Staff Technical Program Manager, Aurora
Aurora Services
$181-290k
+ Annual bonus & Equity
Senior and Expert level
San Francisco Bay Area
Self-driving technology company
Job no longer available
Self-driving technology company
1001+ employees
B2BArtificial IntelligenceEnterpriseCarsTransportMobility
Job no longer available
$181-290k
+ Annual bonus & Equity
Senior and Expert level
San Francisco Bay Area
1001+ employees
B2BArtificial IntelligenceEnterpriseCarsTransportMobility
Company mission
To deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly.
Role
Who you are
- Solid technical aptitude and an ability to understand technical designs, software development lifecycle, challenges and risks
- Ability to work closely with engineers
- Minimum of 7 years experience as a Technical Program Manager or Engineering Manager in an SaaS, Cloud Services, or software development environment with experience driving deeply technical initiatives
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Math, Data Science, Information Systems or a related area, or the equivalent in experience with evidence of exceptional ability preferred
- Comfortable with ambiguity, and ability to context switch between major focus areas
- Strong cross-functional leadership skills, ability to influence without authority, excellent written and verbal communication skills, and ability to simplify complex problems
- Experience working closely with Product Management and helping define roadmaps and provide valuable feedback in the Product development process
- Ability to break complex projects down to manageable milestones and deliver them in a successful and timely manner
- Direct, measurable impact through the design, development and launch of groundbreaking products or delivery of significant and novel technology programs
- 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
- Strong experience in project management; practical familiarity with both Agile and Waterfall methodologies and ability to apply them where best suited
- Passion for shipping new to market products and the ability to dynamically adapt to new responsibilities needed to do so
What the job involves
- We’re searching for a Technical Program Manager to join the Aurora Services Platform team
- This team is responsible for all aspects of commercializing our Aurora Driver into public roads and carrier operations
- It will do this by communicating key information to their existing fleet and transportation management systems and by providing a set of tools to support scheduling, dispatch, routing, monitoring, and control at both the fleet and vehicle level
- Build operations technology and support services to enable customers to integrate the Aurora Driver into existing carrier logistics operations
- Build technology that optimizes operations of autonomous vehicles and support resources for 24/7/365 operation
- Partner deeply with Aurora Services Product Management, Aurora Services Engineering, Autonomy Engineering, Safety, Security and Operations teams to execute on our roadmap for developing reliable and effective platform and tooling for our customers and operations partners to use for managing our fleet. Specifically, the Technical Program Manager is expected to:
- Manage and be accountable for complex projects at a large scale, spanning functional teams and cross-functional initiatives
- Work with Engineering to track progress against requirements
- Work with Operations to track progress against success metrics
- Establish appropriate meeting series to communicate and act upon known issues, feature requests, and bugs
- Report on status, risks, and blockers and request cross-functional or leadership support where needed
- Assess team resource capacity and ensure appropriate loading and prioritization of work
- Consolidate input from multiple internal engineering teams, external partners, safety, legal and business teams to create cohesive program work plans
- Work across teams to help execute towards company milestones and demos
- Have a deep technical understanding of how the Aurora Services platform software works including cloud infrastructure, integrations with Aurora Driver and the vehicle, network coverage, latency, uptime, and quality, and platform UI/UX. Additionally, have an understanding of our Autonomy systems
- Understand technical implementation at the architectural level and propose alternatives when necessary, ask questions that clarify priorities and push the team to be effective
- Proactively remove obstacles to drive momentum and progress, identify gaps in communication or schedule, provide support to teams balancing competing priorities and drive results
- Create weekly reports and run programmatic meetings with appropriate level of detail for the respective audience. Proactively schedule meetings or discussions with cross-functional partners to address roadblocks
Our take
In spite of emerging from stealth mode in 2018, Aurora is making strong waves in the flurry of startups racing to develop fully autonomous vehicles. Aurora’s hardware and software developments have focused historically on self-driving trucks, which it expects to launch commercially in 2024.
It recently named Ossa Fisher as its new President, who will focus on scaling operations ahead of this commercial launch. Passenger cars and associated services are expected to roll out following this launch. However, the self-driving industry is riddled with unmet deadlines, cash shortfalls, and tough technological challenges.
To remain competitive with deep-pocket industry giants like Tesla and Google’s Waymo, the company continues to land substantial backing from the likes of Sequoia Capital, accelerating its post-IPO growth. The pedigree of its founders may well continue to win over investor confidence. It boasts leading prior positions in the self-driving divisions of Tesla, Uber, and Google.
