Technical Program Manager, RMA & Field Failure Analysis

ALTEN Technology•Irvine, CA

8d•Onsite

About The Position

ALTEN Technology USA is seeking a Technical Program Manager – RMA & Field Failure Analysis to lead a hybrid team based on-site in California and offshore in India. The team performs RMA triage and field failure analysis on automotive ECUs, including Zonal, Infotainment, Telematics, and Battery ECUs. The role serves as the client’s primary technical and program contact, ensuring returned units progress from triage through root cause and corrective action on time. The position combines technical leadership with program management. It includes directing failure investigations, reviewing technical reports, supporting hands-on debugging when needed, managing RMA priorities and performance metrics, coordinating on-site and offshore work, and improving RMA processes. The role is on-site at the client in Irvine or Palo Alto, California.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in automotive electronics, including 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: CAN/CAN-FD, LIN, and Automotive Ethernet.
Proven experience with 8D, FTA, 5-Why, RCA, and CAPA.
Comfortable using lab equipment, including oscilloscopes, power supplies, multimeters, and CAN tools.
Experience coordinating offshore teams.
Jira or equivalent ticket-tracking experience and strong reporting skills, including 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 on ECU hardware and firmware with engineers.
Review FTA, RCA, and CAPA reports for technical quality before delivery to the client.
Support hands-on bench debugging when 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 the on-site and offshore teams, including PST overlap.
Track throughput, turnaround time, and backlog KPIs; run weekly scorecards and monthly reporting.
Manage risks, escalations, and stakeholders across engineering, quality teams, and suppliers.
Structure and improve the RMA process, including templates, a known-issues database, and automation.