Introduction: A Career at HARMAN Automotive
We’re a global, multi-disciplinary team that’s putting the innovative power of technology to work and transforming tomorrow. At HARMAN Automotive, we give you the keys to fast-track your career.
· Engineer audio systems and integrated technology platforms that augment the driving experience
· Combine ingenuity, in-depth research, and a spirit of collaboration with design and engineering excellence
· Advance in-vehicle infotainment, safety, efficiency, and enjoyment
About the Role
The Program Manager (PM) will own the execution of our products for a customer base(s). In this role, the TPM will manage the customer interface in Japan and will be the escalation path for the customer. PM will participate in program development from inception developing new business opportunities with the sales team to active program development to post-launch maintenance. With a global cross-functional team, PM will be responsible for planning, managing, and completing the development of our products. The team consists of multidisciplinary groups in US, Mexico, India, China, and in Japan. This position will drive world-class system development to meet customer deliverables and prototype deliveries while driving the team to adhere to high quality processes / standards that ensure zero customer defects.
What You Will Do
- Manage customer interface and communication strategy with Japan OEMs in Japan. Ensure assignments from Japan OEMs are well understood, distributed to core teams, and reasonable for Harman success.
- Build and manage customer relationships in Japan and other locations as needed.
- Work with internal teams to manage issues
- Support sales team by orchestrating the creation of business cases and technical concept presentations to justify and promote our proposals internally and externally
- Represent product engineering team in new business opportunities by interfacing with core team/customer/ sales. Drive business case inputs and product engineering engagement on new technologies.
- Serve as an internal expert on Japan OEM development processes
- Analyze and negotiate program schedules with internal and external stakeholders.
- Ensure product costing targets are achieved for each product. Maintain records of BOM costs compared to targets; escalate within Harman when targets are not achieved. Ensure design actions are implemented to recover any cost variance in BOM cost target.
- Ensure adherence to engineering best practices / processes and facilitate creation of new best practices as appropriate
- Own and maintain the resource budget and cost of external resources for assigned set of programs. Ensure engineering resources are allocated and qualified to meet the customer requirements. This includes resources in US, Mexico, EU, China, India, and Japan.
- Ensure engineering teams have equipment and facilities needed to meet customer requirements.
- Back up colleagues in Japan Office and program management team as appropriate.
- Oversee decisions regarding product content, budget and timing to ensure the product is on-time, on-schedule, on-quality, and meets all customer acceptance criteria (Performance and Features).
- Manage product risk proactively, identify engineering risks and coordinate meetings with the cross-functional team to address risks before they become issues.
- Evaluate and track program metrics to measure program success. Update processes where needed to address customer-specific requirements. Ensure all supporting departments are meeting program targets and Harman processes.
- Ensure customer requirements are communicated throughout Harman engineering teams. Ensure customer requirements are met with the product designed. Manage customer interface teams to clarify requirements when needed
What You Need to Be Successful
- Bachelors in Engineering
- 5+ years related technical experience
- 5+ years experience in technical program management or customer resident engineering
- Native Japanese language
- Able to communicate in English proficiently (spoken and written)
- Experience as Japanese carmakers or experience as a supplier to Japanese carmakers
- Must have general knowledge of automotive engineering.
- Must be able to articulate vision and influence decision making outcomes with internal stakeholders, external suppliers, and the customer.
- Must have a "whatever-it-takes" attitude using diplomatic leadership skills within a collaborative teamwork environment to accomplish the necessary results.
- Proven and effective communication, analytical, judgment, initiative and execution skills.
- Willingness to help your colleagues
- Team player, don’t be sticking with low priority details, ability to accept different approaches, always being focused to complete priority task items.
What Makes You Eligible
- Be willing to travel up to 25%, domestic and international travel.
- Be willing to work in an office, client-site, home office
- This position requires the use of a HARMAN or customer-owned vehicle. As such, any offer of employment will be contingent upon having a clean driving record, which will be evaluated and determined in HARMAN’s sole discretion, no more than 4 active points for moving violations (issued by any motor vehicle agency), and no references to operating a vehicle under the influence of controlled substances within the last 10 years.
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.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering
- 5+ years of related technical experience
- 5+ years of experience in technical program management or customer resident engineering
- Native Japanese language proficiency
- Proficient spoken and written English communication skills
- Experience working for Japanese carmakers or as a supplier to Japanese carmakers
- General knowledge of automotive engineering
- Ability to articulate vision and influence internal stakeholders, external suppliers, and customers
- Diplomatic leadership skills in a collaborative teamwork environment
- Effective communication, analytical, judgment, initiative, and execution skills
- Willingness to help colleagues and work as part of a team
- Willingness to travel up to 25% domestically and internationally
- Willingness to work in an office, at client sites, and from a home office
- Clean driving record with no more than four active moving-violation points and no controlled-substance-related DUI references within the last 10 years
Harman Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Harman and has not been reviewed or approved by Harman.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as comprehensive, often including medical, dental, and vision plans, with HSAs/FSAs and disability or life insurance also referenced. Wellbeing support such as EAP access and onsite occupational health services is also part of the package in some regions.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Lifestyle-oriented benefits include employee product discounts and region-specific perks like free fruit deliveries, Cycle to Work schemes, and meal coupons or allowances. Flexible schedules and work-from-home options are also part of the overall offering where roles and projects allow.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is repeatedly characterized as solid or market-aligned for many roles, with salary payments described as consistent and on time. Compensation is also tied to performance in some accounts, reinforcing a perception of basic fairness for a portion of employees.
Harman Insights
What We Do
Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, HARMAN (harman.com) designs and engineers connected products and solutions for automakers, consumers, and enterprises worldwide, including connected car systems, audio and visual products, enterprise automation solutions; and services supporting the Internet of Things. With leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson® and Revel®, HARMAN is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform around the world. More than 50 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and connected car systems. Our software services power billions of mobile devices and systems that are connected, integrated and secure across all platforms, from work and home to car and mobile. HARMAN has a workforce of approximately 30,000 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. In March 2017, HARMAN became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. HARMAN is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer. Minorities, women, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. HARMAN offers a great work environment, challenging career opportunities, professional training and competitive compensation. Looking for a challenge where your experience is valued? Come see what you can achieve as a leader with HARMAN!