Steph
Company Specialist
Insights
Top investors
Company
Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)
Dec 2020
$400m
GROWTH EQUITY VC
Feb 2019
$600m
SERIES B
Total funding: $1.1bn
Company benefits
- Choice of regional HMO options, PPO options, and high deductible plans, with the option to contribute to a health savings account (HSA). If you choose a high deductible health plan, Aurora will make employer contributions to your HSA
- Comprehensive dental coverage and access to a nationwide provider network
- Coverage for vision exams, glasses, contacts, discounts for LASIK, and other vision services through a nationwide provider network
- In-office lunches, snacks, and drinks available
- GymPass offers on-demand virtual classes (fitness, yoga, strength, and more), well-being coaching, and budget management. Discount on nationwide gym memberships
- Headspace offers access to guided sessions that focus on everything from stress to relationships, anxiety, and sleep
- SoFi. Refinance your home, student and personal loans
- Fetch offers discounts on pet insurance
- PerkSpot offers discounts on vacations, car rentals, and entertainment
- Access support services to help with your family planning journey including fertility care, adoption, and surrogacy. Reimbursement of $20,000 lifetime benefit
- Save for your future with Aurora’s 401(k) Plan. Pre-tax and Roth contribution options are available
- 24/7 access to online resources and unlimited phone consultations for stress, grief counseling, depression, and relationship conflicts (personal and professional), and limited in-person sessions
- Set aside pre-tax money to pay for qualified transit and commuter benefits
- Cigna travel accident insurance provided for business travel
- LinkedIn Learning is an e-learning resource to support professional development. Aurora Academy is an internal learning and development program designed to up-level our team by teaching skills that are essential to Aurora’s mission
- Modern Health is a mental wellness benefit that includes 14 sessions with a certified coach and 12 sessions with a therapist, if needed. Unlimited access to live provider- lead community circles, digital mediation, and more
- Flexible/reasonable vacation for salaried employees; accrual of 20 vacation days per year for non-exempt employees, 11 paid company holidays per year, and reasonable sick time to stay home, rest, and get better
- Network of employee-led groups that represent Aurorans, organized by cultural identity or collaborative purpose
- Aurora provides all new parents and caregivers 18 weeks of coordinated pay and time off for the birth or placement of a child. Up to 4 weeks of paid medical leave for your own personal illness or injury, or to care for a sick family member
- Set aside pre-tax money to pay for healthcare and dependent daycare expenses using FSA plans
- Company-paid premiums for life insurance (2x salary up to $500,000). Voluntary life & AD&D coverage for you and your dependents is available. Short-term disability benefits are 60% weekly benefit up to a max of $2,500 after a short waiting period. Long-term disability benefits are 60% of monthly salary to $10,000 after a waiting period. Option to enroll in voluntary life/AD&D insurance
- 24/7 access to Unum’s worldwide emergency travel assistance services for personal travel
Company values
- Operate with integrity - We do the right thing. We are thoughtful and use good judgment. We always keep the best interest of our people and our mission at the forefront of how we work
- Focus for impact - We create space to solve problems that matter. We don’t have time for distractions, so we work with urgency and focus on the work that will accelerate our progress towards our mission and strengthen our company
- No jerks - We work from the assumption that people are good, fair, and honest and that the intention behind their actions is positive. We are intentional in how we communicate and interact, and we hold each other accountable
- Celebrate our diversity - Inviting and including diverse perspectives and experiences make us stronger as a team and help us better represent the world we live in. We are building a technology and a company to serve all people and all communities
- Rise to the occasion - We’re charting a path that is challenging, yet filled with an incredible opportunity to impact generations to come. This is not an easy task — it takes resilience, hard work and dedication. Embracing the hard stuff energizes and inspires us to continue. We rally to deliver on our commitments to our partners and each other
- Win together - We are a stronger team when we elevate our unique strengths in service of our common goals. We thrive on open and honest communication to create an environment of mutual accountability, understanding, achievement, and respect
Company HQ
Mountain View, CA
Articles
Leadership
Chris Urmson
(CEO)They have a PhD in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon, and worked as a robotics research scientist at SAIC. They were CTO of Self-Driving Cars at Google.
Sterling Anderson
(CPO)They received a PhD in Robotics from MIT before co-founding Gimlet Systems. They were an Engagement Manager at McKinsey and Director of Autopilot Programs at Tesla.
Drew Bagnell
(Chief Scientist)They hold a Robotics PhD from Carnegie Mellon, where they are also an Associate Professor. They were Autonomy Architect and Perception Lead at Uber Advanced Technology Center. Held the position of CTO at Aurora for over 3 years.
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