Technical Program Manager (TPM)

Job Summary

This role is responsible for driving cross-functional, cross-system, and multi-site technical projects, serving as a key coordination bridge between software development teams, manufacturing operations, IT, engineering teams, and other internal stakeholders.
The primary focus is on project execution and technical coordination, including requirement clarification, timeline and milestone management, dependency tracking, risk and issue management, system integration testing, deployment coordination, and project documentation.
This role requires a practical understanding of software and system technologies, including APIs, databases, system integration, and automation. The TPM is expected to coordinate technical issue resolution, support initial troubleshooting in manufacturing environments, and work closely with engineering teams to ensure project delivery. System design and technical decisions remain the responsibility of engineering teams.
Based in Houston, Texas, this position primarily supports technical projects across North American manufacturing sites, with a focus on U.S. operations. The role requires close collaboration with engineering teams in Taiwan, strong cross-cultural communication skills, flexibility to work across time zones, and frequent travel to support project implementation and on-site coordination.

※This is an individual contributor role focused on project execution and delivery, rather than people management or hands-on software development.

Key Responsibilities
- Drive the planning and execution of technical projects, tracking project timelines, milestones, deliverables, owners, dependencies, and risks to ensure timely delivery.
- Collaborate with software development, IT, engineering, manufacturing, and other internal teams to clarify requirements, align responsibilities, and coordinate project execution. Work with external vendors when necessary.
- Serve as a communication bridge between software development teams and manufacturing sites, translating operational needs and issues into clear technical requirements and actionable items.
- Coordinate cross-system integration activities involving APIs, databases, system interfaces, IT infrastructure, and automation workflows, ensuring alignment and progress across responsible teams.
- Proactively identify project blockers, risks, dependencies, and resource constraints. Coordinate resolution efforts and escalate critical issues when necessary.
- Coordinate system integration testing, on-site validation, user acceptance testing (UAT), deployment, and go-live activities.
- Perform initial issue assessment and information gathering for technical or operational problems at manufacturing sites, working with engineering teams to investigate and resolve issues.
- Maintain clear and up-to-date project documentation, including requirements, meeting minutes, action items, project schedules, issue logs, decisions, and deployment plans.
- Track project progress and communicate status updates, risks, and key decisions to relevant stakeholders.
- Work directly with manufacturing teams on the production floor to monitor implementation progress, coordinate validation activities, and follow up on issues during deployment.
- Collaborate closely with development teams in Houston and other locations in Asia, coordinating technical discussions, project handoffs, and issue resolution across different time zones.
- Travel to manufacturing sites across the United States, with occasional international travel as required, to support project implementation, testing, and on-site coordination.

Qualifications

Must Have
- Previous professional experience in software development, technical project management, or technical project execution.
- Strong communication, coordination, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across engineering, IT, manufacturing, and other functional teams.
- Experience coordinating technical projects, with the ability to independently track timelines, milestones, deliverables, owners, dependencies, risks, and action items.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate complex or ambiguous requirements and issues into clear, actionable plans.
- Basic understanding of software and system technologies, including databases, APIs, backend systems, and system integration.
- Basic SQL skills, including the ability to perform simple data queries and assist with initial issue investigation.
- Basic knowledge of Python, with the ability to understand common programming logic and assist with initial technical troubleshooting.
- Strong documentation and organizational skills, with experience using Excel, Google Sheets, or similar tools to maintain project plans, progress tracking, issue logs, and related documentation.
- Professional proficiency in English and Mandarin Chinese, including verbal communication, technical discussions, meetings, and written documentation.
- Ability to work effectively with teams in Asia, including coordinating technical discussions, aligning deliverables, and managing project handoffs across different working styles and time zones.
- Flexibility to participate in recurring early-morning or evening meetings to support cross-time-zone collaboration.
- Willingness and ability to travel to the other sites, including extended on-site assignments when required.
- Willingness to work on-site in manufacturing and production environments to support project execution, system deployment, and issue resolution.

Nice to Have
- Previous experience as a Software Engineer, Backend Engineer, Data Engineer, Automation Engineer, or in a related software development role.
- Previous experience as a Technical Project Manager, Technical Program Manager, Project Lead, or in a similar technical coordination role.
- Experience in manufacturing, electronics manufacturing, server or rack manufacturing, factory automation, or related industries.
- Familiarity with automation systems, MES / SFC, manufacturing systems, test systems, or factory system integration.
- Experience working on cross-system API integration, database integration, or automation workflow projects.
- Familiarity with Git, Linux, Docker, or general software development and deployment processes.
- Ability to communicate in Spanish for work-related discussions.