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Zoox is seeking a Senior Staff Technical Program Manager to lead the Body, Closures & Chassis program for an autonomous vehicle platform. This role bridges high-level program milestones with deep technical execution, requiring oversight of vehicle systems spanning body-in-white structures, doors and mechanisms, glazing, suspension, subframes, tires, wheels, and by-wire systems.
Key responsibilities include serving as program and technical lead across Body, Closures, and Chassis domains, collaborating with internal engineering teams and external supplier design partners to ensure cohesive execution. You will oversee bill-of-materials (BOM) integrity, approve critical build processes, and drive quality and cost engineering initiatives throughout the supply chain. The role demands developing comprehensive program schedules, coordinating with suppliers, quality, procurement, service, manufacturing, and engineering teams to resolve complex issues and ensure on-time delivery.
You will identify and communicate program progress, engineering challenges, and technical risks while proactively developing strategic mitigation plans. Leadership of root-cause analysis for critical build and design issues impacting vehicle performance, quality, and production readiness is essential. The position requires influencing system designs to optimize performance, cost, quality, manufacturability, and serviceability through design reviews, DFMEAs, validation programs, and manufacturing mock-builds.
Required qualifications include a B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or related discipline, plus 12+ years of deep automotive engineering experience focused on Body, Closures, or Chassis design and project management. Proficiency with CATIA V5/V6, PLM/BOM management, FMEA/FTA, structured root-cause analysis methodologies (8D, Fishbone), and project management tools (JIRA, Confluence, Polarion, Gantt charts, ERP, PLM, ALM) is required. Experience designing for crash, NVH, reliability, strength, and corrosion attributes, managing complex cross-functional projects with external suppliers and contract manufacturers, and end-to-end New Product Introduction (NPI) is essential. Strong collaboration and communication skills across all organizational levels and willingness to travel globally are required. Bonus qualifications include familiarity with hardware/firmware product development and vehicle CAN/Firmware.
