Technical Project Manager - Embedded Software

About the Job

Position Title: Technical Project Manager - Embedded Software

Location: Ottawa, ON

Department: R&D

Status: Full-time, permanent

Salary Range: $105,000 to $130,000 CAD

We are looking for an experienced Technical Project Manager - Embedded Software to join our R&D team, reporting directly to the Electronics R&D Manager.

You will drive software execution across complex connected audio products incorporating embedded Linux, MCU firmware, networking, audio/DSP subsystems, applications, third-party SDKs, and software developed jointly by internal teams and external technology partners.

You will work closely with software developers, architects, QA, product management, hardware teams, manufacturing, and external partners to translate product and technical requirements into executable software plans and drive them through development, integration, validation, certification, and production release.

You do not need to write the software yourself, but you must be technically fluent enough to understand dependencies, challenge assumptions and estimates, recognize risks, and drive issues across subsystem and organizational boundaries.

Responsibilities / Accountability:

Software Planning & Execution:

• Develop and maintain software project plans, milestones, dependencies, resource requirements, and delivery schedules.
• Translate product and technical requirements into actionable software work, including epics/stories, technical tasks, defects, integration activities, and release milestones.
• Coordinate execution across embedded Linux, MCU firmware, networking, audio/DSP, applications, QA, and external software partners.
• Maintain a realistic view of critical-path activities, resource constraints, technical dependencies, and schedule confidence.
• Identify slipping or blocked work early and drive recovery plans before issues become program-level emergencies.
• Ensure unresolved technical issues, dependencies, and decisions have clear owners and follow-up.

External Software Partner Coordination:

• Act as the primary project-management interface for external software and technology partners.
• Coordinate development plans, deliverables, dependencies, integration activities, and release schedules between internal teams and external partners.
• Track vendor commitments, software drops, open defects, technical dependencies, and required internal inputs.
• Ensure externally developed software is incorporated into the same schedule, critical path, and release plan as internal development.
• Drive resolution of issues where ownership or responsibility spans internal teams and external partners.
• Ensure required internal resources are available when partners depend on us for investigation, integration, validation, or technical decisions.
• Escalate supplier, integration, or schedule risks when commitments no longer support product milestones.

Cross-Team Coordination:

• Coordinate software dependencies with system architecture, hardware development, QA, certification, manufacturing, and product management.
• Ensure dependencies between independently developed and versioned software and firmware components are understood and scheduled.
• Drive issues that cross team or subsystem boundaries until ownership and next actions are clear.
• Work with software leads and architects to understand technical scope, sequencing, estimates, and risks.
• Coordinate software milestones with overall product gates, prototype availability, factory builds, and launch schedules.

Release, Integration & Certification Readiness:

• Define and track software release milestones and required content.
• Maintain visibility of firmware/software compatibility and release matrices across independently versioned components.
• Coordinate readiness across development, technical integration, QA, certification, and production release.
• Track critical defects, integration issues, and release risks through closure or explicit acceptance.
• Track external platform and streaming certification activities and deadlines.
• Coordinate software packages and release requirements for prototype and production factory builds.
• Ensure release decisions are based on understood scope, technical status, validation results, and remaining risk.

The Software TPM owns what must be delivered, when, and with what dependencies resolved. Hands-on build infrastructure, Git integration, release tagging, and deep technical validation remain engineering responsibilities.

Requirements, Tracking & Communication:

• Facilitate definition and documentation of software requirements, technical scope, milestones, and acceptance criteria.
• Maintain Jira and related project information so priorities, ownership, dependencies, blockers, and status reflect engineering reality.
• Manage software scope changes and communicate their schedule/resource impact.
• Provide concise, evidence-based software status to engineering leadership and other stakeholders.
• Clearly distinguish committed dates from estimates, assumptions, risks, and unknowns.
• Surface resource conflicts and schedule impacts early enough for management to act.
• Maintain clear records of major project decisions, dependencies, and changes.

Knowledge and Experience:

• 5+ years of experience in technical project management, software development, systems engineering, or complex product development.
• Strong understanding of the software development lifecycle from requirements through development, integration, validation, defect resolution, certification, and release.
• Technical familiarity with embedded systems and the ability to follow discussions involving embedded Linux, firmware, software architecture, APIs/interfaces, builds, branches, logs, defects, and system integration.
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple interdependent technical workstreams.
• Strong critical-path, dependency, risk, resource, and schedule-management skills.
• Experience coordinating engineering work with external software or technology partners.
• Strong working knowledge of Jira or comparable engineering/project tracking systems.
• Ability to communicate effectively with developers, technical leads, QA, product managers, external partners, and senior management.
• Strong ownership, judgment, and ability to work with minimal supervision.

Highly Relevant Experience:

• Previous software development, systems engineering, or embedded engineering experience.
• Embedded Linux and/or embedded firmware products.
• Consumer electronics, connected devices, audio/video, automotive, telecom, or similar complex embedded systems.
• Products containing multiple processors and independently versioned firmware/software components.
• Third-party SDK or externally developed software integration.
• Audio, networking, streaming, or multimedia platforms.
• Software certification or externally imposed platform deadlines.
• Transition of embedded software from development through manufacturing and production release.
• PMP or similar project-management certification.

What Success Looks Like:

• Software priorities, dependencies, and milestones are clear.
• Technical blockers do not remain unresolved because they fall between teams or organizations.
• External partner commitments and dependencies are visible and actively managed.
• Software releases are planned across development, integration, QA, certification, and manufacturing rather than treated as isolated activities.
• Resource conflicts and schedule risks are escalated while there is still time to act.
• Management has a credible view of software status and forecast.
• Developers spend less time coordinating the project around themselves and more time doing engineering.
• Project status reflects engineering reality, including when that reality is uncomfortable.

Candidates who are interested in working in a dynamic environment that supports autonomy, creativity, and excellence are invited to apply in confidence.