Senior Program Manager

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Motiv is a leading manufacturer of medium duty, zero-emission electric trucks and buses. Motiv produces a range of vehicles; including step vans, shuttle buses, box trucks and work trucks, all of which eliminate tailpipe CO2 emissions and particulate matter, while offering drivers and passengers a more comfortable, healthier and safer ride. Motiv’s combination of operational cost savings and environmental performance helps customers meet increasingly stringent emissions and pollution standards as well as achieve their own Net-Zero, ESG or other climate impact-related pledges and commitments.

Motiv is seeking an experienced Senior Program Manager to lead the execution of Motiv’s Commercial Electric Truck programs. The Senior Program Manager is responsible for leading, planning, executing, and overseeing projects supporting Motiv’s various vehicle programs. This includes working cross functionally with Engineering, Manufacturing, Purchasing, and Quality to ensure project goals, milestones, and timelines are met efficiently and achieve strategic business objectives.

Our ideal candidate must have a high degree of technical competence, written and verbal communication skills, and be comfortable working independently or collaboratively. A Bachelor’s Degree in STEM major or equivalent experience is required, with a minimum of 5 years of experience in automotive program management, supply chain, and/or engineering. The candidate should have a strong knowledge of automotive and commercial vehicle industries and development processes. They must also experience working in structured engineering process including definition of requirements and objective function, concept creation, market analysis for components, analyzing options, and making program level decisions.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• The Senior Program Manager will not have any direct reports, but will lead a cross-functional teams including Engineering, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Quality, and Manufacturing organizations to ensure corporate goals, milestones, and timelines are met efficiently and within budget.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Coordinate and lead daily activities to meet overall program objectives and focus on process within product definition and engineering design cycles

• Coordinate and lead regular cadence meetings, delivering timely and comprehensive updates on program progress and status

• Create and oversee comprehensive project timelines, monitor progress meticulously, and proactively implement solutions to address discrepancies or delays

• Track prototype development, builds, testing, and validation processes to ensure alignment with start of production timing

• Identify, prioritize, and manage project tasks and risks, while facilitating engineering discussions to drive decisions on critical system parameters

• Communicate program status, key milestones, and goals to the project team and executive management

• Analyze cross-functional design dependencies, identify potential risks, and formulate effective mitigation strategies

• Influence and negotiate project architecture and design with system teams to ensure proper scoping and strategic alignment

• Drive the change management process by ensuring issues are documented properly and tracked thru to resolution. Work with cross-functional team for solution development and all vested parties to gain approval of resolution

• Influence KPI development and implementation

• Improve team effectiveness by optimizing business processes and project management tools

• Coach other teams on Motiv’s business processes, tools, and best practices. Train new team members.

• Support cross functional teams on contract negotiations, costing, quality, and Statements of Work (SOW) and Statements of Requirements (SOR) development

• Manage risks to business objectives and evaluate and understand when to escalate.

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills

• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail

• Proactive and independent with the ability to take initiative

• Flexible to work in Factory environment on the floor to inspect /Troubleshoot

• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines

• Ability to work with minimal supervision while producing high quality output in timely manner

• Ability to function well in a high-paced and at times stressful environment

• High level of accuracy; ability to work with tight schedules and ambiguity in startup environment

• Strong risk management skills, with the ability to identify and proactively address potential program risks

• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or related software

• Confident, but not arrogant, “can do” attitude and demeanor, delegates, when necessary and appropriate, but instinctively “trusts” and “verifies”, demanding and uncompromising but always fair and equitable, passionate, and driven agent for continuous improvement, change and success

• Should be “hands-on”, hard-working, self-motivated and, more often than not, self-directed, should rarely need to be “coached up” and/or redirected

• Strong management, administrative and organizational skills and the ability to multi-task and stay cool under pressure

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to relate to and work with both internal and external customers, alike, at all levels

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree (B.A) from an accredited four (4) year college program in engineering, business, management or related field. A graduate level degree is a definite plus but not required.

• Program Management Professional (PMP) certification is preferred but not required. DFSS certification a plus

• Strong knowledge of APQP and ISO9001:2015 preferred

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in automotive program management, supply chain, and/or engineering

• Strong knowledge of automotive and commercial vehicle industries and development processes

• Expertise in electric vehicles, electrical systems, and battery technologies highly preferred

• Experience working under tight deadlines, managing multiple concurrent projects, and ensuring the successful delivery of program objectives

• Strong ability to teach, coach and mentor team members and future leaders

• Self-starting and ready to work with a small team in a fast-paced environment.

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer

• Able to work in shop environments when needed to support physical testing, bench tests and vehicle builds

• Flexibility to work in Factory environments, wearing PPE

• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times

Salary Range:

• $155,000.00-$175,000.00 (Salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education and training.)

This position is based in Novi, Michigan

Candidates only please; no recruiters.

Benefits & Perks

• Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA, Health & Dependent Care FSA, 401(k), Basic Life and AD&D, Voluntary Life and AD&D, EAP (Employee Assistance Program), Education Reimbursement, and more!

• Generous PTO policy and 11 Paid Company Holidays.

• Online, on-demand Training & Development Programs.

• Bicycle friendly, with bike storage available to all Foster City employees with a 5 minute walk to the scenic Bay Front.

• Regular Happy Hours, Company Cultural Events, and more!