Senior Technical Program Manager – Multi-Industry Power

CelLink; San Carlos (CA); On-site; Full time

Job description

Technical Program Manager

As our business grows and diversifies, we are looking for an ambitious, hands-on Technical Program Manager (TPM) to lead complex, high-impact development programs that span automotive, electrical products, and emerging industries such as aerospace, robotics, data centers, and medical. In this role, you will own program delivery from concept to the successful development and launch of power products, serving as the bridge between customer engineering teams and internal cross-functional teams spanning product design, engineering, supply chain, and operations with a focus on cost, schedule, and quality.

Success in this role requires thriving in fast-paced, high-pressure environments with shifting priorities and time constraints, while delivering on the aggressive timelines and expectations set by our customers. You must bring empathy and balance, supporting internal teams under pressure while also understanding and communicating the urgency behind customer deadlines.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

This position requires strong technical acumen, program leadership experience, and the ability to deliver results across industries with high standards for technical rigor, execution, safety, performance, and quality. The ideal candidate will possess deep technical knowledge, excellent program management skills, and a strong ability to build lasting trusting relationships internally and with our customers.

• Lead programs across industries from concept through launch while ensuring customer engagement and satisfaction.
• Manage P&L, technical performance, and quality to ensure delivery on schedule and budget. Drive alignment and communication on program status, design decisions, and issue resolution.
• Support the RFQ and business development process through customer engagement, requirement scoping, and estimating.
• Lead product development through gate reviews, PDT processes, and AQP methodologies, ensuring all milestones are met. Drive the execution of development programs across multiple industries, not limited to EV, supporting entry into new and emerging markets.
• Proactively manage risks and lead technical problem resolution for design, validation, and manufacturing issues.
• Manage outside material/component vendors and integrators to deliver products according to specifications.
• Serve as the primary customer contact from customer engineer teams to C-Level to support program success. Build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships through transparent communication on ownership of program goals and status, design decisions, and issue resolution that builds trust and goodwill to aid in negotiations, drive alignment, and set aggressive, but realistic and attainable timelines.
• Lead and support engineering, operations, and supply teams through product development phases. Manage open issues, coordinate phase-gate reviews, and drive resolution.
• Collaborate with internal teams to meet product requirements, program goals, and cost targets.
• Set clear expectations, deliverables, and timelines, be the voice of the customer, and drive accountability across internal teams.
• Navigate internal team challenges with empathy. Recognize and support teams working under pressure while championing creative solutions to meet customer demands.
• Keep everyone informed in an environment of ever-shifting priorities, aligned and on task despite competing priorities, and execution focused.
• Create and manage detailed program schedules using Microsoft Project, clearly identifying milestones and responsibilities for all stakeholders.
• Track responsibilities and progress across engineering, manufacturing, operations, and supply chain.
• Own and lead the cost model process for program quotations. Collect technical inputs, interface with relevant teams, and ensure cost accuracy for new business opportunities.
• Track spend against approved budgets and forecasts. Initiate corrective actions as needed.
• Profitability, engineering design and testing (ED&T), tooling, and capital spend.
• Provide leadership and stakeholders with regular updates on program health, risks and risk mitigation plans, project statuses and timelines, capital spend and financials, and key performance metrics.
• Participate in and lead efforts to enhance internal processes, improve time-to-market, and drive product excellence.

Minimum Qualifications and Experience/Education

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering or related field
• 6+ years of hands-on technical experience in engineering, operations, or manufacturing
• 4+ years of program/project management leading multiple external complex customer programs and cross-functional teams in fast-paced environments with the ability to adapt technical program execution to varied customer needs across industries.
• Strong business and financial acumen with cost model ownership, financial tracking, and quoting experience
• Strong interpersonal and excellent verbal and written communication skills to effectively communicate and influence across all organizational levels and functions, customer-facing presentations, and handle escalations and negotiations (pricing, costs, resources, timelines) with customers, integrators, and vendors
• Proficiency in project management tools, preferably Microsoft Project

Preferred Knowledge

• Knowledge of automotive electrical and electronics systems is preferred.
  • High-voltage battery architecture and/or electrical components.
  • EV controls, EV systems, and sub-systems.
  • Battery interconnect boards and module-to-module connections
• Experience in aerospace, data centers, robotics, or medical devices is a plus

100% onsite when not traveling.

Travel: 25% per year(domestic and international)

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands described here represent those that must be met by the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

Working Conditions/Hours

Salaried Exempt

Physical Demands – Office and Manufacturing Environment

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to use hands or fingers to handle or feel objects, tools, or controls. The employee is required to stand, walk, sit, reach with hands and arms, pull/push, climb or balance, and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must lift and/or move up to 50 pounds without assistance. Specific vision abilities this position requires include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment –

Includes both a typical office environment, with minimal exposure to excessive noise or adverse environmental issues, and a shop environment, with exposure to high noise levels from operating machines, physical hazards from moving equipment and machine parts, nuisance dust, and skin exposure to chemicals used to run/maintain machines.

PPE-

May be required to wear Personal Protective Equipment, including but not limited to safety glasses, safety shoes, bump caps, gloves, hair nets, masks, and clean-room frocks while adhering to the prescribed safety procedures.

CA Privacy Policy

We believe diversity and inclusion among our teammates are essential to our success. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees while building teams that represent a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We are an equal opportunity employer. All employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. CelLink participates in the E-Verify program in specific locations as required by law.

CelLink was founded in 2012 and entered volume production in 2018. CelLink provides electrical systems to the world's leading automotive OEMs & EV manufacturers, data center developers, and stationary power companies. The company has raised approximately $315M in funding through private investment and multiple grants from the US Department of Energy. CelLink’s investors include 3M, Atreides, BMW, BorgWarner, Bosch, D1 Capital, Fidelity, Fontinalis Partners, Ford, Franklin Templeton, Lear, Park West, SK Telecom, Standard Investments, T. Rowe Price, Tinicum, and Whale Rock.

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