Staff Technical Program Manager — Android Framework & Projection Certification
Technical Program Manager for an automotive infotainment platform in Palo Alto: drives Apple CarPlay and Android Auto through pre-certification and certification with Apple, Google, and a third-party lab, while running program management for the underlying Android framework work (framework/services, HAL, vehicle integration) and defect triage. On-site Mon–Thu, remote Fridays.
- Compensation
- $140K–$155K / yr
- Location
- Palo Alto, California, United States
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Staff
- Employment
- Contract
- Experience
- 5+ years
- Category
- Mobile
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science or a related technical field
- 5+ years of technical program management on software products, including ownership of a delivery schedule gated by an external party
- Exposure to smartphone projection, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sufficient to ramp quickly and engage credibly with Apple and Google on certification
- Experience managing a certification, compliance or approval process with an external partner or accredited lab, under a fixed timeline
- Experience decomposing requirements into work tasks and running defect triage across organization, supplier and lab boundaries
- Demonstrated history of communicating with engineering managers on technical topics and driving decisions to closure
- Strong written and verbal communication, comfortable escalating to director and PMO level with a recommendation
Nice to have
- Automotive infotainment experience (consumer electronics and adjacent domains acceptable where projection exposure is present)
- Familiarity with technical implementation of projection and connectivity in a vehicle: USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and profiles, voice, navigation, phone integration
- Working knowledge of Android Automotive OS and AOSP: framework and service layers, car framework, HAL and HIDL, Android build system
- Understanding of Apple MFi licensing and CarPlay compliance testing, and Google certification requirements incl. CDD and xTS suites (CTS, CTS Verifier, VTS, ATS)
- Experience working with third party labs and OEM certification workflows
- Familiarity with projection debugging and log analysis, e.g. adb and system logs
- Understanding of QNX or Linux cockpit platforms and hypervisor-based architectures
- Vehicle program cadence experience: bench and vehicle build phases, software release trains, launch readiness gates
- Tooling: Jira, Confluence, Jama, Git-based workflows, program reporting or dashboard tools
Full description
We’re ALTEN Technology USA, an engineering company helping clients bring groundbreaking ideas to life—from advancing space exploration and life-saving medical devices to building autonomous electric vehicles. With 3,000+ experts across North America, we partner with leading companies in aerospace, medical devices, robotics, automotive, commercial vehicles, EVs, rail, and more.
As part of the global ALTEN Group—57,000+ engineers in 30 countries—we deliver across the entire product development cycle, from consulting to full project outsourcing.
When you join ALTEN Technology USA, you’ll collaborate on some of the world’s toughest engineering challenges, supported by mentorship, career growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits. We take pride in fostering a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to grow.
Workplace: On-site, Monday-Thursday. REMOTE on Friday.
Location: Palo Alto, CA
The Staff Technical Program Manager for Android Framework, Apps, and CarPlay/Android Auto Certification will lead execution across AAOS framework integration, system and customer-facing application delivery, projection stack readiness, and certification compliance for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This role carries end-to-end accountability for planning, technical dependency management, partner coordination, issue triage, and certification readiness from early bring-up through launch. The role serves as the primary program-level interface between engineering, product teams, validation organizations, suppliers, and external certification partners to ensure high-quality infotainment experiences are delivered on schedule.
Responsibilities
- Build and maintain integrated execution plans for Android Automotive OS framework, middleware, system apps, projection stack, validation, and certification deliverables.
- Coordinate dependencies across Android framework services, vehicle HAL/VHAL interfaces, projection, app lifecycle, UX, and HMI integration teams.
- Lead CarPlay and Android Auto certification readiness, including test planning, requirement traceability, issue triage, exception management, partner communications, and submission package coordination.
- Drive alignment between Ford engineering teams, validation teams, suppliers, and certification stakeholders to resolve compliance gaps and platform integration issues.
- Lead triage and recovery plans for defects impacting AAOS stability, app behaviour, projection connectivity, Bluetooth, media routing, certification test pass rate, or customer-facing infotainment experience.
- Provide clear status, risk, dependency, and escalation reporting for technical and executive audiences, translating complex software and certification issues into actionable program plans.