Technical Program Manager — Firmware

Aquent; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Aquent is partnering with an autonomous technology leader in Foster City, CA, to seek an experienced Technical Program Manager to drive firmware development for advanced vehicle hardware. You’ll own programs from requirements and architecture through bring-up, validation, release, and sustaining, coordinating hardware, firmware, software, and manufacturing teams.

This onsite TPM role rewards strong communication, risk management, and the ability to establish structure across rapid,

Qualifications

• 6+ years of Technical Program Management or Engineering Program Management experience supporting firmware or embedded software programs.
• Experience taking embedded products from requirements through bring-up, validation, and production release.
• Experience owning embedded software release management and defect triage, including branching strategy, code freezes, release criteria, and sign-off.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end program management for embedded firmware development across multiple vehicle systems.
• Build and drive firmware release plans, including feature freeze, code complete, integration, validation, and final sign-off.
• Synchronize firmware deliverables with hardware build events, including EVT, DVT, and PVT.
• Coordinate dependencies across hardware, firmware, software, systems engineering, functional safety, validation, manufacturing, procurement, and vehicle development.
• Ensure bootloaders, drivers, diagnostics, and test firmware are ready for hardware bring-up.
• Lead manufacturing firmware activities, including factory flashing, provisioning, secure-key injection, end-of-line testing, version control, and contract manufacturer coordination.
• Manage release strategy, defect triage, defect burn-down, change control, and production readiness.
• Identify program risks early and drive mitigation plans to completion.
• Provide clear, concise updates to engineering teams, cross-functional partners, and senior leadership.
• Establish structured processes and reporting methods that improve execution across fast-moving programs.

Skills

Technical Program Management

Cross-functional leadership

Firmware coordination

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering or Computer Science

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Git

Gantt-based planning

Job description

Aquent is partnering with a pioneering autonomous technology company seeking an experienced Technical Program Manager to lead complex firmware development programs for advanced vehicle hardware.

This role spans sensor and perception hardware, compute-platform BSPs and bootloaders, and infotainment ECUs. You’ll own programs from requirements and architecture through hardware bring-up, integration, validation, production release, and sustaining.

Note: this is an ONSITE role in Foster City, CA.

What You’ll Do

• Own end-to-end program management for embedded firmware development across multiple vehicle systems.
• Build and drive firmware release plans, including feature freeze, code complete, integration, validation, and final sign-off.
• Synchronize firmware deliverables with hardware build events, including EVT, DVT, and PVT.
• Coordinate dependencies across hardware, firmware, software, systems engineering, functional safety, validation, manufacturing, procurement, and vehicle development.
• Ensure bootloaders, drivers, diagnostics, and test firmware are ready for hardware bring-up.
• Lead manufacturing firmware activities, including factory flashing, provisioning, secure-key injection, end-of-line testing, version control, and contract manufacturer coordination.
• Manage release strategy, defect triage, defect burn-down, change control, and production readiness.
• Identify program risks early and drive mitigation plans to completion.
• Provide clear, concise updates to engineering teams, cross-functional partners, and senior leadership.
• Establish structured processes and reporting methods that improve execution across fast-moving programs.

Required Qualifications

• 6+ years of Technical Program Management or Engineering Program Management experience supporting firmware or embedded software programs.
• Demonstrated experience taking embedded products from requirements through bring-up, validation, and production release.
• Direct experience managing firmware in a manufacturing environment, including factory flashing, provisioning, end-of-line testing, and firmware version control through a contract manufacturer.
• Experience owning embedded software release management and defect triage, including branching strategy, code freezes, release criteria, and sign-off.
• Strong experience coordinating hardware, firmware, software, functional safety, validation, and systems engineering teams.
• Background in automotive, consumer electronics, or similarly complex hardware products strongly preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline—or equivalent relevant experience.
• Proficiency with tools such as Jira, Confluence, and Gantt-based program planning.
• Familiarity with Git-based development workflows and continuous integration systems.
• Excellent communication, organization, risk management, and stakeholder-influence skills.
• Ability to remain effective and adaptable during rapid development cycles and ambiguity.

Bonus Qualifications

• Knowledge of SoC or MCU bring-up, bootloaders, secure boot, Linux BSPs, and device drivers.
• Familiarity with sensor interfaces such as MIPI/CSI, SerDes, Ethernet, SPI, and I2C.
• Experience with time synchronization, diagnostics, OTA or field updates, and firmware change control.
• Experience managing silicon, sensor, or module vendors against BSP and SDK delivery schedules.
• Experience leading at least two complete product-development cycles involving tightly integrated hardware, firmware, and software.
• Experience supporting mass production and post-production sustaining programs.
• Autonomous vehicle, automotive, aerospace, or advanced test-platform experience.
• PMP certification or an advanced engineering degree.

This is an excellent opportunity for a firmware-focused TPM who knows how to influence without formal authority, manage highly interconnected technical dependencies, and bring structure to ambitious engineering programs.