Customer Technical Program Manager, Vehicle OS

Front Door Defense; Ann Arbor (MI); On-site; USD 160,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision insurance

401k retirement benefits with employer match

Learning and wellness stipends

Paid time off

Job summary

Front Door Defense is looking for a Customer Technical Program Manager to lead a major Vehicle OS project based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. You will own the customer-facing program, ensuring milestones and commitments are met while coordinating with engineering teams.

The ideal candidate will have over 5 years of experience in technical program management in the automotive sector, with strong customer-facing skills. This full-time position includes onsite work 5 days a week, offering a salary range of $160,000 to $250,000 per year.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in technical program management within the automotive industry.
• Strong presence at director level, representing Applied Intuition with OEM program leadership.
• Proven delivery coordination across multiple engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Own customer-facing program and define program baseline including milestones.
• Drive delivery coordination across engineering teams.
• Serve as the primary interface to customer program leadership.

Skills

Technical program management

Customer-facing skills

Team collaboration

Problem-solving

Job description

Customer Technical Program Manager, Vehicle OS

Own the end-to-end customer-facing program for a flagship Vehicle OS project

Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Compensation: $160,000 - 250,000 USD / year

Job Tags: Product

About The Role

Applied Intuition, Inc. is powering the future of physical AI. Founded in 2017 and now valued at $15 billion, the Silicon Valley company is creating the digital infrastructure needed to bring intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Applied Intuition services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture industries in three core areas: tools and infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy. Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers, as well as the United States military and its allies, trust the company’s solutions to deliver physical intelligence. Applied Intuition is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; London; Stuttgart; Munich; Stockholm; Bangalore; Seoul; and Tokyo.

Learn more at applied.co.

About the Role

We are standing up a dedicated, Detroit-based program team to deliver a flagship software program for a major global automotive OEM. We are looking for a Customer Technical Program Manager to own customer-facing program management, milestones, cross-functional coordination, and reporting, working directly with the customer’s program leadership and across Applied’s engineering organization.

This is a builder role on a new team. You will translate ambiguous customer requests into tracked, executable work, coordinate delivery across Applied’s capability-based engineering teams, and serve as a primary point of contact for the customer on schedule, risks, and dependencies. The role reports to the Customer Program Lead. This role is 5 days onsite in our Ann Arbor, MI office.

At Applied Intuition, You Will:

• Own the customer-facing program, define and maintain the program baseline including milestones, scope boundaries, risk register, and dependency map in alignment with the Statement of Work. Ensure program commitments are tracked with rigor and deviations are surfaced proactively
• Drive delivery coordination across Applied’s engineering organization through Engineering TPMs, managing cross-team dependencies and competing priorities across concurrent programs
• Serve as the primary interface to the customer’s program leadership and counterpart TPMs on all matters related to schedule, risk, and technical dependencies. Build and maintain trusted working relationships at the program level
• Own and operate the full program governance cadence across all recurring touchpoints with the customer and internal teams
• Define, own, and report program-side KPIs to the Customer Program Lead and internal stakeholders. Maintain a clear and accurate picture of program health at all times.
• Own resolution of program-level issues and decisions through structured escalation management, triaging issues by impact and urgency, driving resolution at the appropriate level
• Partner with onsite teams to ensure seamless integration of Applied’s product into the customer’s vehicle program. Own coordination and governance of all customer-facing field activities through the program

We're Looking For Someone Who Has:

• 5+ years in technical program management within the automotive industry, ideally with hands‑on experience at an OEM or Tier‑1 supplier
• Strong customer-facing presence at director level; comfortable representing Applied Intuition independently with OEM program leadership and executive stakeholders
• Proven ability to coordinate delivery across multiple engineering teams, managing through prioritization frameworks and clear escalation discipline
• Technical depth sufficient to assess feasibility, interpret requirements, and engage engineers credibly across all software vehicle and integration domains
• Builder mindset: able to set up program structure from scratch on a newly formed team

Nice To Have:

• Prior experience in a startup or high‑growth environment
• Familiarity with automotive development standards (ASPICE, ISO 26262, AUTOSAR).
• Experience with defect management at scale and severity‑based SLA tracking
• Background in series production programs or Vehicle OS / IVI / ADAS platform delivery
• Experience managing the requirements lifecycle (decomposition, traceability, change control) on a customer-facing program

Compensation at Applied Intuition for eligible roles includes base salary, equity, and benefits. Base salary is a single component of the total compensation package, which may also include equity in the form of options and/or restricted stock units, comprehensive health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance coverage, 401k retirement benefits with employer match, learning and wellness stipends, and paid time off. Note that benefits are subject to change and may vary based on jurisdiction of employment.

Applied Intuition pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum intended target base salary for new hire salaries for the position. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, interview performance, and the level and scope of the position.

Please reference the job posting’s subtitle for where this position will be located. For pay transparency purposes, the base salary range for this full‑time position in the location listed is: $160,000 - $250,000 USD annually based on various variables.

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor. Consequently, the parties agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and that these laws are incorporated herein by reference. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. These regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability. The parties also agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of Executive Order 13496 (29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A), relating to the notice of employee rights under federal labor laws.