Vice President, Technology - Transportation (Penske Logistics)
Penske Logistics LLC โ Beachwood, Ohio, United States (onโsite)
Why This Role?
This is a rare opportunity to shape technology strategy at scale โ leading one of the most consequential technology transformations in the $800B U.S. trucking and logistics industry. The successful candidate will have the autonomy, budget, and executive sponsorship to build bestโinโclass transportation technology platforms that directly drive competitive advantage and shareholder value.
- Lead technology at one of the largest transportation companies in North America
- Significant scope: enterpriseโwide platform ownership across multiple highโgrowth business lines
- Executive team access and meaningful seat at the strategic table
- Competitive total compensation including base, annual bonus, and longโterm incentive plan
- Highโimpact, missionโcritical work in an industry undergoing rapid technologyโdriven disruption
Position Summary
The Vice President of Technology Transportation serves as the senior technology executive responsible for envisioning, building, and operating the full suite of technology. This executive owns the technology roadmap across Dedicated Fleet, Managed Transportation, Freight Brokerage, and related transportation lines of business. This role bridges strategy and execution โ partnering with business unit leaders to identify marketโdefining technology investments, while leading large development and product teams to deliver with speed and quality. The VP will be a key voice in enterprise architecture decisions, technology due diligence, and the company's digital transformation agenda.
This position is based in our Penske Logistics development center in Beachwood, OH. This is an inโoffice position, at least 4 days a week. Relocation assistance may be available for qualified candidates.
Major Responsibilities
Technology Strategy & Roadmap
- Define and own the multiโyear technology roadmap for transportation platforms, aligned to business growth, operational efficiency, and competitive differentiation.
- Evaluate emerging technologies (AI/ML, autonomous vehicle integration, realโtime visibility platforms) for strategic fitness and investment prioritization.
- Lead buildโvsโbuy analysis and drive vendor selection for enterprise transportation technology investments.
- Serve as the technology voice in executive and seniorโlevel strategy discussions.
Product & Development Leadership
- Lead and grow a highโperforming organization of 25โ100+ developers, architects, product managers, and technical program managers.
- Establish IT development excellence standards including CI/CD pipelines, code quality, testing automation, and system reliability targets.
- Drive agile/scaled agile delivery practices, ensuring onโtime execution of major platform initiatives.
- Build a strong technical culture that attracts, retains, and develops topโtier technology talent.
Business Partnership & Value Delivery
- Partner with SVPs, VPs and GMs of Dedicated Fleet, Managed Transportation, and Brokerage business units to coโown technologyโenabled growth initiatives.
- Translate complex operational challenges into technology solutions โ from driver retention tools to carrier pricing algorithms.
- Establish and govern technology investment governance, ROI tracking, and portfolio prioritization frameworks.
- Represent technology in customerโfacing engagements, RFPs, and strategic account retention.
Platform, Data & Innovation
- Oversee the evolution of the companyโs TMS and visibility platforms โ including legacy modernization and cloud migration programs.
- Drive the enterprise data strategy, enabling realโtime freight intelligence, predictive analytics, and AIโpowered decision support.
- Lead innovation initiatives including automation, machine learning models for pricing/routing, and integration with external data networks (project44, Fourkites, DAT, etc.).
- Define API strategy and ecosystem integrations to enable seamless connectivity with shippers, carriers, and 3PL partners.
Operational Excellence & Governance
- Own technology budget, including OpEx/CapEx planning, vendor negotiations, and cost optimization.
- Establish and enforce technology governance policies, including cybersecurity standards, data privacy (CCPA, SOX), and regulatory compliance.
- Lead disaster recovery, business continuity, and SLA management for missionโcritical transportation systems.
- Drive continuous improvement of system uptime, platform performance, and endโuser experience metrics.
Other projects and tasks as assigned.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related field required.
- Master's degree in Technology Management, MBA, or related field strongly preferred.
- 15+ years of progressive technology leadership experience, with 8+ years in senior technology executive roles (VP, SVP, CTO equivalent).
- Demonstrated success leading technology organizations at companies with $1B+ in revenue, preferably in transportation, logistics, supply chain, or assetโheavy industries.
- Deep experience with TMS platforms (e.g., McLeod, TMW, Oracle TMS, MercuryGate, Trimble), freight brokerage systems, and fleet management technology.
- Track record of leading largeโscale cloud migration, platform modernization, or digital transformation programs.
- Experience managing P&L responsibilities or large technology budgets ($50M+) with direct accountability for ROI.
- Strong working knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP), microservices architecture, and APIโfirst design principles.
- Familiarity with transportation technology ecosystem: ELD/telematics (Samsara, Omnitracs), visibility platforms (project44, Fourkites), load boards (DAT, Truckstop), EDI standards.
- Handsโon understanding of data engineering, data warehousing, and applied machine learning โ particularly for pricing, routing, and demand forecasting use cases.
- Knowledge of transportation regulations and compliance requirements (FMCSA, HOS, ELD mandate, IFTA).
- Proven ability to lead, inspire, and scale diverse technology organizations of 50+ associates across IT development, product, and architecture functions.
- Executive communication skills with the ability to engage Cโsuite, SVPs, customers, and operational teams with equal credibility.
- Strong business acumen with the ability to connect technology investments to measurable revenue growth, cost reduction, and market advantage.
- Experience in M&A technology due diligence and postโmerger technology integration.
- Regular, predictable, full attendance is an essential function of the job.
- Successful candidate must complete Penske employment application, submit to a background investigation (past employment, education, and criminal history), and complete a drug screening.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with brokerage technology including load matching algorithms, carrier scoring, and margin optimization systems.
- Familiarity with autonomous trucking technology, electric vehicle fleet integration, or advanced ADAS systems.
- Experience building or scaling proprietary shipper and carrierโfacing applications with significant user adoption.
- Active involvement in industry associations (ATA, TIA, CSCMP, Gartner Supply Chain).
- Prior experience as CTO or divisional technology head in a publicly traded logistics company.
Physical Requirements
- Read, communicate verbally and/or in written form, remember and analyze certain information, and remember and understand certain instructions or guidelines.
- Stand, walk, and sit frequently; use hands to touch, handle, and feel, and reach with hands and arms. May need to lift or move up to 25 lbs / 12 kg occasionally.
- Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.
- Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Penske is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
About Penske Logistics
Penske Logistics engineers stateโofโtheโart transportation, warehousing and freight management solutions that deliver powerful business results for marketโleading companies. With operations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, Penske and its associates help businesses move forward by increasing visibility and driving down supplyโchain costs.
Job Category: Executive
Job Family: Information Technology
Address: 3000 Auburn Dr
Primary Location: US-OH-Beachwood
Employer: Penske Logistics LLC
Req ID: 2606245