Senior Manager, Software Release Program Management

General Motors; Warren (MI); Hybrid; USD 202,000 - 366,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company vehicle program

Relocation benefits

Job summary

General Motors is seeking a Senior Manager, Software Release Program Management to lead a high-performing team and drive faster, more predictable software releases across vehicle software. You will shape the release strategy, governance, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure safety and quality while delivering value to customers.

You will partner with Engineering, Quality, and OTA teams to improve validation, reduce rework, and increase throughput.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience leading technical program managers or a program-management organization.
• 10+ years of experience managing software release, delivery, or release-engineering programs for complex embedded, platform, or comparable software.
• A track record of improving release frequency, cycle time, and delivery predictability at scale.
• Working knowledge of modern release practices, including change control, release readiness, gating, and CI/CD, with the judgment to guide strategy and trade-offs.
• Experience partnering with engineering and quality teams to improve early validation, reduce rework or respins, and increase delivery throughput.
• Strong cross-functional leadership, risk and dependency management, and written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level reporting.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead a high-performing team with 10–20 members and establish clear ownership across release programs.
• Make releases faster and more predictable by reducing bottlenecks and refining integrated plans with milestones and go/no-go criteria.
• Strengthen readiness and quality through governance, readiness reviews, and early validation.
• Align leaders and stakeholders across Development, Product, Quality Assurance, Configuration and Software Change Management, Security, and OTA delivery.

Skills

Lead PM team

Software release experience

Cross-functional leadership

Executive reporting

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Job description

Job Description

Senior Manager, Software Release Program Management

At General Motors, our product teams are redefining mobility. Through a human-centered design process, we create vehicles and experiences that are designed not just to be seen, but to be felt. We’re turning today’s impossible into tomorrow’s standard – from breakthrough hardware and battery systems to intuitive design, intelligent software, and next-generation safety and entertainment features.

At General Motors, our product teams are redefining mobility. Through a human-centered design process, we create vehicles and experiences that are designed not just to be seen, but to be felt. We’re turning today’s impossible into tomorrow’s standard – from breakthrough hardware and battery systems to intuitive design, intelligent software, and next-generation safety and entertainment features.

Every day, our products move millions of people as we aim to make driving safer, smarter, and more connected, shaping the future of transportation on a global scale.

The Role

Vehicle software releases bring together complex systems, teams, and dependencies. Your team will make that work more predictable and scalable: setting a clear release plan, surfacing risks early, and helping teams resolve the issues that slow delivery down.

You’ll shape the evolution toward more frequent releases, including a monthly release cadence and regular security updates, while maintaining the quality and readiness standards customers and the business depend on. You’ll have the visibility and influence to improve how releases move from development through validation and into vehicles – and the opportunity to build a strong program-management organization along the way.

Why join us?

You’ll help shape the operating model behind how vehicle software reaches customers. The work calls for a leader who can bring order to complexity, build trust across technical organizations, and improve delivery in measurable ways – while keeping safety and quality at the center.

What You’ll Do

Build and lead a high-performing team

• Hire, coach, and develop technical program managers; establish clear ownership across release programs. This position will lead a team of 10-20.
• Set practical standards, playbooks, and operating rhythms that help the team deliver consistent, high-quality program execution.
• Prioritize team capacity toward the most important release outcomes and support individual growth and performance.

Make releases faster and more predictable

• Lead the evolution toward more frequent software releases and regular security updates.
• Identify and remove bottlenecks from code completion through validation and vehicle delivery, reducing cycle time and improving on-time performance.
• Create realistic, integrated plans with clear milestones, risk visibility, and go/no-go criteria – so teams can meet commitments without relying on last-minute heroics.
• Build scalable release operations, with clear intake, prioritization, work-in-progress practices, and service expectations.
• Align upstream software development with downstream validation and over-the-air delivery so work moves smoothly across teams.

Strengthen readiness and quality

• Lead release planning, change governance, readiness reviews, and communication so stakeholders understand what is shipping, when, and with what risks.
• Work with engineering and quality partners to bring validation evidence earlier into the development process and shorten test-and-fix cycles.
• Use automated test and quality-gate results to inform release readiness and drive timely decisions; partner with the dedicated owners of those systems to improve outcomes.
• Lead post-release reviews and defect-escape analysis, turning lessons into measurable improvements for future releases.

Align leaders and stakeholders

• Build strong working relationships across Development, Product, Quality Assurance, Configuration and Software Change Management, Security, and OTA delivery.
• Communicate status, dependencies, trade-offs, and risks clearly to senior leaders and delivery teams.
• Bring stakeholders together around shared plans, decisions, and accountability for release outcomes.

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

• 5+ years of experience leading technical program managers or a program-management organization, including hiring, coaching, and developing people.
• 10+ years of experience managing software release, delivery, or release-engineering programs for complex embedded, platform, or comparable software.
• A track record of improving release frequency, cycle time, and delivery predictability at scale.
• Working knowledge of modern release practices, including change control, release readiness, gating, and CI/CD, with the judgment to guide strategy and trade-offs.
• Experience partnering with engineering and quality teams to improve early validation, reduce rework or respins, and increase delivery throughput.
• Strong cross-functional leadership, risk and dependency management, and written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level reporting.

What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications)

• Experience delivering embedded automotive, infotainment, Android Open Source Project (AOSP), or other connected-device software.
• Familiarity with over-the-air (OTA) updates, security-patch delivery, and software configuration or part-number release processes.
• Experience with release governance, change review boards, validation sign-offs, or hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and emulator-based testing.
• Experience building release dashboards and using metrics to improve velocity, predictability, and quality.
• Familiarity with Jira and Confluence or similar program-management tools.

Compensation:

• The salary range for this role is $201,600 - $365,700. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position.
• Bonus Potential: An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance.
• Benefits: GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical, dental, vision, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan, sickness and accident benefits, life insurance, paid vacation & holidays, tuition assistance programs, employee assistance program, GM vehicle discounts and more.

Company Vehicle:

Upon successful completion of a motor vehicle report review, you will be eligible to participate in a company vehicle evaluation program, through which you will be assigned a General Motors vehicle to drive and evaluate. Note: program participants are required to purchase/lease a qualifying GM vehicle every four years unless one of a limited number of exceptions applies.

GM does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. Do not apply for this role if you will need GM immigration sponsorship now or in the future. This includes direct company sponsorship, entry of GM as the immigration employer of record on a government form, and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (e.g., H1-B, OPT, STEM OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc). This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the selected candidate is expected to report to a specific location at least 3 times a week {or other frequency dictated by their manager}. Relocation benefits are available for candidates who qualify under company policy.

About GM

Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.

Why Join Us

We believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one General Motors team.

Benefits Overview

From day one, we’re looking out for your well-being–at work and at home–so you can focus on realizing your ambitions. Learn how GM supports a rewarding career that rewards you personally by visiting Total Rewards resources.

Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities (U.S.)

General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of unlawful discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that providing an inclusive workplace creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers.

All employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to sex, race, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, disability, pregnancy or maternity status, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran or protected veteran, or any other similarly protected status in accordance with federal, state and local laws.

We encourage interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications for each role and apply for any positions that match their skills and capabilities. Applicants in the recruitment process may be required, where applicable, to successfully complete a role-related assessment(s) and/or a pre-employment screening prior to beginning employment.

Accommodations

General Motors offers opportunities to all job seekers including individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation to assist with your job search or application for employment, email us or call us at 1-800-865-7580. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.