Chief of Customer Programs

HARMAN’s engineers and designers are creative, purposeful and agile. As part of this team, you’ll combine your technical expertise with innovative ideas to help drive cutting-edge solutions in the car, enterprise and connected ecosystem. Every day, you will push the boundaries of creative design, and HARMAN is committed to providing you with the opportunities, innovative technologies and resources to build a successful career.

A Career at HARMAN

As a technology leader that is rapidly on the move, HARMAN is filled with people who are focused on making life better. Innovation, inclusivity and teamwork are a part of our DNA. When you add that to the challenges we take on and solve together, you’ll discover that at HARMAN you can grow, make a difference and be proud of the work you do everyday.

About the Role

Chief of Customer Programs is a stakeholder with primary business and technical responsibility for the Solution developed by the Connectivity team. The Chief of Customer Programs supports and is acting on behalf of the VP Connectivity Programs to manage all activities focused on delivering the project artifacts. The role owner will indirectly manage all the key functions in the Customer Group team members towards making successful delivery of the projects for a subset of running Connectivity projects.

Chief of Customer Programs will be the first escalation instance for internal and external program and business related issues.

What You Will Do

• Supervise on behalf of VP Connectivity Programs cross-geographic PM teams who are the key delivery responsible for assigned telematic projects.
• Manage forecast and planning for assigned connectivity projects.
• Enable project teams to offer the solution without major engineering effort and development.
• Creation of optimal delivery process and system
• Drive delivery of the entire system including hardware and software to meet customer requirements
• Budget forecasting and management for assigned telematics programs
• Solution development for the new projects
• Responsible for any sub suppliers who deliver the product leveraging the Customer Project Management
• Identify and establish cost down measures and optimization potential for products and engineering
• Interact closely under constant synchronization with Harman’s teams and in particular with SBU global teams in other geographies including Romania and Japan development center.
• Leads by example, motivates and manages the teams working on different projects by objectives
• Defines, drives and monitors activities within the organization to achieve maximum synergies and efficiency
• Contributes to the formation of strategy and plans at department level
• Has the ability to innovate (as necessary) towards using new processes and methods to improve efficiency or to react to changing project timing/requirements.
• Acts within a multicultural environment and is point of contact for all stakeholders inside and outside of the SBU Connectivity organization
• Maintain a process-oriented culture within the team. Identify, track & demonstrate continuous improvement across KPIs.

What You Need

• Masters in Engineering (Computer Science, information systems or equivalent experience)
• Effective Experience in managing multinational teams and domains
• Program Delivery Expertise
• Industry expertise in Connectivity domain
• Good communication and coordination skills while working in multi-site environment
• Strong networking capabilities across Business Units in a multinational environment
• Good Leadership Skills
• Ability and affinity to understand technical concepts in embedded system environment
• Effectively supervising, leading, and delegating tasks and authority
• Financial acumen to manage budgeting and forecasting
• Efficiently meeting deadlines, schedules, and target dates
• Excellent English communication skills both written and verbal

What is Nice to Have

• Software Expertise
• PMP
• Experience with global automotive OEMs
• Distinct diplomatic and soft skills

What Makes You Eligible

• Be willing to travel up to 30%, domestic only OR domestic and international travel
• Successfully complete a background investigation/Aptitude Test as a condition of employment.

What We Offer

• We offer an authentic diverse, equal, and inclusive work environment that fosters and encourages professional and personal development in a truly global organization.
• You will work on products and services that touch people’s lives and will change the industrial standards, being a part of the transformations in our industry.
• Our work environments are fast paced, challenging, empowering, collaborative, flexible and exciting.
• We offer our own HARMAN University with regular updates on the new technologies and trends by utilizing various sessions organized by Self Learning and Development Trainings to help grow and advance talent.
• We offer competitive compensation/benefit programs and recognition programs.

HARMAN is proud to be an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.