Senior/Staff Technical Program Manager, Change Governance

Socket.dev; Foster City (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Zoox is hiring a Senior/Staff Technical Program Manager, Change Governance to own end-to-end orchestration of product changes from tentative engineering approval through cross-functional review to production-line implementation.

You will coordinate with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Purchasing, Supply Chain, and Logistics to ensure governance and traceability at every stage, with data-driven reporting and continuous process improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Manufacturing Engineering
• 10+ years of program management experience with hardware product development
• Experience with multi-tier automotive supply chain (OEM → Tier1 → Tier2/3)
• Cross-functional ownership without direct authority across engineering, purchasing, supply chain, and manufacturing
• Gate-driven development experience (APQP, PPAP, SOP milestones) and cost/schedule tradeoffs
• Advanced Excel/Google Sheets (pivot tables, formulas) and scripting for automation
• Experience with change management, PLM, or ERP tools (SAP, Windchill)

Responsibilities

• Serve as the single point of accountability for governance of a change from tentative Engineering approval through multidisciplinary alignment across Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Purchasing, Supply Chain, and Logistics to production-line implementation.
• Assess and manage how a change cascades through multi-tier supply chain dependencies, coordinating supplier qualification and launch-readiness requirements as needed
• Partner with production-line teams to plan and confirm implementation readiness: timing, resourcing, build sequencing, documentation, and training.
• Maintain audit-ready records of change status, approvals, and decisions in change management, ERP, and PLM systems.
• Build and maintain reporting and dashboards on change pipeline health, using scripts or AI tools to automate data retrieval and reporting across Excel, Google Sheets, and Jira.
• Own and continuously improve the governance framework and checklist — approvals, documentation, and gate criteria — with IT/business systems support

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional leadership

Governance & compliance

Excel/Sheets skills

Scripting (Python)

Supply chain liaison

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Manufacturing Engineering

Tools

SAP

Windchill

Job description

Zoox is seeking a Senior / Staff Technical Program Manager, Change Governance to own the end-to-end orchestration of product changes as they move from tentative engineering approval through cross-functional review to implementation on the production line. This role sits at the center of a multidisciplinary process, ensuring every change is tracked, properly vetted, and executed with full governance and traceability at each stage.

In this job, you will

• Serve as the single point of accountability for governance of a change from tentative Engineering approval through multidisciplinary alignment across Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Purchasing, Supply Chain, and Logistics to production-line implementation.

• Assess and manage how a change cascades through multi-tier supply chain dependencies, coordinating supplier qualification and launch-readiness requirements as needed

• Partner with production-line teams at Zoox and relevant change management functions at suppliers to plan and confirm implementation readiness: timing, resourcing, build sequencing, documentation, and training.

• Maintain accurate, audit-ready records of change status, approvals, and decisions in relevant change management, ERP, and PLM systems.

• Build and maintain reporting and dashboards on change pipeline health, using scripts (e.g., Python, Apps Script, VBA) or AI tools to automate recurring data retrieval and reporting across Excel, Google Sheets, and Jira.

• Own and continuously improve the governance framework and checklist — required approvals, documentation, and gate criteria — partnering with IT/business systems teams to implement process and tooling improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Manufacturing Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline

• 10+ years of program management experience with a core background in physical/hardware product development — managing BOMs, component qualification, hardware validation cycles, manufacturing and physical supply chains.

• Multi-tier automotive supply chain fluency — direct experience managing or escalating through OEM → Tier1 → Tier2/3 dependencies.

• Cross-functional program ownership without direct authority — demonstrated accountability spanning engineering, purchasing, supply chain, and manufacturing simultaneously.

• Automotive program lifecycle experience — hands-on with gate-driven development (APQP, PPAP, SOP milestones); understands cost/schedule implications of late changes across long program timelines.

• Advanced proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets (pivot tables, complex formulas, data reconciliation across sources); comfortable writing scripts to automate data retrieval and reporting.

• Experience with at least one change management, PLM, or ERP tool (e.g., SAP, Windchill, or similar).

Bonus Qualifications

• Advanced degree (M.S./MBA) in Engineering or a related technical field.

• ISO 9001 or IATF 16949 certification (highly desired).

• Experience with PLM or CAD tools (highly favorable, not mandatory).

• Supplier nomination and re-sourcing experience — worked alongside purchasing on sourcing decisions, dual-sourcing strategy, and supplier development.

• Manufacturing launch exposure — line readiness, build sequencing around constraints, launch risk management, run-at-rate/capacity verification.

About Zoox

Zoox is developing the first ground-up, fully autonomous vehicle fleet and the supporting ecosystem required to bring this technology to market. Sitting at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and design, Zoox aims to provide the next generation of mobility-as-a-service in urban environments. We’re looking for top talent that shares our passion and wants to be part of a fast-moving and highly execution-oriented team.

Follow us on LinkedIn

Accommodations

If you need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process please reach out to [e-mail] or your assigned recruiter.

A Final Note:

You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Zoox, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.