Senior Technical Program Manager, ECU Reliability & Durability Validation

About the role

The Senior Technical Program Manager will oversee and coordinate reliability and durability validation programs for Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies' Electronic Control Unit (ECU) product line. This role involves managing test schedules, coordinating with internal and external test facilities, and driving the execution of complex, multi-team test programs.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain reliability and durability validation program schedules; align test milestones with ECU and vehicle-level program gates across all xVT maturity phases.
• Coordinate test execution across RVT’s internal labs in Northern and Southern California and accredited third-party test facilities; manage capacity, sample allocation, and sequencing.
• Develop and maintain the R&D validation test plan (DVP&R) for assigned ECU programs, ensuring coverage of thermal cycling, vibration, shock, humidity, corrosion, and accelerated life testing.
• Identify, escalate, and actively drive mitigation of program risks related to test schedule, lab availability, sample readiness, and failure closure.
• Support test readiness reviews with ECU TPMs, confirming that R&D test infrastructure, samples, and procedures are in place ahead of each program gate.
• Author and maintain test coordination artifacts: program trackers, status reports, risk registers, and gate review packages for internal and partner audiences.
• Drive continuous improvement of R&D test planning processes, coordination workflows, and reporting practices across the ECU validation team.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 4+ years of experience in technical program management, test engineering, or validation coordination in the automotive, aerospace, or consumer electronics industry.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related technical field.
• Hands-on familiarity with ECU / PCBA reliability and durability test methods: thermal cycling, vibration (random & sine), mechanical shock, humidity, corrosion, and HALT.
• Experience developing and maintaining DVP&R documents and reliability test plans aligned to automotive standards (ISO 16750, AEC-Q, IEC 60068, or OEM-specific test specs).
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, multi-workstream validation programs—tracking milestones, samples, lab capacity, and cross-team dependencies simultaneously.
• Experience coordinating with both internal test labs and accredited third-party test facilities, including scheduling, sample management, and report review.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to produce clear status reports, risk registers, and gate review packages for engineering and program leadership.
• Experience with Atlassian-based tools including Jira and Confluence for program tracking, documentation, and cross-team coordination.