Software Project Manager, Application Middleware

Bose Corporation, U.S.A; Framingham (MA); On-site; USD 136,000 - 187,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus programs

Health and welfare benefits

401(k) plan

Employee discount

Job summary

Bose Corporation is seeking a Software Program Manager – Application Middleware to define, develop, and deliver middleware capabilities that enable Bose products and experiences. You’ll orchestrate cross-functional teams to translate customer needs into a clear roadmap and execute with disciplined delivery.

You will own the middleware backlog, establish milestones, and drive alignment across product, platform, and engineering teams.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in software program management, technical program management, product management, or related software development roles.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex software programs involving multiple engineering teams and significant technical dependencies.
• Experience working with middleware, software platforms, SDKs, APIs, frameworks, shared services, embedded platforms, or similar reusable software technologies.
• Experience developing or influencing software product or platform roadmaps.
• Ability to translate product and developer needs into requirements, priorities, and executable engineering plans.
• Strong understanding of modern software development lifecycles, including requirements, architecture, implementation, integration, verification, release, and maintenance.
• Experience with Agile software development practices and software backlog/release management.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex dependencies, risks, schedules, and priorities across multiple teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively with engineers, architects, product leaders, and executives.
• Strong facilitation, negotiation, influencing, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience working with globally distributed software development teams.
• BS in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent relevant experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end planning and execution of application middleware capabilities, from requirements and architecture through development, integration, validation, and release.
• Partner with application teams, product managers, architects, and engineering leaders to understand customer and developer needs and translate them into a clear middleware roadmap, requirements, and priorities.
• Drive alignment across middleware, application, platform, embedded software, systems, and product teams, proactively managing dependencies, risks, tradeoffs, and critical decisions.
• Own and prioritize the middleware backlog, balancing near-term product commitments with longer-term platform investments, reuse, scalability, technical debt, and developer experience.
• Establish clear milestones, integration plans, release criteria, and operating mechanisms that create transparency and accountability across teams.
• Serve as the connection point between product intent, software architecture, and engineering execution, facilitating decisions when technical constraints, product priorities, and schedules compete.
• Measure and continuously improve the effectiveness of the middleware platform through developer feedback and outcomes such as adoption, quality, reliability, performance, reuse, and integration efficiency.

Skills

Communication skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Negotiation

Problem solving

Facilitation

Education

BS in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Middleware platforms

SDKs

APIs

Embedded platforms

Job description

At Bose Corporation, we believe sound is the most powerful force on earth — and for over 60 years, we have been a company built on innovation, excellence, and independence. Privately owned, fiercely customer-focused, and driven by our values, we continue to lead industries and transform lives through sound. Today, Bose Corporation is entering an exciting new era. Across multiple global Business Units and Global Functions, we are shaping the future of audio technology, automotive, luxury, and premium experiences. We invite you to join us in this transformation.

About the Role

Bose is seeking a Software Program Manager – Application Middleware to help define, develop, and deliver the software capabilities that enable the next generation of Bose products and experiences. Application middleware sits at a critical intersection in our software architecture—connecting applications and experiences with the underlying platform, operating system, services, connectivity, and device capabilities. The quality of this middleware platform directly impacts how quickly our teams can innovate, integrate new experiences, and deliver reliable products to customers. This role combines software program management with product management of middleware capabilities. You will partner closely with software architects, engineering leaders, developers, product managers, systems teams, and application teams to translate product and developer needs into a clear middleware roadmap and drive that roadmap through execution and release. You will be both an orchestrator and a platform advocate: creating clarity across complex software dependencies while ensuring that the middleware platform evolves around the needs of the teams and products that depend on it. This is a highly cross‑functional role with the opportunity to influence how software capabilities are defined, prioritized, developed, integrated, and delivered across Bose.

What You’ll Do

• Lead end-to-end planning and execution of application middleware capabilities, from requirements and architecture through development, integration, validation, and release.
• Partner with application teams, product managers, architects, and engineering leaders to understand customer and developer needs and translate them into a clear middleware roadmap, requirements, and priorities.
• Drive alignment across middleware, application, platform, embedded software, systems, and product teams, proactively managing dependencies, risks, tradeoffs, and critical decisions.
• Own and prioritize the middleware backlog, balancing near‑term product commitments with longer‑term platform investments, reuse, scalability, technical debt, and developer experience.
• Establish clear milestones, integration plans, release criteria, and operating mechanisms that create transparency and accountability across teams.
• Serve as the connection point between product intent, software architecture, and engineering execution, facilitating decisions when technical constraints, product priorities, and schedules compete.
• Measure and continuously improve the effectiveness of the middleware platform through developer feedback and outcomes such as adoption, quality, reliability, performance, reuse, and integration efficiency.

