Director - Technical Program Management

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies•Palo Alto, CA

1d•$218,800 - $359,425•Onsite

About The Position

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture between two industry leaders with a clear vision for automotive’s next chapter. From operating systems to zonal controllers to cloud and connectivity solutions, we’re addressing the challenges of electric vehicles through technology that will set the standards for software-defined vehicles around the world. The road to the future is uncharted. By combining our expertise across connectivity, AI, security and more, we’ll map a new way forward. Working together, we’ll create a future that’s more connected, more intelligent, more sustainable for everyone. As the Technical Program Management Director, you will work with all teams across the company to ensure the success of your program — from integration planning, timeline and risk management, resource management, and everything in between. Your role will evolve throughout the program, with the most common objective being to ensure the timely delivery of the program at cost and as an amazing product we all would be proud for our customers to own. You will play a critical role in ensuring any and all roadblocks are removed, everyone is on the same page, and we have clear direction throughout the program. You will act as the primary liaison to the leadership teams at the Volkswagen Group and will leverage your team to drive the overall successful implementation of the program. This role is located in our Palo Alto, CA office. In practice, this means owning requirements and change-request governance for your package, refereeing cross-domain technical trade-offs between RVT and VWG engineering leads, and being the person VWG's program and engineering leads call first — not just at milestone reviews.

Requirements

10+ years in technical program management or engineering leadership delivering complex products that combine hardware and software, including 3+ years managing platform or subsystem-level programs.
Excellent stakeholder management skills across internal teams and external partners, including experience owning requirements governance and change-request/escalation processes as a primary technical point of contact between organizations
Cross-domain engineering fluency across hardware, software, and systems integration sufficient to referee technical trade-offs and prioritization conflicts between engineering leads.
Track record delivering integration, validation, and software release cycles through a full product development lifecycle (concept to production/launch) for any kind of embedded system
Proven ability to drive alignment and decisions in ambiguous, multi-stakeholder governance structures without direct authority.

Responsibilities

Align on technical aspects for corresponding package:
Manage cross-functional and brand technical and program alignment: ensure that interactions between critical stakeholders are successful, and manage and participate in touchpoints across functions.
Continuously exchange/align with the VWG technical program lead and resolve technical issues between teams.
Align with VWG leadership on technical targets, timing, and execution plan.
Own program execution strategy, product development plan and the change-request process for your package across RVT and VWG, driving simplification and an iterative approach throughout the program.
Supervision of tech maturity for corresponding package:
Steer development by partnering with the technical organization on delivery and ensuring overarching program maturity.
Define program-specific development scope/deliverables and coordinate development responsibilities.
Align on program/feature-specific decision needs, conduct risk assessments, and manage changes/re-prioritizations.
Prioritize development content (including resources and feasibility).
Resolve conflicts and ensure timely resolution — including cross-domain technical trade-offs — with escalation to the leadership review meeting as needed.
Enable the technical teams to ensure that all product requirements are met, e.g., technical, BoM cost, quality, and regulatory, including safety, security, and homologation approvals.
Align on package-specific integration/validation concept and planning with technical teams. Drive regular software release process through product development lifecycle.
Track and report technical status in committees and at leadership/board-level program reviews.
Request resources & manage detailed timeline for package:
Define and request program-specific resource needs with the Program Management Lead, including allocation of limited hardware/test assets across competing priorities.
Plan and manage the package timelines (e.g., integration and testing timeline including subsystems) and ensure compliance with vehicle product line timelines.
Own scheduling and facilitation of recurring cross-company workshops with VWG engineering counterparts as needed.