Job PurposeThe Service Program Specialist (SPS) is the Customer Service and Support representative on Tektronix new product core teams, accountable for ensuring that Worldwide Customer Support and its partners are prepared to service and calibrate new products at launch - anywhere in the world, to standard, at a planned cost.
In this role you own service readiness end to end: the service strategy and plan, the capital that funds it, the depots, documentation, parts, training and test systems that deliver it, and the declaration that says a program is ready to release. You lead the service core team, and you carry products beyond launch through updates, safety actions, engineering changes and long-term support.
This is a role for an experienced operator. You will inherit an established portfolio of Tektronix instrument and probe programs with the standard work, the depot network and the global relationships already in place - and the autonomy to decide how the work gets done from here.
Primary ResponsibilitiesService Strategy and Planning- Own the Service Capability Assessment and the Service Plan for every assigned Tektronix new product program, from the initiation checkpoint onward.
- Determine the service model for each product - repairable versus repair by replacement, depot versus onsite, which regions receive capability and when - and defend that recommendation to SSO and business leadership.
- Define what it takes to calibrate a new instrument to specification in every region that needs it: standards, traceability, fixtures, procedures and accreditation scope.
- Own the life cycle management process of the service portfolio in partnership with different stakeholders like product marketing, service engineering, operations and the product lines. Serve as the primary lifecycle contact point for the NPI, product line and service teams.
Business Case and Capital- Build financial justification for new service capability - test systems, fixtures, depot tooling and training - and prepare capital allocations to deploy that capability globally.
- Take the capital request through the CAR approval process with SSO leadership and Finance.
Global Service Readiness- Own the Service Readiness checklist across equipment, materials and test system readiness, documenting deviations and contingency plans.
- Chair checkpoint reviews at PQ and Qual and 30 days ahead of Release Point with senior service managers globally.
- Convene gap meetings for any significant change in program scope, timeline or escalation, and issue the readiness declaration once the checklist is complete.
Service Systems, Parts and Documentation- Set up the service ERP (Oracle) with the data required to transact the product at release - items, parts, pricing and initial service parts forecast.
- Define the field replaceable unit list and service bill of materials with Materials and Service Engineering, and work supplier agreements where parts or documentation originate with an OEM partner.
- Own service documentation input and review - internal service manual, assembly and disassembly work instructions, troubleshooting content and knowledge base articles - and coordinate published performance and functional verification procedures with Service Test Engineering and Quality.
- Partner with the product line to deliver depot and field training within 30 days of release.
Program Leadership- Lead the service core team, determining whether a formal or informal team is required, and tailor the process, guidelines and templates as each program warrants.
- Negotiate due dates with core team members to ensure actions are accomplished to plan, and escalate any issue that represents a risk to successful implementation.
- Define test system and fixture requirements, fund them, and hold Service Test Engineering to build, configuration and distribution milestones.
Sustaining, Update and Safety Programs- Act as project manager for update and conversion programs, safety actions and recalls, major account programs and OEM programs involving Worldwide Customer Support and its partners.
- Assess engineering change requests, change orders and waivers for service impact, and drive alternate source evaluations where a part reaches end of life.
- Maintain the service portfolio through VAVE and boxcar releases, and carry products through phase over, last test out and long-term product support, so that service coverage, calibration capability and parts availability hold up for years after a product stops selling.
Data, Improvement and Knowledge- Gather and analyze service data - failure rates, repair and calibration cost, parts consumption, field escalations - to assist the business in making support decisions.
- Provide leadership for new product and sustaining support efforts that improve product reliability, usability and supportability.
- Lead special projects targeted at service delivery process improvement and cost reduction, applying Ralliant Business System (RBS) principles.
- Coach and mentor less experienced Service Program Specialists, and maintain service NPI outputs as controlled records in EDPM and SharePoint through product end of life.
Essential Competencies- Win as one team - we seek to understand diverse perspectives, build trust and collaborate across teams, and rally around shared goals to win together.
- Builds trust across product line, engineering, manufacturing, quality and materials, and rallies a service core team that reports elsewhere around a single release commitment.
- Works effectively across cultures and time zones with regional service teams in the Americas, EMEA, China, India and Japan, understanding regional constraints before setting a global plan.
- Solve problems - we tackle problems head-on with urgency and resilience, using data and customer insights to get to root cause and solve what matters most.
- Confronts readiness gaps early, convening gap meetings when scope or timing moves rather than letting a shortfall surface at the release gate.
- Applies Ralliant Business System (RBS) tools - root cause analysis, kaizen, and facts gathered at Gemba - to service data such as failure rates, repair and calibration cost and field escalations, treating causes rather than symptoms.
- Learn by doing - we actively experiment and pivot in real time, quickly learning from our experiences and growing through reflection, feedback, and shared learning.
- Adapts service approaches on live programs rather than waiting for perfect information, tailoring standard work and templates where a program warrants it.
- Runs honest post-release reviews and feeds what the depots and the field actually experience back into the next program.
- Unlock growth - we listen intently, stay curious and challenge our assumptions to spark bold ideas that generate value and deliver lasting impact for our customers.
- Challenges assumptions about how a product should be serviced, including the repair versus replacement and regional capability decisions that carry the most long-term cost.
- Looks for service capability that creates customer value and commercial opportunity, not only capability that satisfies a launch checklist.
- Own our future - we dream big, prioritize through focus and foresight, and hold ourselves accountable to create the future we want.
- Prioritises across a full program portfolio with focus and foresight, and owns the outcome - service readiness declared within one month of release point - rather than the activity.
- Holds the line on readiness, including recommending against release when the organization is not prepared to support the product.
Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Supply Chain or a related technical field - or equivalent professional qualification and experience.
- 5+ years of related professional experience, including substantial time in service, after-sales support, field service or service operations for technical B2B products, and direct ownership of cross-functional programs delivered to fixed dates. Candidates with 5+ years and unusually strong NPI program ownership will be considered.
- Direct experience of a stage-gate or phase-gate new product development process, accountable for deliverables at a gate.
- Demonstrated ability to influence and lead across matrixed organizations, building trust and alignment across engineering, manufacturing, quality, materials and regional service teams, and to resolve conflict between functions with competing priorities.
- Technical literacy sufficient to hold a serviceability conversation with design and test engineers: able to read schematics, block diagrams and product specifications, and to reason about how a design choice will play out in a repair depot or calibration lab. Test and measurement, electronic instrumentation, or a calibration or metrology background is a strong advantage.
- Hands-on ERP experience establishing items, parts, pricing, bills of material or forecasts - Oracle preferred, SAP or equivalent acceptable. Strong Excel, including analysis of service data to support a recommendation; Power BI or comparable BI tooling an advantage.
- Strong experience driving operational excellence using kaizen, root-cause analysis and continuous improvement tools.
- Proven ability to work across cultures and time zones with colleagues in the Americas, EMEA, China, India and Japan, and to run review meetings that produce decisions rather than status.
- Able to absorb a large body of established process and policy quickly, and to operate independently once holding it.
- Willingness and ability to coach and mentor less experienced colleagues.
- Business-fluent English, written and verbal.
Preferred- Professional program management certification (PMP, PRINCE2, IPMA or Scrum); Ralliant supports certification for this role.
- Experience with accredited calibration environments and traceability requirements (A2LA, DAkkS, NABL or equivalent).
- Experience across multiple program types - hardware, software, OEM and acquisitions - and supporting more than one product line simultaneously.
- Familiarity with high-voltage and lithium battery safety practice.
