Program Management Lead

HARMAN’s engineers and designers are creative, purposeful and agile. As part of this team, you’ll combine your technical expertise with innovative ideas to help drive cutting-edge solutions in the car, enterprise and connected ecosystem. Every day, you will push the boundaries of creative design, and HARMAN is committed to providing you with the opportunities, innovative technologies and resources to build a successful career.

A Career at HARMAN

As a technology leader that is rapidly on the move, HARMAN is filled with people who are focused on making life better. Innovation, inclusivity and teamwork are a part of our DNA. When you add that to the challenges we take on and solve together, you’ll discover that at HARMAN you can grow, make a difference and be proud of the work you do everyday.

Introduction: A Career at HARMAN Automotive 

About the Role

As a Program Management Lead, you lead a program management team within a customer account across SBUs through interrelated team members. You are responsible for planning, execution, and oversight of awarded-business programs, leading cross-functional teams to meet delivery and quality targets within budget constraints.

At this level, you are part of a growing CAM with an average 5-year revenue of <1000m USD per year. You own a program delivery portfolio primarily of A/B size programs with 7–15 assigned programs (PL0, min. 1M gross R&D spend). OEM business growth and delivery is largely focused on 2–3 SBUs.

Your Team

Your team consists of multiple Program Managers across the portfolio. You typically lead Professionals and Managers.

What You Will Do

• Lead a program management team across a customer account to deliver a portfolio of programs on time, on scope, on profit, and to committed quality.
• Direct comprehensive planning, resolve resource conflicts, and prioritize cross-functional inputs so the team can execute against customer and organizational commitments.
• Evaluate and adjust program priorities to maintain alignment with customer needs and Automotive objectives.
• Lead execution of programs and ensure teams meet objectives within customer and organizational commitments.
• Establish governance routines and reporting to monitor progress, risk exposure, and resource utilization.
• Proactively monitor portfolio status and support Program Managers by removing barriers; step in early when delivery risk rises.
• Lead stakeholder engagement initiatives across programs, fostering collaboration and resolving complex conflicts; persuade managers and leaders to take action and negotiate with middle management of external partners and customers.
• Act as first point of escalation and engage/moderate cross-functional recovery actions when required.
• Implement continuous improvement practices in delivery operations, guiding teams to apply lessons learned; lead and align cross-functional topics to support strategic account goals.
• Execute HR cycle activities including hiring, performance management, succession planning, coaching, and development; support resource management and department budget planning.

What You Need

• Bachelor of Science in a technical field or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 10 years product development and/or program management experience with specific experience in at least one area of technical specialization (software, hardware, mechanical or manufacturing), preferably in an automotive application.
• Developed and launched multiple products through the lifecycle from business commitment through stable production as Program Manager.
• Previous experience leading a team of Program Managers (direct or indirect).
• Strong general skills in cross-functional team leadership, arbitrating technical tradeoffs, problem solving, negotiation, P&L understanding, and communication; fluent in English (written and verbal).

What is Nice to Have

• Masters of Science (Technical) or MBA.
• PMP Certification.
• Automotive supplier / Tier1 Electronics background.
• Direct experience with applicable customer.

What Makes You Eligible

• Willing to travel up to 10%, domestic and international.
• Willing to work in an office, manufacturing facility, or client-site, or eligible to work remotely full-time with occasional trips into the office location required (this could be on 24-hour notice).
• Successfully complete a background investigation and drug screen as a condition of employment.
• This position requires the use of a HARMAN- or customer-owned vehicle; any offer is contingent upon a clean driving record (no more than 4 active points for moving violations, and no references to operating a vehicle under the influence of controlled substances within the last 10 years).

What We Offer

• Flexible work environment, allowing for full-time remote work globally for positions that can be performed outside a HARMAN or customer location
• Access to employee discounts on world-class Harman and Samsung products (JBL, HARMAN Kardon, AKG, etc.)
• Extensive training opportunities through our own HARMAN University
• Competitive wellness benefits
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Access to HARMAN Campus Fitness Center and Cafeteria
• An inclusive and diverse work environment that fosters and encourages professional and personal development

HARMAN is proud to be an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.