Principal Program Manager

Job Description

At Torc, we have always believed that autonomous vehicle technology will transform how we travel, move freight, and do business. A leader in autonomous driving since 2007, Torc has spent over a decade commercializing our solutions with experienced partners. Now a part of the Daimler family, we are focused solely on developing software for automated trucks to transform how the world moves freight.
Join us and catapult your career with the company that helped pioneer autonomous technology, and the first AV software company with the vision to partner directly with a truck manufacturer.

The Principal Program Manager, Autonomous Truck Development Program is the PMO's senior-most program owner for Torc's core mission: bringing a safe, commercially ready autonomous trucking system to public roads and to production scale. This role operates at the enterprise program level — synthesizing execution across all technical, commercial, and operational domains into a coherent, visible, and accountable delivery system.

This is one of the most consequential program management roles in the autonomous vehicle industry. The role must hold two distinct delivery horizons simultaneously; leading company-wide efforts to (1) deliver on short & medium term demonstration points, while (2) maintaining long-term focus toward achieving start of production (SOP) to prepare for scaling the autonomous trucking system into a commercially viable product. These horizons demand different decisions, different timelines, and different risk tolerances, and this role is expected to make that tension visible, structured, and resolvable for executive leadership.

As the primary integration point for the Autonomous Truck Development Program, the Principal Program Manager partners directly with leaders across Engineering, Software, Safety, Test, Product, Operations, and Commercial teams, while interfacing with the strategy & planning function to ensure we remain tied into the long-term roadmap. The role reports directly to the Vice President, Program Management and serves as a key architect of Torc's program governance, executive reporting, and stakeholder alignment posture.

Success in this role requires deep program management expertise, exceptional executive presence, and the rare ability to drive organizational clarity and accountability in a high-ambiguity, safety-critical environment.

What You'll Do:

• Program Integration & Planning: Own the development and execution of the integrated program plan for Torc's autonomous truck development program, spanning software autonomy, hardware, test & validation, safety, and operations. Establish and maintain a single, authoritative view of execution health across all development activities to achieve program delivery timelines.
• Execution Leadership: Manage the delivery of program objectives cross-functionally. Translate executive prioritization decisions into actionable program plans, resource guidance, and milestone accountability. Ensure leadership has the information and framing needed to make explicit tradeoffs rather than absorb them invisibly in execution.
• KPI & SPI Governance: Drive the program-level KPI and Safety Performance Indicator (SPI) reporting framework, maintaining metric integrity, identifying leading indicators of delivery risk, and presenting consolidated program health via data to executives and stakeholders.
• Risk & Dependency Management: Own the enterprise-level risk register for the Autonomous Truck Development Program. Facilitate regular risk reviews, surface cross-functional dependencies, and drive mitigation action ownership across teams. Ensure no major risk is invisible to leadership.
• Executive & Stakeholder Reporting: Serve as the primary author and owner of program-level communications, to internal stakeholders, executives, and external partners. Translate complex, multi-disciplinary program state into clear, confident, decision-ready narratives.
• Governance & Decision Support: Drive structure and discipline into executive decision-making forums. Identify decisions that require leadership alignment, prepare the framing and options analysis, and ensure outcomes are documented and operationalized.
• Program Reviews: Lead and facilitate internal program reviews, cross-functional syncs, and milestone readiness assessments. Ensure reviews produce decisions and actions, not just status.
• Change & Priority Management: Lead cross-functional change management as the program evolves. Help teams adapt without losing delivery momentum.
• PMO Standards & Mentorship: Champion program management discipline across Torc. Contribute to PMO tooling, templates, and operating norms. Mentor program managers across the team and model the standard for structured, executive-grade program execution.

What You'll Need to Succeed:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, program management, business, OR equivalent work experience
• 15+ years of program management experience in complex, multi-disciplinary technical environments — automotive, aerospace, robotics, or defense strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience managing large-scale programs with multiple concurrent delivery horizons, including milestone-driven and production-readiness contexts.
• Deep familiarity with safety-critical product development environments and the governance, rigor, and documentation standards they require.
• Exceptional executive communication skills — both written and verbal — with experience authoring Board-level materials and leading high-stakes program reviews.
• Proven ability to synthesize complex, cross-functional program state into clear narratives and actionable insights for senior leadership.
• Strong analytical orientation with experience building and managing KPI/metrics frameworks in dynamic program environments.
• Demonstrated ability to drive alignment and accountability across matrixed organizations without direct authority.
• Composure under pressure, sound judgment in ambiguous situations, and the credibility to represent the program at the executive level.

Bonus Points!

• Direct experience in autonomous vehicles, ADAS, or mobility-as-a-service program development.
• Familiarity with both hardware-dependent and software-intensive development cycles — and the integration challenges between them.
• Experience with enterprise-level program management orchestration, including mechanism development & execution, reporting, and KPI tracking.
• Background in scaled agile, systems engineering, or hybrid development environments.
• Experience with OEM partnership programs, joint development agreements, or commercial vehicle platforms.
• Familiarization with functional safety standards (ISO 26262, SOTIF, or equivalent).
• Familiarization with verification & validation or safety case development environments.

Perks of Being a Full-time Torc’r

Torc cares about our team members and we strive to provide benefits and resources to support their health, work/life balance, and future. Our culture is collaborative, energetic, and team focused. Torc offers:

• A competitive compensation package that includes a bonus component and stock options
• 100% paid medical, dental, and vision premiums for full-time employees
• 401K plan with a 6% employer match
• Flexibility in schedule and generous paid vacation (available immediately after start date)
• Company-wide holiday office closures
• AD+D and Life Insurance

At Torc, we’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We celebrate the uniqueness of our Torc’rs and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, veteran status, or disabilities. Even if you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications listed for this opportunity, we encourage you to apply.

Job ID: R-102653