Software Program Manager Jobs in Novi, MI (NOW HIRING)

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In this position...
Success as an Engineering Program Manager (EPM) requires someone who brings structure to ambiguity and drives delivery clarity across teams. You thrive in a fast-paced environment, build strong partnerships with engineering and program leaders, and ensure work is prioritized and executed with discipline.
You are comfortable operating at both the strategic and tactical levels: shaping what should be worked on, aligning cross-functional stakeholders, and ensuring delivery plans, risks, and dependencies are visible and actively managed. You communicate crisply-writing clear leadership updates and facilitating alignment when tradeoffs are required.
Responsibilities
What you'll do...
Own the domain "system of delivery" and ensure the domain's work is focused on the most important outcomes, aligned to VC&M strategy, and planned/governed consistently.
Establish the structures and mechanisms that enable predictable delivery (backlog structure, planning artifacts, governance cadence, reporting hygiene).
Challenge and de-prioritize work that does not support the strategy or agreed priorities (in partnership with Technical Program Manager (TPM), Product, and VC&M leadership).
Own the domain backlog structure, PI planning, and the domain delivery plan (scope, milestones, dependencies), within the strategic frame set by TPMs and leadership.
Prioritize within the domain, with Engineering Manager input, to ensure capacity is focused on the highest-value work.
Drive clarity for cross-team sequencing and integration planning so commitments are realistic and well-understood.
Maintain accurate internal risk and dependency registers; actively drive resolution, mitigation plans, and escalation paths.
Keep Atlassian artifacts and dashboards up to date so domain and program status is trustworthy and comparable across VC&M.
Provide clear, timely communications to stakeholders on progress, risks, and changes.
Ensure work has a clear acceptance criteria and a defined value/outcome.
At completion, validate with Engineering and TPMs whether acceptance criteria were met and whether the intended value was delivered.
Participate and provide key inputs to the cross-functional work intake discovery process; cascade with context to all impacted functions within your domain.
Apply and help evolve common VC&M standards for discovery, planning, and delivery.
Ensure the domain "plugs into" the broader VC&M operating model using shared templates and cadences.
Build strong partnerships across engineering, program, product, design, systems, testing, operations, safety/regulatory, release, and quality.
Drive alignment through clear tradeoffs, documented decisions, and transparent plans.
Use data and delivery signals (risks, dependencies, throughput/health indicators) to inform priorities and leadership actions.
Qualifications
You'll have...
Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
5+ years of experience in software/services delivery environments (product/platform/feature delivery).
Demonstrated experience coordinating cross-functional work across multiple disciplines (engineering, program, product, design, QA/test, systems, operations, etc.).
Proficiency with delivery tooling (e.g., Atlassian Suite, Miro) and disciplined delivery hygiene (plans, dashboards, dependency tracking).
Experience operating in scaled delivery models (PI planning, multi-team roadmapping, portfolio governance).
Even better, you may have...
Demonstrated ability to define and implement standards/templates that improve consistency across teams.
Ability to synthesize complex information for diverse audiences, ranging from high-level executive briefings that drive decision-making to granular technical documentation for engineering execution.
You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!
As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder...or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:
• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year's Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.
This position is a salary grade 8 and ranges from $115,000-$192,900.
Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.
For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/GSR
Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.
This position is hybrid. Candidates who are in commuting distance to a Ford hub location may be required to be onsite four or more days per week. #LI-Hybrid
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