Staff Software Technical Program Manager

Ford•Long Beach, CA

About The Position

The ideal candidate is highly execution-oriented, technically fluent, and experienced in coordinating software delivery across hardware-constrained timelines. This role involves owning end-to-end execution of software deliverables, acting as a single point of ownership for software program execution, and driving software roadmap alignment, engineering readiness, milestone planning, and release execution. The position requires driving clarity of scope, requirements, dependencies, risks, and delivery timelines, holding teams accountable to commitments, and owning trade-off decisions across scope, schedule, and quality with a strong bias toward long-term software sustainability and product quality. Additionally, the role involves establishing and enforcing strong planning, execution, and tracking frameworks, translating complex technical topics into clear executive-level updates, proactively identifying risks and driving mitigation strategies, and championing operational excellence by continuously improving software development processes. Technical leadership includes maintaining a system-level understanding of software architecture for hardware devices running embedded Linux/Android and cloud-connected services, engaging deeply with architects and senior engineers to validate feasibility and technical risk, driving resolution of cross-layer issues, and ensuring engineering quality, integration readiness, and software stability.

Requirements

7–10 years of experience in software or technical program management
Experience delivering software aligned to hardware development and manufacturing builds.
Background in electrical, systems, or software engineering with strong understanding of embedded systems and software development lifecycles
Hands-on experience working with consumer electronics or automotive hardware development timelines.
Proven ability to manage execution across cross-functional and cross-company teams

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end execution of software deliverables (firmware, end-of-line) aligned to hardware build milestones (SMT, FATP, vehicle builds)
Act as the single point of ownership for software program execution, ensuring alignment across Software Engineering, Product Management, Program Management, and Quality Engineering.
Drive software roadmap alignment, engineering readiness, milestone planning, and release execution.
Drive clarity of scope, requirements, dependencies, risks, and delivery timelines, holding teams accountable to commitments.
Own trade-off decisions across scope, schedule, and quality, with a strong bias toward long-term software sustainability and product quality.
Establish and enforce strong planning, execution, and tracking frameworks, including Jira workflows and operational metrics.
Translate complex technical topics into clear executive-level updates, enabling informed decision-making.
Proactively identify risks, drive mitigation strategies, and resolve execution blockers to maintain schedule, quality, and software readiness.
Champion operational excellence by continuously improving software development processes, communication, and cross-team execution models.
Maintain a system-level understanding of software architecture for hardware devices running embedded Linux/Android and cloud-connected services
Engage deeply with architects and senior engineers to validate feasibility, sequencing, and technical risk.
Drive resolution of cross-layer issues spanning hardware, system software, applications, and cloud services.
Ensure engineering quality, integration readiness, and software stability throughout the development lifecycle.