Technical Program Manager – RMA & Field Failure Analysis

ALTEN Technology USA•Palo Alto, CA

9d•$130,000 - $160,000•Onsite

About The Position

ALTEN Technology USA is an engineering company supporting clients across industries including aerospace, medical devices, robotics, automotive, commercial vehicles, electric vehicles, and rail. As part of the global ALTEN Group, it delivers services across the product development cycle, from consulting to full project outsourcing. The Technical Program Manager – RMA & Field Failure Analysis leads a hybrid team based on-site in California and offshore in India, performing return merchandise authorization (RMA) triage and field failure analysis on automotive electronic control units (ECUs), including Zonal, Infotainment, Telematics, and Battery ECUs. The manager serves as the client’s primary technical and program contact and ensures returned units progress from triage through root cause analysis and corrective action on schedule. The position is on-site at the client in Irvine or Palo Alto, California. The role combines technical leadership and program management, including routing RMAs, guiding failure investigations, reviewing reports, coordinating on-site and offshore work, managing priorities and backlogs, tracking performance metrics, addressing risks and escalations, and improving RMA processes. The listed salary range is $130,000–$160,000, with the actual offer dependent on factors including location, qualifications, skills, education, training, and experience. Selected candidates must successfully complete a pre-employment drug screening.

Requirements

At least 8 years of experience in automotive electronics, including at least 3 years leading technical teams or programs.
Strong hands-on background in ECU hardware debugging and failure analysis, including schematics, PCBA, and component-level troubleshooting.
Solid understanding of embedded firmware and diagnostics, including logs, DTCs, and UDS.
Knowledge of vehicle networks, including CAN/CAN-FD, LIN, and Automotive Ethernet.
Proven experience with 8D, FTA, 5-Why, RCA, and CAPA.
Comfort using lab equipment, including oscilloscopes, power supplies, multimeters, and CAN tools.
Experience coordinating offshore teams.
Experience with Jira or equivalent ticket tracking and strong reporting skills using Excel or Power BI.
Excellent English communication skills with both engineers and management.

Nice To Haves

RMA or warranty analysis experience at an OEM or Tier 1, ideally in EV.
Knowledge of battery management systems, infotainment, or telematics ECUs.
IPC-A-610 knowledge; X-ray or CSAM interpretation; or experience working with external failure-analysis labs.
Python scripting for log analysis.
PMP or equivalent certification.

Responsibilities

Triage incoming RMAs and route each case to on-site analysis, offshore analysis, a plant, a supplier, or an external lab.
Drive root cause investigations into ECU hardware and firmware alongside engineers.
Review FTA, RCA, and CAPA reports for technical quality before delivery to the client.
Support hands-on bench debugging as needed, including failure reproduction, measurements, and log extraction.
Identify systemic issues and failure trends across vehicle programs.
Manage the RMA backlog and priorities with client engineering.
Coordinate daily work between on-site and offshore teams, including PST overlap.
Track throughput, turnaround time, and backlog KPIs; run the weekly scorecard and monthly reporting.
Manage risks, escalations, and stakeholders across engineering, quality, and suppliers.
Structure and improve the RMA process, including templates, a known-issues database, and automation.