Senior Project Manager

Aptiv; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Comprehensive health, dental, and life insurance

Flexible time-off policies

Job summary

A global leader in software for critical systems seeks a Project Manager to oversee customer engagements across various industries. The role demands strong communication skills, 6+ years of experience in embedded systems, and the ability to manage multiple projects effectively. Responsibilities include leading project execution, coordinating with various departments, and ensuring high customer satisfaction. Benefits include a hybrid work model, comprehensive health coverage, and learning opportunities.

Qualifications

• US Citizenship mandatory.
• 6+ years engineering experience in embedded systems.
• Experience with software safety certification standards such as DO-178C or ISO 26262.

Responsibilities

• Own the full project lifecycle for customer engagements.
• Collaborate with sales, engineering, and legal teams.
• Ensure projects are delivered on schedule and within budget.

Skills

Strong written and verbal communication skills

Engineering project management

Customer interface experience

Planning and organization skills

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Computer Science

Project Management Institute certificate

Job description

ABOUT WIND RIVER

Wind River is a global leader in delivering software for mission-critical intelligent systems. For more than four decades, the company has been an innovator and pioneer, powering billions of systems that require the highest levels of security, safety, and reliability. Wind River helps customers across automotive, aerospace, defense, industrial, medical, and telecommunications industries solve complex technology challenges on their journey toward the new intelligent machine economy. The company's software powers generation after generation of the safest, most secure systems in the world. Examples include playing a key role in NASA space missions such as Artemis I, the James Webb Space Telescope, and multiple Mars rovers. We've achieved recent 5G milestones including the world's first successful 5G data session with Verizon and building one of the largest Open RAN networks in the world with Vodafone.

The company has received industry recognition for its technology innovation and leadership, and for its workplace culture, including global Great Place to Work certification and being named a "Top Workplace" for ten consecutive years. If you want to be part of a unique culture where the lived experience is based on our cultural attributes of growth mindset, customer-focus, and diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging, come join us and help advance the future software defined world.

YOUR ROLE

As a Project Manager on our team, you'll own the full project lifecycle for customer engagements, exercising a wide range of responsibilities to bid and deliver successfully. Your work will span all the vertical markets listed above and will often allow you to work on next generation technical projects.

You will collaborate with colleagues across the company, including the Resource Management Office, Engineering, Sales, Finance, and Legal.

In your daily job you will work on the following main areas:

• Presales: Work with sales staff, business directors, technical leads, and other project managers to qualify opportunities; work with customer team to define requirements; perform architecture trade‑off analysis and project feasibility; estimate costs and schedules; prepare written proposals and negotiate updates; demonstrate the value of Wind River to our customers to help win bids.
• Project Execution: Act as the project focal, coordinating directly with customers to ensure high customer satisfaction; build and manage teams to complete small to large projects in technically challenging areas, ensuring engagement and efficiency; deliver on schedule and within budget while meeting feature, quality, and contract requirements; enhance the depth of customer relationships to maximize business potential; proactively manage risks to minimize customer escalations, and manage escalations when they do arise.
• Continuous Improvement: Use company‑defined tools and processes in accordance with our CMMI Level 3 rating; provide feedback to the Process Management Leadership Council (PMLC) to improve efficiency of tools and processes; collect and use metrics (EVM, estimates vs. actuals, profit/schedule variance) for forecasting, estimation, tracking, and early problem detection; share lessons learned and implement strategies to prevent future repeats by you or your colleagues.
• People Management / Soft Skills: Communicate confidently, clearly, and tailored to your audience; speak intelligently about Wind River products and technologies we work with; establish a trusted advisor role with our customers; manage direct reports and matrixed team members (performance reviews, mentoring/coaching, growth opportunities); resolve conflicts, remove roadblocks, negotiate compromises; manage competing priorities, delivering multiple presales/projects simultaneously.

HOW YOU WILL CONTRIBUTE

Key skills and competencies for succeeding in this role are:

• US Citizenship mandatory.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Engineering project and personnel management skills as demonstrated by successfully planning and managing multiple simultaneous engineering projects; building and leading development teams; and directing the design and troubleshooting of complex software and hardware systems.
• Direct customer interface experience with a track record of achieving high levels of customer satisfaction.
• Solid written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated strength in planning and organization; verbal and written communications; effectiveness as a team leader; drive and perseverance in accomplishing goals; professional integrity; adaptability to new projects; resourcefulness; energy and motivation to initiate and complete tasks; and enthusiasm building expertise in the technology.
• Experience working with and guiding international teams.
• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent.
• Additional coursework in business management or a Project Management Institute certificate a plus.
• 6+ years engineering experience or management expertise with embedded systems (software and/or hardware).
• Strong desire for candidate to have hands‑on experience doing Project Management with one or more software safety certification standards such as DO‑178C, FACE, IEC 61508, IEC 62504, ISO 26262, etc.
• Expect up to 10% domestic and international travel.

BENEFITS

• Hybrid work model for workplace flexibility.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and life insurance.
• Short and long‑term disability coverage.
• RRSP matching for financial security.
• Flexible time‑off policies for work‑life balance.
• Employee assistance program for mental well‑being.
• Learning benefits, including a LinkedIn Learning subscription and seminars.

To learn more, visit Wind River at www.windriver.com.

Wind River is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.