Principal Engineer, Engineering Project Management

What You'll Be Part Of

The Customer Reliability Manager (CRM) is the link between Harman's HW validation and certification team and the customer project team. The Customer Reliability Manager plays a crucial role in ensuring that products meet customer needs before they are released for production. The position requires a mix of technical expertise, project management, customer engagement, and analytical skills. This position does not have any direct reports; however, it does provide supervisory inputs to the entire Product Reliability organization associated with its assigned customer. You will be part of a team of customer reliability managers from differing backgrounds and levels of experience within hardware validation and certification. This is a highly collaborative and fast paced environment where you will continually work toward meeting challenging goals and solving problems. To perform the role effectively, you will need the following skills and competencies.

1. Leadership & Strategic Thinking

·        Vision & Strategy – Ability to define and communicate the long-term objectives of a program.

·        Decision-Making – Evaluating risks and making informed decisions.

·        Stakeholder Management – Engaging senior management, cross-functional leadership, customers, and product reliability teams effectively.

·        Escalation Handling – Managing critical product reliability issues with timely communication and resolution.

2. Project & Program Management

·        Project Lifecycle Management – Understanding and overseeing multiple projects, test requests and quoting / change requests within a program.

·        Methodologies – Familiarity with different project management frameworks.

·        Test Planning & Execution – Structuring and managing validation test programs.

·        Risk Management – Identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks.

·        Budgeting & Resource Allocation – Managing finances and optimizing resources,

3. Communication & Collaboration

·        Cross-Functional Coordination – Collaborating with multiple teams across departments and regions.

·        Conflict Resolution – Addressing and resolving project-related validation test issues.

·        Presentation & Reporting – Delivering concise and effective reports to Stakeholders.

·        Issue Tracking & Reporting – Documenting and escalating product issues to the teams.

4. Technical & Analytical Skills

·        Data Analysis & KPIs – Tracking performance using key metrics.

·        Process Optimization – Identifying inefficiencies and improving workflows.

·        Technology Proficiency – Understanding relevant tools (e.g., MS Project, JIRA, Confluence, Test Vision, Kantata, EEB trackers, Demand Planning and RFQ excel documents).

5. Problem-Solving & Critical Thinking

·        Root Cause Analysis – Identifying underlying reasons for customer issues.

·        Solution-Oriented Mindset – Developing recommendations based on customer insights.

·        Adaptability & Innovation – Adjusting strategies based on evolving customer needs.

6. Incident & Problem Management

·        Incident Response & Resolution – Leading incident investigations and driving root cause analysis.

·        Initiative-taking Issue Prevention – Identifying potential system failures before they impact customers.

·        Postmortems & Continuous Improvement – Documenting incidents and implementing long-term solutions.

How You'll Make An Impact

• Key interface between hardware validation and certification teams and internal and external stakeholders.
• Participate and lead customer validation reviews in HW Validation planning for initial new product awards. Obtain approvals (internals and externals) for HW validation test plans.
• Provide guidance from the technical perspective on executing validation plans with the customer.
• Considering engineering input, provide proposals for accelerated test plans when project or production timing is constrained.
• Support the development of validation plans and assist in coordination of resources when parts from multiple manufacturing sites must be evaluated.
• Seek clarification of customer validation specifications when ambiguity is present, aligning necessary collaboration internally and externally.
• Excellent skills in project management (cost, quality, and time management).
• Collaborate with different hardware validation departments domestically and internationally.
• Lead the timely submission of customer validation documentation, ensuring correctness, completeness, and conformance to customer standards.
• Participate in requirements and design reviews in the development process.
• Responsible for leading RFQ estimations for validations based on customer requirements.
• Review test requests entered in Test Vision, get clarifications, understand the requirements, budget, project cost, and assign to appropriate validation team members.
• Responsible for obtaining customer sign-off of test plans for ED/DV/PV, partial (delta) validations, re-validation, or accelerated testing to satisfy both the Customer, Requester, and Laboratory requirements for accreditation, while considering both internal and external risks, and working to create mitigations
• Assist with customer visits to laboratories to witness testing, results, or samples in coordination with the respective Lab Manager.

What Makes You A Strong Fit

• BSEE, BSEET, BSCS, BS Physics, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 5 years in a validation management role with Environmental, EMC, Electrical qualification, Certification/Homologation, or related experience. Automotive industry background highly desirable.
• Excellent skills in project management and time management.
• Particularly good verbal and written communication skills.
• Managing a team within the automotive industry.
• Advanced test solutions knowledge for the automotive industry.
• Very resolute and strong advocate for product quality.
• We see AI as an important part of how work gets done. While tools may vary, a baseline familiarity with using AI to support efficiency, problem-solving, and quality is expected.

Bonus Points if You Have

• Demonstrated experience functioning in a highly collaborative, and demanding environment.
• Exceptional creative problem-solver.
• PMP Certification
• Outstanding knowledge of Office productivity software.
• Knowledgeable with Automotive international reliability standards and specific automotive OEM specifications. Familiar with TS16949, ISO17025 standard, and other quality certifications.
• Good knowledge of PPAP, DFMEA, PFMEA, Control Plans, MSA.
• Proficient in problem-solving methodologies.
• Experience collaborating globally.

Things To Know

• Willingness to travel both domestically and abroad.

What You Can Expect

• A hybrid work environment that balances flexibility with in-person collaboration, with most office-based roles onsite four days a week (if applicable).
• Access to employee discounts on HARMAN products (including JBL, Harman / Kardon, AKG, and others)
• Learning and development opportunities through our award-winning HARMAN University programs
• Wellness benefits designed to support your overall well-being
• Access to the HARMAN campus fitness center and cafeteria, where available
• An inclusive and diverse work environment that supports both your professional and personal development