What we are looking for

We're searching for a Technical Program Manager of sustainment activities on the Vehicle Programs team. The Vehicle Programs team is at the forefront of Aurora's mission of deploying self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly, and is responsible for delivering and supporting our vehicles for both internal and external customers. This role will be vital to supporting Aurora's commercial scaling phase, and will ensure that the vehicles we deploy continue to meet our customers needs.

In this role you will

• Fleet Hardware Health: Take ownership of the hardware health, reliability, and operational readiness across the active deployed fleet of vehicles throughout their post-deployment lifecycle.
• Field Quality & Performance KPIs: Define, establish, and continuously monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) associated with field quality performance, component failure rates, and fleet uptime.
• Issue Escalation & Signals: Provide clear technical signals on hardware and embedded firmware issues observed in the fleet that require engineering investigation or remediation. Maintain, prioritize, and drive the burndown of the top issue list with engineering teams.
• Service part coordination: Establish and optimize robust processes for service parts provisioning, buffer stocking, and supply replenishment in coordination with Supply Chain and Operations teams.
• RMA & Quality Processes: Fortify Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) workflows, failure analysis (FA) procedures, and feedback loops in close collaboration with Quality and Manufacturing teams.
• Aftersales & Lifecycle Support: Support comprehensive aftersales activities from a vehicle hardware perspective, including field service documentation, development of service and diagnostics tooling, and technical support escalation
• Risk & Cross-Functional Alignment: Identify, catalog, and report on risks to fleet sustainment.
• Proactively remove roadblocks, align priorities across cross-functional partners, and provide clear programmatic status reporting for leadership.

Required qualifications

• Based near an Aurora office, preferably Pittsburgh, PA or Dallas, TX.
• Ability to travel, up to 25%
• Experience in program management and operations of highly technical initiatives
• Ability to break complex projects down to manageable milestones and deliver them in a successful and timely manner
• Strong ability to communicate (verbal and written) succinctly and effectively to various global audiences at all levels, from line engineers to partners to C-level executives
• Master collaborator -- unflappable with impeccable attention to detail and organization, ability to influence, motivate, and generate goodwill with teammates while juggling multiple projects at once and not letting the ball drop
• Experience building project plans and roadmaps with clear dependency management
• Demonstrated direct impact through the design, development, and launch of exceptional products and programs
• Solid technical aptitude and an ability to understand technical designs, challenges and risks; ability to work closely with engineers
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience

Desirable qualifications

• Experience in scaled deployments in the automotive or aerospace industries.
• Familiarity with autonomous vehicle systems.
• Experience using AI tools within a business setting to solve problems and improve productivity.
• Hands-on experience using project management tools to execute and manage projects

For roles based in Pittsburgh, PA and Dallas, TX: The salary range for this position is $112,000 - $180,000 per year.

Aurora's pay ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, the successful candidate's starting base pay will be determined based on factors including job-related skills, experience, qualifications, relevant education or training, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future. The successful candidate will also be eligible for an annual bonus, equity compensation, and benefits.

Working at Aurora

At Aurora, we bring together extraordinarily talented and experienced people united by the strength of our values. We operate with integrity, set outrageous goals, and build a culture where we win together - all without any jerks.

We believe in-person work increases collaboration, empathy and our ability to lead effectively. As a result, we operate in a hybrid work environment where Aurorans are in office at least 3 days per week.

Our Careers page provides insight into what it is like to work at Aurora, and you can find all the latest updates in our Newsroom.

Our commitment to safety

At the core of everything we do is our commitment to safety. Building best-in-class self-driving technology will take time, and we believe that each employee at Aurora has a role in contributing to safety, every step of the way. Aurora expects commitment to our safety policies from every employee, and seeks candidates who take an active responsibility, can contribute to building an atmosphere of trust, and invest in the organization's long-term success by prioritizing working safely, no matter what.