics and supply chain, manufacturing operations, and the test team to source, validate, and plan cut-ins to the line.

• Highlight risks and clearly communicate to stakeholders, and continuously evaluate schedule impact.

• Own the planning for demand and retrofit planning, incorporating a schedule for trials and validation.

Qualifications

BS or MS in engineering (electrical/electronics, computer hardware, software, or related fields)

8+ years of industry experience in a similar role spanning project management and engineering. This role requires technical expertise in conjunction with strong project management skills.

Experience driving complex projects in a cross-functional environment with competing priorities.

Excellent communication skills across diverse audiences (senior management, engineers) using written and verbal methods as appropriate. 

Strong expertise in common tools for project management - Jira, Google Suite (spreadsheets, slides), planning tools such as Gantt charts

Bonus Qualifications

Previous experience in a similar NPI role in electronics or automotive manufacturing.

Aptitude for learning new skills and technologies, for example, using AI to automate and simplify KPI calculations and reporting.

Ability to distill complex technical information into clear messages for the audience

Track record of managing complex projects at other autonomous vehicle companies.

Familiarity with data analysis - knowledge of programming (Python or similar) and data analysis/extraction (SQL, Looker) are definite pluses.