Project/Program Design Director

Renesas Electronics•Chandler, AZ

About The Position

Renesas is seeking an experienced Program Management Office (PMO) leader to establish and lead the PMO function for its large automotive semiconductor power management group. The role drives portfolio governance, project execution excellence, and cross-functional alignment across product development programs, manufacturing ramps, and operational initiatives. It implements program management practices emphasizing functional safety governance and risk management, establishes stage-gate processes incorporating functional safety review and compliance tracking, drives on-time and on-budget delivery, and provides visibility and accountability across the program portfolio. The position calls for deep automotive semiconductor experience, mature program and portfolio management expertise, strong knowledge of functional safety standards including ISO 26262 and SOTIF, and the ability to coordinate with engineering, operations, quality, functional safety, finance, and customer teams. The PMO team will support 15–25 concurrent programs across design, development, validation, and production phases. Renesas is an embedded semiconductor solution provider with a global team of more than 21,000 engineers and problem solvers in over 30 countries. Its technology serves Automotive, Industrial, Infrastructure, and IoT markets. The company describes its culture as TAGIE: Transparent, Agile, Global, Innovative, and Entrepreneurial. It offers a competitive benefits package, with details provided during the hiring process. Renesas Electronics is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Its technology may be subject to U.S. export controls, and a U.S. government export license may be required before technology is released to certain persons.

Requirements

15+ years of program and portfolio management experience in semiconductor, automotive electronics, or related complex product development environments.
Demonstrated experience establishing and leading PMO organizations responsible for 10+ concurrent programs across design, development, validation, and production phases.
Deep understanding of automotive product development processes, NPI methodologies, design-in cycles, volume production ramps, and supplier management in automotive supply chains.
Proven expertise establishing stage-gate processes, project governance frameworks, portfolio management, and resource planning aligned with best practices.
Strong command of program management tools and methodologies, such as PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent; experience with program management software platforms such as Microsoft Project, JIRA, SAP, or similar.
Exceptional organizational and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to influence and align multiple functional leaders without direct authority.
Strong communication and presentation skills across all levels.
Track record of driving on-time, on-budget delivery and building an accountability culture within program teams.
Strong understanding of automotive functional safety standards, including ISO 26262, SOTIF, and AEC standards, and the ability to ensure functional safety compliance tracking and rigor in program execution.
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Project Management, or a related field.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree or PMP certification.
Direct experience with power management, power distribution, or protection device product development in automotive applications.
Experience scaling PMO functions from startup or early stage to a mature organization supporting large program portfolios.
Familiarity with software-defined vehicle (SDV) architectures and associated program management challenges.
Background in financial management and P&L accountability, including developing budget forecasts and managing portfolio-level financial performance.
Experience implementing advanced program management tools and analytics platforms, with comfort in data-driven decision making.
Demonstrated experience managing programs with complex functional safety requirements, including knowledge of FMEA/FTA development, ASIL classification, and safety case generation as program deliverables.
Deep understanding of quality systems, including ISO 9001 and IATF standards, and ability to integrate functional safety and quality governance into PMO processes and program oversight.
Experience working directly with functional safety engineers and quality teams to embed safety and compliance requirements into project planning and risk management.

Responsibilities

Establish and lead the PMO organization by defining its vision, governance structure, processes, tools, and team composition; build a team of program managers and coordinators; and develop operating standards and playbooks aligned with automotive industry practices.
Implement portfolio governance, including quarterly portfolio reviews, go/no-go decision frameworks, and resource allocation processes; make program status, risks, dependencies, and critical path items visible; and align portfolio strategy with business objectives.
Drive program execution by partnering with program leads and cross-functional teams to establish milestones, deliverables, dependencies, and success criteria; implement product-development stage-gate processes; and track schedule, budget, scope, quality, and risk through dashboards and steering reviews.
Establish program estimating and planning processes, monitor budget execution and spending forecasts, optimize resource allocation, manage resource conflicts, and escalate critical resource or budget constraints to leadership.
Establish functional safety management processes aligned with ISO 26262 and SOTIF; embed safety reviews in stage gates and design milestones; track ASIL classifications, safety case development, and FMEA/FTA completion; and work with functional safety and quality teams to maintain compliance evidence throughout the program lifecycle.
Establish enterprise-wide risk management processes for risk identification, quantification, mitigation planning, and tracking; facilitate resolution of critical blockers; escalate high-impact risks and interdependencies; and maintain dashboards that prominently show functional safety risk status.
Lead programs through customer design-ins, pilot production, and volume ramp; ensure disciplined execution of NPI processes; and establish accountability and metrics for on-time delivery across the portfolio.
Build communication and alignment across Engineering, Design, Manufacturing, Operations, Quality, Finance, Supply Chain, and Customer Success; resolve conflicts and trade-offs transparently; and serve as the central hub for program information and status communication.
Define portfolio health KPIs, including on-time delivery, schedule variance, budget variance, risk resolution, and quality metrics; establish reporting cadences and dashboards for executive, functional, and cross-functional stakeholders; and continuously improve PMO processes and tool effectiveness.