About You

You are a systems thinker who enjoys working at the intersection of technology, product, and execution. You understand that successful middleware is more than a collection of software components; it is a product used by other developers to build differentiated customer experiences. You are comfortable working with software architects and engineers on technical topics while also engaging product leaders on priorities, customer value, and roadmap decisions. You naturally bring structure to ambiguity. You can take a complex environment with multiple teams, dependencies, and competing priorities and create a path forward that people understand and can execute. You are curious about how software works, but you don’t need to be the architect in the room. You know how to ask the questions that expose assumptions, dependencies, tradeoffs, and risks. Most importantly, you build trust. You listen to the teams consuming the platform, understand their needs, and bring people together around decisions that create the best overall outcome for Bose and our customers.

Required Experience

• 7+ years of experience in software program management, technical program management, product management, or related software development roles.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex software programs involving multiple engineering teams and significant technical dependencies.
• Experience working with middleware, software platforms, SDKs, APIs, frameworks, shared services, embedded platforms, or similar reusable software technologies.
• Experience developing or influencing software product or platform roadmaps.
• Ability to translate product and developer needs into requirements, priorities, and executable engineering plans.
• Strong understanding of modern software development lifecycles, including requirements, architecture, implementation, integration, verification, release, and maintenance.
• Experience with Agile software development practices and software backlog/release management.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex dependencies, risks, schedules, and priorities across multiple teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively with engineers, architects, product leaders, and executives.
• Strong facilitation, negotiation, influencing, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience working with globally distributed software development teams.
• BS in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent relevant experience.

Preferred Experience

• Experience with embedded or connected consumer products.
• Experience managing software platforms consumed by multiple application or product teams.
• Familiarity with middleware architectures, APIs, SDKs, inter-process communication, application frameworks, connectivity services, operating systems, or embedded Linux/Android-based platforms.
• Experience establishing platform KPIs such as adoption, API stability, quality, performance, reuse, or developer productivity.
• Experience balancing feature development, platform investment, architectural evolution, and technical debt.
• Prior software development, systems engineering, technical product management, or software architecture experience.
• Experience in consumer electronics, automotive, IoT, or another complex hardware/software product environment.
• MBA, MS in Engineering/Computer Science, or relevant program/product management certification is a plus.

Why This Role Matters

Great customer experiences depend on great software foundations. As Bose products become increasingly software‑defined, application teams need stable, scalable, and thoughtfully designed platform capabilities that allow them to focus on creating differentiated experiences rather than repeatedly solving underlying infrastructure problems. In this role, you will help turn middleware into a true internal software product with clear customers, a deliberate roadmap, measurable outcomes, and disciplined delivery. You will connect the teams building Bose’s foundational software with the teams creating the experiences our customers ultimately see, hear, and feel.

At Bose, you're inspired to be and do your best and are rewarded for your unique talents! Our compensation is thoughtfully tailored to your skills, experience, education, and location, and goes beyond base salary.

The hiring range for this position in the primary work location of Framingham, Massachusetts is: $136,200-$187,350. The hiring range for other Bose work locations may vary. In addition to competitive base pay we offer rewards including bonus programs, comprehensive health and welfare benefits, a 401(k) plan, plus exclusive perks designed to support your wellbeing, and a generous employee discount where you can immerse yourself in our products and experiences.

We are a proudly independent company—driven by purpose, guided by our values, and united by a belief in the power of sound. As the world leader in audio experiences, we’re creating what’s next—pushing boundaries and delivering transformative sound experiences for people everywhere.

Join us and make your next career move a mic-drop. Let’s Make Waves.

We’re a company built on disruptive innovation—having the courage to challenge the status quo, an unwavering commitment to our customers, and the fundamental belief that anything is possible. We never settle; we have a passion for discovering better ways to help people enjoy the things they love. We need people like you, people with better solutions. If you join us, you’ll find the opportunity to do your best work and the freedom to enjoy it. Here, every employee has the opportunity to build their own success and contribute to ours. It’s an atmosphere of trust, collaboration, high expectations, and great reward.