Sr. Program Manager, Change Governance

Expected compensation: 100.00 USD Per Hour

HireArt is helping an on-demand, autonomous ride-hailing company find a Sr. Program Manager, Change Governance to own the end-to-end orchestration of product changes from preliminary engineering approval through cross-functional review and production-line implementation.

In this role, you’ll sit at the center of a multidisciplinary change management process, ensuring product changes are properly evaluated, approved, documented, and implemented with full governance and traceability. You’ll coordinate across engineering, manufacturing, quality, purchasing, supply chain, logistics, and production teams to drive changes through each stage while proactively identifying dependencies, risks, and blockers.

The ideal candidate is an experienced program manager with a strong background in hardware product development and automotive manufacturing. You understand how engineering changes affect BOMs, suppliers, validation, manufacturing, and production readiness, and can drive complex, cross-functional programs without direct authority. You’re highly organized and analytical, with the technical fluency and communication skills to navigate ambiguity, influence senior stakeholders, and ensure changes move from approval to implementation successfully.

As a Sr. Program Manager, Change Governance, You'll

• Own product changes from preliminary engineering approval through production-line implementation, maintaining accountability for status, approvals, decisions, and execution.
• Manage the change governance framework, including required documentation, approvals, and gate criteria, while driving requests through each stage and escalating risks, blockers, or delays.
• Coordinate cross-functional reviews across engineering, manufacturing, quality, purchasing, supply chain, logistics, and other stakeholders, including managing multi-tier supplier dependencies and downstream impacts.
• Facilitate change review board meetings and maintain accurate, audit-ready records within applicable change management, ERP, and PLM systems.
• Partner with production teams across sites to confirm implementation readiness, including timing, resourcing, build sequencing, documentation, and training needs.
• Build and maintain leadership reporting on change pipeline health, reconciling data across Excel and Google Sheets sources and automating recurring data retrieval and reporting using Python, Apps Script, VBA, or similar tools.
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve the efficiency, scalability, and effectiveness of the change governance process.

Requirements

• A bachelor's degree in mechanical, electrical, industrial, or manufacturing engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline
• 8+ years of program management experience with a core background in physical or hardware product development, including BOM management, component qualification, hardware validation cycles, manufacturing, and physical supply chains
• Direct experience navigating multi-tier automotive supply chains, including OEM, Tier 1, and Tier 2/3 dependencies
• Demonstrated experience owning complex cross-functional programs spanning engineering, purchasing, supply chain, and manufacturing without direct authority
• Hands-on experience with automotive program lifecycles and gate-driven development processes, including APQP, PPAP, and SOP milestones, with an understanding of the cost and schedule implications of late-stage changes
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and Google Sheets, including pivot tables, complex formulas, and data reconciliation across multiple sources, with the ability to write scripts to automate data retrieval and reporting
• Experience with at least one change management, PLM, or ERP platform, such as SAP, Windchill, or a similar system
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex, cross-functional program status for senior stakeholders and drive decisions under ambiguity
• Ability to travel regularly between Foster City, Hayward, and Kato, with occasional out-of-station travel

Preferred Qualifications

• An advanced degree (M.S. or MBA) in engineering or a related technical field
• ISO 9001 or IATF 16949 certification
• Experience with PLM or CAD tools
• Supplier nomination and re-sourcing experience, including partnering with purchasing on sourcing decisions, dual-sourcing strategies, and supplier development
• Manufacturing launch experience, including line readiness, build sequencing, launch risk management, and run-at-rate or capacity verification

Benefits

• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Employer (HireArt) subsidized healthcare benefits (eligibility begins on the first of the month following 60 days of service)
• Flexible Spending Account for healthcare-related costs
• HireArt covers all costs for short- and long-term disability and life insurance
• 401k package

Commitment: *This is a full-time, ongoing contract position staffed via HireArt. It will be onsite and available to candidates who are local to the Foster City, CA area.

HireArt values diversity and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. Unfortunately, we are not able to sponsor visas or employ corp-to-corp.*