Senior Program Manager

IMPACT and OPPORTUNITY

The Senior Program Manager is the primary contact with customers on programs and key position that is driving the evolution of Gentherm. You will have a significant role in growing our North American Business and its transformation towards an Agile organization. You will also collaborate closely with the company’s business leaders and the world’s largest Automotive OEMs and technology partners to launch new products to market, driving significant footprint and business growth for Gentherm!

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Establish and execute program timelines, milestones and program commitments made with the customer.
• Maintain EBITDA/Gross Margin by program per negotiated business award.
• Responsible for Project P&L
• Follow up to ensure costing receives necessary data to develop quote.
• Ensure programs are within budget at program end and for the life of the program.
• Lead the Program Team to identify and achieve Continuous Improvement /cost reductions on programs.
• Ensure customer involvement where necessary to achieve Continuous Improvement objectives by program to increase overall program margin.
• Ensuring that a clear line of communication occurs between customer base, Gentherm and all key personnel are engaged throughout the program lifecycle.

OTHER CORE FUNCTIONS

• Manage/ensure the APQP processes are executed from Acquisition to Launch, including ramp up material planning for start of production
• Develop a detailed program management plan, resource requirements and overall costs to launch the program with the Program Team and present status updates at executive program review meetings.
• Manage core team, customer relationship, and program open issues to ensure program milestones are achieved and information is maintained in PLM system
• Elevate red risk items to Top Management for immediate response and resolution on show stopper issues.
• Manage, capture and process engineering changes for the life of the program.
• Ensure that appropriate technical interface during the product development cycle is established and maintained with the customer including providing support during field failures or other failed components when necessary.
• Participate in program launches, customer audits or conferences at Gentherm and/or customer plants as necessary.
• Responsible to maintain relevant customer information and systems such as APQP status, program milestones and ECN updates in the PLM system

QUALIFICATIONS

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
•    Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering
•    Experience in managing systems with electronics components
•    5-7 years of automotive experience
•    Expert Program Management Knowledge
•    Experience managing programs with new technologies or complex systems.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
•    Design engineering experience
•    Experience in Thermal management, Pneumatic & Lumbar systems
•    Experience with automotive seat systems and/or interiors is a plus
•    MBA degree
•    Working knowledge of APQP and IATF 16949, ASPICE and ISO 26262 functional safety
•    Agile/lean experience in a product owner or scrum master role, organizations leveraging lean/agile methodologies and in-depth experience with specific agile methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban (nice to have)
•    Confluence/Jira knowledge (nice to have)

COMPETENCIES

•  Deliver Results
  • Understand the mission and output of your team; set SMART objectives and deliver
• Drive Change
  • Focus on agility and commitment to continuous improvement; Understand and act on internal and external drivers of change
• Build Capability
  • Foster a culture of learning and development; Support individual growth through continuous feedback to achieve personal and professional goals
• Cultivate Innovation
  • Openly embrace, create, implement and support new and innovative ideas, processes and technology that deliver business results

PHYSICAL DEMANDS/WORK ENVIRONMENT

All positions in our office require interaction with people and technology while either standing or sitting. In order to best service our customers, internal and external, all associates must be able to communicate face-to-face and on the phone with or without reasonable accommodation. Gentherm is committed to compliance with its obligations under all applicable state and federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. In keeping with this commitment, it attempts to reasonably accommodate applicants and employees in accordance with the requirements of the disability discrimination laws. It also invites individuals with disabilities to participate in a good faith, interactive process to identify reasonable accommodations that can be made without imposing an undue hardship.