At AutoZone, we are on a journey to transform our Search Platform into a highly intelligent, scalable, and customer-centric discovery engine. As a Technical Program Manager (TPM) on the Search Platform team, you will lead the end-to-end execution of complex, cross-functional initiatives that power search, relevance, ranking, and AI-driven discovery experiences across our digital ecosystem.
You will partner closely with Engineering, Product, Data Science, and Infrastructure teams to deliver high-impact search capabilities that improve customer engagement, conversion, and overall experience. This role requires a strong blend of technical depth, program leadership, and business alignment to translate strategic goals into scalable, production-ready solutions.
A successful candidate will bring experience managing large-scale distributed systems, a solid understanding of modern search and AI-driven architectures, and a proven ability to drive execution, influence stakeholders, and deliver measurable outcomes in a fast-paced environment.
Program Leadership
• Lead end-to-end execution of search platform initiatives from concept through production
• Drive alignment across Product, Engineering, Data Science, and Infrastructure teams
• Manage multiple concurrent programs with clear prioritization, dependencies, and trade-offs
• Establish and track program KPIs (e.g., latency, relevance, conversion, search success rate)
Search & AI Strategy Execution
• Partner with leadership to execute the search roadmap across keyword, semantic, and AI-powered search
• Drive adoption of modern capabilities such as vector search, embeddings, hybrid retrieval, and LLM-based ranking
• Translate business problems into scalable search and discovery solutions aligned with customer and revenue goals
Technical Delivery
• Work closely with engineering teams on indexing pipelines, data ingestion, query processing, and ranking systems
• Ensure solutions meet enterprise standards for scalability, resiliency, performance, and cost efficiency
• Align architecture and design decisions with enterprise and platform standards
Data-Driven Optimization
• Define, monitor, and improve key search metrics (e.g., search success rate, zero-result rate, CTR, latency)
• Lead experimentation frameworks including A/B testing and relevance tuning
• Use data insights to prioritize enhancements and quantify business impact
Stakeholder Management
• Build strong, trusted relationships with business, product, and technology leaders
• Communicate program status, risks, and outcomes clearly to senior leadership
• Act as the bridge between technical teams and business stakeholders, enabling informed decision-making
Operational Excellence
• Establish scalable program governance, playbooks, and delivery frameworks
• Identify risks, dependencies, and bottlenecks early; drive mitigation and resolution
• Champion Agile, SDLC, and DevOps best practices across teams
• Coordinate across internal teams and external vendors/partners as needed
Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field required; Master’s degree preferred
• Minimum of 10 – 15 years of total experience in technology, with at least 5 – 7 years in Technical Program Management or leading large-scale, cross-functional initiatives
• Proven experience delivering programs for distributed systems, preferably in Search, Recommendations, or Data Platforms
• Strong understanding of search systems, including indexing, query processing, and ranking; experience with platforms such as Elasticsearch, Apache Solr, or similar technologies is highly desirable
• Experience with microservices, APIs, and cloud-native architectures (AWS, Azure, or GCP); familiarity with MACH principles is a plus
• Experience working with Data Science / ML teams, including experimentation (A/B testing), model lifecycle, and data-driven optimization
• Strong experience in Agile methodologies (Scrum / Kanban / SAFe) and program governance frameworks
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, problem-solving, and analytical skills; ability to influence without direct authority
• Experience managing program financials, resource planning, and vendor/partner relationships is a plus
• Strong ownership mindset, high sense of urgency, and ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, fast-paced environments
• Exposure to AI/ML-driven search, semantic search, vector databases, and LLM-based retrieval systems is highly desirable
About Us
- Competitive pay
- Unrivaled company culture
- Medical, dental and vision plans
- Exclusive discounts and perks, including an AutoZone in-store discount
- 401(k) with company match and Stock Purchase Plan
- AutoZoners Living Well Program for free mental health support
- Opportunities for career growth
- Paid time off
- Life, and short- and long-term disability insurance options
- Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts with wellness rewards
- Tuition reimbursement
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related field
- 10-15 years total technology experience with at least 5-7 years in Technical Program Management or leading large-scale cross-functional initiatives
- Proven experience delivering programs for distributed systems
- Strong understanding of search systems (indexing, query processing, ranking)
- Experience with Elasticsearch, Apache Solr, or similar platforms
- Experience with microservices, APIs, and cloud-native architectures (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
- Experience working with Data Science/ML teams, including experimentation (A/B testing) and model lifecycle
- Strong experience in Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe) and program governance
- Excellent communication, stakeholder management, problem-solving, and analytical skills
- Experience managing program financials, resource planning, and vendor/partner relationships
- Exposure to AI/ML-driven search, semantic search, vector databases, embeddings, and LLM-based retrieval/ranking
- Master's degree
AutoZone Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about AutoZone and has not been reviewed or approved by AutoZone.
-
Retirement Support — A 401(k) savings plan is offered, with employer matching contributions made per pay period noted in company materials. This creates a structured long‑term savings path for eligible employees.
-
Equity Value & Accessibility — An employee stock purchase plan enables buying company stock at a discounted price. This provides an additional wealth‑building avenue beyond base wages.
-
Healthcare Strength — Core medical, dental, vision, prescription, life, disability, and EAP coverage are available as part of standard packages. These offerings establish a comprehensive baseline of health and protection benefits for eligible employees.
AutoZone Insights
What We Do
AutoZone is the nation's leading retailer and a leading distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories with more than 7,000 stores in the US, Mexico, Brazil and Puerto Rico. Each store carries an extensive line for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans and light trucks, including new and remanufactured hard parts, maintenance items and accessories. AutoZone, headquartered in Memphis, TN, is a growing Fortune 300 company with a deep commitment to serving our customers, communities and fellow AutoZoners. We have vast opportunities in our stores, distribution centers, field offices, specialty business units and Store Support Center and embrace diverse experiences, backgrounds, knowledge and ideas to strengthen our teams and business. Our team is connected by a deep commitment to our Pledge and Values, principles established more than thirty years ago that reinforce our priorities and team culture. In addition, we constantly innovate and aspire to best serve our customers, creating new and better tools, training and outreach to serve both DIY and the professional installer customers. From in-store tools to E-Commerce, training and development to recognition, our team has the tools to help you grow your career at AutoZone. See where your drive can take you!
