Sr Staff PM/NPI Materials

Cariad, Inc. • Mountain View, CA

1d

About The Position

We are CARIAD, an automotive software development team with the Volkswagen Group. Our mission is to make the automotive experience safer, more sustainable, more comfortable, more digital, and more fun. To achieve that we are building the leading tech stack for the automotive industry and creating a unified software platform for over 10 million new vehicles per year. We’re looking for talented, digital minds like you to help us create code that moves the world. Together with you, we’ll build outstanding digital experiences and products for all Volkswagen Group brands that will transform mobility. Join us as we shape the future of the car and everyone around it.
​Role Summary:
​The Sr Staff Program Manager, NPI Material leads end-to-end material readiness and supply chain execution for complex new hardware programs from concept through Start of Production (SOP). Operating at the intersection of engineering, sourcing, quality, manufacturing, and logistics, this role sets the material readiness strategy, establishes governance mechanisms, and ensures the right materials are available for prototype builds, validation, and production ramp—on time, at the right cost, and at the required quality. At the Sr Staff level, this role drives cross-program risk management, influences supplier and internal decision-making through data and clear tradeoffs, and standardizes scalable processes and tooling across the NPI portfolio. The role may mentor peers and partners on material readiness best practices and escalation pathways.

Requirements

• Executive-ready communicator across cultural and organizational boundaries; translates complex supply topics into clear decisions.
• Leads cross-functional alignment with engineering, sourcing, quality, manufacturing, and logistics—often without direct authority.
• Data-driven, systems thinker; builds clear metrics, dashboards, and mechanisms to anticipate risk and drive closure.
• Thrives in ambiguity and fast-paced NPI environments; balances speed, cost, quality, and compliance tradeoffs.
• Strong negotiation and influence skills; creates alignment on priorities, constraints, and recovery plans.
• High ownership and accountability; establishes durable processes and mentors others in best practices.
• Owns material readiness strategy across multiple concurrent hardware programs (EVT/DVT/PVT through SOP), aligning to integrated master schedules.
• Expert working knowledge of BOM maturity, part release workflows, and change control (ECR/ECO) with disciplined downstream execution.
• Leads supplier readiness and industrialization inputs (capacity, tooling, AVL/alternate qualification, lead-time confirmation, PPAP/FAI touchpoints).
• Proven ability to identify, quantify, and mitigate supply risks (long-lead, single/sole source, semiconductors, geopolitical constraints) with contingency plans.
• Drives build execution readiness with CMs/JDM partners (kitting, logistics windows, substitutions, allocation management, expediting) to protect critical builds.
• Strong command of PLM/ERP and planning systems (e.g., Teamcenter/SAP) and the ability to build scalable dashboards/trackers for executive visibility.
• Partners with engineering and sourcing to manage cost and availability tradeoffs (BOM cost, NRE/tooling timing, spot buys, last-time-buys).
• Establishes governance mechanisms (readiness reviews, RAID, change boards) and escalation paths to enable fast decisions and issue closure.
• 10+ years of experience in NPI, supply chain, or program management for complex automotive or consumer electronics hardware programs (prototype through SOP).
• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

Nice To Haves

• Experience with automotive-grade quality frameworks (IATF 16949 fundamentals, APQP/PPAP concepts) and how they impact material readiness.
• Experience managing semiconductor allocation/constraint management and broker/spot-market risk mitigation.
• Experience supporting global launches with multi-site manufacturing footprints and complex logistics/customs constraints.
• Advanced analytics capability (Power BI/Tableau/SQL or equivalent) to automate supply-health reporting and trend analysis.
• PMP and/or APICS certification; advanced coursework or training in supply chain, operations, cost management, or program governance.

Responsibilities

• Align design releases with material availability in close collaboration with hardware engineering, manufacturing, quality, and logistics.
• Support prototype and pre-production build planning and execution (kitting, delivery timing, build readiness).
• Monitor material shortages and drive resolution to protect builds and production ramp.
• Own end-to-end material readiness for hardware NPI programs from concept through SOP.
• Develop and maintain material readiness plans aligned to program gates (EV, DV, PV) and build schedules.
• Track BOM maturity, part releases, and engineering changes (ECOs), ensuring timely downstream execution.
• Lead recurring material readiness reviews and communicate status, risks, and recovery plans to stakeholders.
• Maintain action tracking, and escalation paths to enable fast decision-making and issue resolution.
• Provide clear visibility into schedule, cost, quality, and supply health.
• Establish scalable NPI material management processes for hardware programs, including standards for tracking and handoffs.
• Implement tools and dashboards that improve visibility into readiness, shortages, and risk.
• Drive lessons learned and continuous improvement across programs and suppliers.
• Partner with sourcing to align supplier selection with program timelines and technical requirements.
• Drive supplier readiness, including capacity planning, tooling status, tooling kick-offs, and lead-time confirmation.
• Identify and mitigate supply risks (long-lead items, single-source dependencies, semiconductor constraints).

Benefits

• Benefits include medical, dental, vision, 401k with employer match and defined contribution plan, short and long term disability, basic life and AD&D insurance, employee assistance program, tuition reimbursement and student loan repayment plans, maternity and non-primary caregiver leave, adoption assistance, employee referral program and vacation and paid holidays.
• We also offer a unique vehicle lease program that covers registration and insurance fees.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level