Senior Technical Program Manager - QA & Validation (Systems & Tooling)

Our Mission:

Driving technology always feels old. Not by a little bit. We believe vehicles can be a thousand times smarter, safer, and more connected to the world around us, and our mission is to see it happen. In 2019, we joined forces with Honda as their first startup acquisition, and now we're expanding our vision into building the future of electric vehicles (BEV) for millions of people around the world.

Why Drivemode:

Join Drivemode for an exciting startup environment and a vibrant culture that combines impactful work, competitive compensation, and excellent benefits. By becoming a part of our team, you'll contribute to a crucial mission that revolutionizes the way people engage with vehicles, addressing both business needs and the world's environmental challenges. This presents an exceptional opportunity to be at the forefront of innovation and drive Honda's success in the EV market.

About the role

We are looking for a Senior Technical Program Manager - QA & Validation to design and operate the systems that define quality, validation, and release readiness across Honda's next-generation connected vehicle platform.

This role sits at the intersection of Engineering, QA, Product, Design, and tooling , and is ideal for someone who believes that quality is a system to be engineered-not a phase to be managed .

This is a hands-on, highly technical TPM role with real ownership of systems, tooling, and validation strategy. You will build and operate the Quality Management System (QMS) that ensures traceability, measurable quality signals, and clear readiness criteria across all teams.

You are expected to solve problems through systems, tooling, and code , not just coordination.

This role works in close partnership with Delivery TPMs:

• You define truth, validation, and readiness
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• They drive feature delivery
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What you do

• Design and implement a scalable Quality Management System (QMS) in collaboration with Engineering, QA, Product, and Design, ensuring end-to-end traceability from requirements to release
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• Own and configure the validation toolchain (Jira, Jama, TestRail), including workflows, structures, automations, and reporting, ensuring systems reflect real execution state
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• Build automation and integrations using code (Python, APIs, scripting) to connect systems, eliminate manual work, and enable real-time quality and readiness insights
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• Define and enforce validation readiness criteria and release gates based on measurable quality signals, ensuring teams are prepared before release commitments
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• Drive system-level validation by aligning testing with real-world behavior across mobile, backend, APIs, and vehicle systems
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• Lead bug triage and bug review processes, ensuring clear ownership, prioritization, and timely resolution across teams
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• Proactively identify risks and gaps in requirements, test coverage, environments, and dependencies, and drive mitigation before they impact validation or release
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• Ensure high data integrity across Jira, Jama, and TestRail by enforcing clarity, consistency, and accuracy in tracking systems
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• Challenge and align cross-functional teams when inputs are incomplete or unclear, ensuring validation is based on testable and reliable requirements
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• Lead vehicle integration and validation efforts with minimal supervision, troubleshooting issues across system layers as needed
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What we are looking for

• 7+ years of experience in Technical Program Management, QA/Validation, Systems Engineering, or similar roles
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• BS/MS in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent technical field
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• Deep experience configuring Jira (workflows, automations, JQL, reporting)
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• Experience with ALM tools such as Jama Connect (or similar)
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• Experience with test management tools such as TestRail or others
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• Proven ability to build or scale QA/QMS or validation systems
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• Hands-on experience writing code (Python, scripting, APIs, etc.)
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• Experience building integrations across systems (e.g., Jira < - > Jama < - > TestRail)
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• Ability to automate workflows, reporting, and data pipelines
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• Strong understanding of backend systems, APIs, and distributed systems
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• Familiarity with mobile (frontend) constraints and behavior
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• Ability to reason across system boundaries and debug complex issues
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• Experience driving validation across multiple teams
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• Ability to enforce accountability and challenge unclear inputs
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• Strong communication skills with technical and non-technical stakeholders
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• Standard working hours are Monday through Friday. To support collaboration with our Japan-based teams, core hours are 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM PT from Monday through Thursday . The team works in-office on Mondays and Tuesdays . Thursdays and Fridays offer more flexibility , particularly in the evenings, while remaining full working days
• This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship or visa transfers.

Nice to Have:

• Experience in automotive, IoT, or connected-device ecosystems
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• Familiarity with ASPICE or ISO 21434
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• Background as SDET, QA Automation Engineer, or Systems Engineer
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• Japanese language proficiency is nice to have, but not required
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$140,000 - $182,000 a year

This is the position's total compensation package including the company's bonus structure. This position also comes with full benefits. Actual compensation packages are based on a wide array of factors unique to each candidate, including but not limited to demonstrated skill set, years and depth of relevant experience, and some role-dependent factors. We welcome direct conversations with each candidate about compensation in all of our initial calls.

EEOC Statement

Drivemode is proud of a very diverse team with employees coming from 5 continents/20 countries as of today. Diversity in our workplace has played an important part in our success; we recognize each employee's unique background, knowledge, experiences, ideas, and viewpoints which are all critical in developing a product that has the greatest impacts on drivers all over the world.

Drivemode provides equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or any other characteristics that make you unique.