Defect Issues Manager - Process Optimization

Stellantis•Auburn Hills, MI

About The Position

Lead the transformation and optimization of software defect management across the STLA Brain platform while driving defect resolution operations, capacity management, and software baseline quality. This role is responsible for the end-to-end operational management of defect resolution activities, ensuring defects are effectively triaged, prioritized, planned, tracked, and resolved across engineering teams. The position will also revisit, streamline, and continuously improve the defect management process to increase efficiency, predictability, and alignment with software roadmap and PI Planning objectives. The role ensures defect remediation activities are prioritized, adequately staffed, and integrated into software release planning, requirements baselines, and quality objectives.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
Minimum 8 years of experience in software development, software architecture, requirements management, technical program management, software quality, or process optimization.
Strong understanding of Agile/SAFe development methodologies and PI Planning.
Experience with defect tracking and requirements management tools (Jira, RTC, Azure DevOps, Polarion, etc.).
Demonstrated experience leading process improvement and operational excellence initiatives.
Strong analytical, planning, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
AUTOSAR, Linux, or middleware platforms.
Software quality management, technical debt management, release planning, and process optimization.
Functional Safety (ISO 26262) awareness is a plus.
Automotive software platform experience is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

Own and drive the day-to-day defect resolution operation, ensuring timely closure of defects, removal of blockers, coordination across engineering teams, and adherence to defect resolution targets and release commitments.
Assess, redesign, and optimize the defect management process to improve efficiency, transparency, prioritization, and cross-functional collaboration.
Drive defect triage, prioritization, urgency assessment, and resolution planning.
Develop defect inflow forecasts and capacity assessments across engineering teams.
Balance defect resolution activities with new software content and feature development.
Ensure defect remediation plans are incorporated into software requirements baselines and release roadmaps.
Partner closely with TPMs to integrate defect forecasts and quality objectives into PI Planning.
Monitor defect trends, risks, and resolution performance through metrics and dashboards.
Establish KPIs and continuous improvement initiatives to reduce defect cycle times and increase resolution effectiveness.
Provide executive visibility on defect health, resource needs, process effectiveness, and release readiness.