Staff TPM - Sim & Test

As a Staff Technical Program Manager in the Sim & Test team at Cruise, your main responsibilities include managing project timelines, resources, and scope across diverse teams. You'll also play a key role in enhancing collaboration, executing comprehensive programs, and driving innovation in our simulation and testing environments for autonomous vehicles.

To qualify for the Staff Technical Program Manager - Sim & Test position at Cruise, candidates should possess a minimum of 5 years of technical program management experience, ideally in the AV simulation and testing domain. A Bachelor's, Master's, or Ph.D. in Computer Science or Engineering is also required, alongside strong leadership and communication skills.

At Cruise, we're deeply committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment in the workplace. For the Staff Technical Program Manager - Sim & Test position, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and identities, ensuring that individual contributions are respected and celebrated, allowing everyone to thrive.

Cruise offers an array of competitive benefits for the Staff Technical Program Manager - Sim & Test position, including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, paid time off, parental leave, a 401(k) matching program, and mental health support, among many others designed to support the whole employee.

In the Staff Technical Program Manager - Sim & Test role at Cruise, you will be engaged in projects aimed at refining our autonomous vehicles' development through innovative simulation techniques, ultimately enhancing the safety and reliability of our self-driving technology and revolutionizing urban transport.

When answering this question, highlight specific projects where you successfully led teams in the AV sector, particularly focusing on challenges faced and how your leadership contributed to overcoming these challenges while achieving project goals.

Use examples to illustrate your systematic approach to prioritization, such as employing agile methodologies or advanced planning frameworks, which can optimize project timelines and ensure resources are allocated effectively across various teams.

Discuss specific tools or strategies you've implemented to enhance communication and collaboration among teams. Emphasize your ability to bridge gaps between technical, product, and execution divisions to ensure projects move forward seamlessly.

It's beneficial to articulate how you define project boundaries initially, and then detail how you monitor and control scope throughout the project lifecycle while maintaining stakeholder engagement to address changes effectively.

Highlight your proactive practices, such as implementing feedback loops, promoting team retrospectives, or lead initiatives that facilitate learning from past projects, thus enhancing overall engineering performance.

Discuss your familiarity with various project management tools like JIRA, Trello, or Asana, and explain how you utilize these tools to visualize progress, manage timelines, and encourage team accountability.

Choose a specific project that illustrates your problem-solving skills, mentioning the complexities you faced, your leadership approach, and the ultimate success of the project to showcase your technical program management prowess.

Reflect on the criticality of simulation in validating AV technologies by discussing how it enables safe, scalable testing in varied environments, helping to mitigate risks before real-world applications.

Highlight essential qualities such as strong leadership, excellent communication, technical acumen, and a passion for innovation in autonomous vehicles. Discuss how these traits contribute to project success and team morale.

Share methods you've employed to facilitate conflict resolution, such as fostering open communication channels, encouraging mutual respect, or utilizing mediation strategies to align differing perspectives toward common project goals.