Technical Program Manager, drive unit and actuators

ridealso; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

One Medical membership

Progyny fertility benefits

Flexible time off

401(k) match

Job summary

ALSO is building next-generation electric mobility solutions from our Palo Alto base. As a Technical Program Manager, you will lead drive unit programs across architecture, prototyping, validation, and mass production, coordinating with product, mechanical, electrical, firmware, and supply chain teams to drive timely delivery.

The role requires deep cross-functional leadership, strong engineering background, and the ability to travel ~10-15% domestically and internationally.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical or related engineering field.
• 7+ years of experience in program management, engineering or similar cross-functional role.
• Experience shipping drive unit and actuator products from concept to mass production.
• Familiarity with NPI processes, tooling qualification, PPAP, DVT/PVT, and first-article inspections.
• Experience with electromechanical systems and working with contract manufacturers.

Responsibilities

• Lead drive unit programs from architecture through mass production.
• Plan requirements, identify risks, and keep programs on track.
• Develop schedules with cross-functional teams and manage blockers.
• Communicate status and issues to leadership.
• Collaborate with product, mechanical, electrical, firmware, and supply chain.

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional collaboration

Engineering background

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical or related engineering

Job description

About ALSO. We're ALSO, an electric mobility company originally conceived as a part of Rivian. We're a passionate team of builders, dreamers, doers and innovators, focused on creating entirely new (not to mention, innovative and delightful) vertically integrated, small EVs designed to meet the global mobility challenges of today and tomorrow. Our mission is to inspire everyone to ride ALSO-replacing many local car, truck and SUV miles with ones on vehicles that are more affordable, more enjoyable and 10-50x more efficient.

In this role, you will be a member of Also's Technical Program Management team, responsible for driving the drive unit and actuator modules end to end from concept/proto development phase through mass production. You will partner with product, mechanical, electrical, firmware, test, supply chain, industrial design, and other cross-functional teams to drive product development in consumer-facing products.

What You Will Do

As a Technical Program Manager, you'll use your product development expertise to lead multi-disciplinary hardware projects from start to finish: managing drive unit programs from architecture and prototyping through validation, industrialization and production ramp.

You will work with stakeholders to plan requirements, identify and manage risks early leading to rapid reaction plans to keep the program on track, and communicate clearly with cross-functional partners across the company.

Drive the planning and implementation of customer features with the cross-functional teams to hit roadmap goals, tracking progress, while communicating status, blockers, and risks to leadership.

Develop and manage comprehensive program schedules via Gantt charts, technical issues, design release management, certification, manufacturing, and resource needs with engineering, supply chain, and cross-functional teams.

Identify and solve the top program blockers and adapt lean processes to the organization.

What You Will Bring

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical, or a related engineering field
• 7+ years of experience in program management, engineering or similar cross-functional role
• Demonstrated success in shipping drive unit and actuator products from initial concept through mass production.
• Familiarity with New Product Introduction (NPI) processes, including tooling qualification, PPAP, DVT/PVT, and first-article inspections.
• Experience managing programs involving electromechanical systems with multiple interdependent subsystems (motors, PCBAs, sensors, structural assemblies).
• Experience working directly with contract manufacturers and global suppliers on industrialization and production readiness.
• Ability to understand technical discussions (driven by curiosity to understand how the entire system works) and provide decision framework to make technical decisions and accelerate development.
• Clear communicator - able to hold conversations with engineering and supply chain while distilling status and decisions for executive leadership.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed (estimated ~10-15%)

The salary for this position ranges from $200,000 - $250,000 per year, depending on experience, qualifications, and location.

Perks and Benefits

• Robust health coverage. Excellent health, dental and vision insurance covered up to 100% by Also. with FSA & HSA options.
• One Medical membership and dedicated insurance advocates.
• Rich fertility and family building benefits with Progyny.
• Flexible time off.
• 401(k) match.

Why ALSO.

We're passionate about helping the world find a better way to get there-wherever it is you're headed. We're located in the heart of Silicon Valley and have brought together a world-class team from some of the biggest brands in the technology, automotive, cycling, outdoor recreation and retail spaces. Together we're working hands-on to imagine, design and build an entirely new solution to a global set of transportation challenges.