Senior Firmware TPM — Autonomous Vehicle Systems Lead

Aquent; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Aquent is partnering with an autonomous technology leader in Foster City, CA, to seek an experienced Technical Program Manager to drive firmware development for advanced vehicle hardware. You’ll own programs from requirements and architecture through bring-up, validation, release, and sustaining, coordinating hardware, firmware, software, and manufacturing teams.

This onsite TPM role rewards strong communication, risk management, and the ability to establish structure across rapid,

Qualifications

• 6+ years of Technical Program Management or Engineering Program Management experience supporting firmware or embedded software programs.
• Experience taking embedded products from requirements through bring-up, validation, and production release.
• Experience owning embedded software release management and defect triage, including branching strategy, code freezes, release criteria, and sign-off.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end program management for embedded firmware development across multiple vehicle systems.
• Build and drive firmware release plans, including feature freeze, code complete, integration, validation, and final sign-off.
• Synchronize firmware deliverables with hardware build events, including EVT, DVT, and PVT.
• Coordinate dependencies across hardware, firmware, software, systems engineering, functional safety, validation, manufacturing, procurement, and vehicle development.
• Ensure bootloaders, drivers, diagnostics, and test firmware are ready for hardware bring-up.
• Lead manufacturing firmware activities, including factory flashing, provisioning, secure-key injection, end-of-line testing, version control, and contract manufacturer coordination.
• Manage release strategy, defect triage, defect burn-down, change control, and production readiness.
• Identify program risks early and drive mitigation plans to completion.
• Provide clear, concise updates to engineering teams, cross-functional partners, and senior leadership.
• Establish structured processes and reporting methods that improve execution across fast-moving programs.

Skills

Technical Program Management

Cross-functional leadership

Firmware coordination

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering or Computer Science

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Git

Gantt-based planning

Job description

Aquent is partnering with an autonomous technology leader in Foster City, CA, to seek an experienced Technical Program Manager to drive firmware development for advanced vehicle hardware. You’ll own programs from requirements and architecture through bring-up, validation, release, and sustaining, coordinating hardware, firmware, software, and manufacturing teams.

This onsite TPM role rewards strong communication, risk management, and the ability to establish structure across rapid,