Data Platform Portfolio Manager

Introduction: A Career at HARMAN Automotive

We’re a global, multi-disciplinary team that’s putting the innovative power of technology to work and transforming tomorrow. At HARMAN Automotive, we give you the keys to fast-track your career.

- Engineer audio systems and integrated technology platforms that augment the driving experience
- Combine ingenuity, in-depth research, and a spirit of collaboration with design and engineering excellence
- Advance in-vehicle infotainment, safety, efficiency, and enjoyment

About the Role

As a Data Platform Portfolio Manager, you will shape the demand, priorities, roadmap, dependencies, capacity, and investment portfolio for HARMAN Automotive’s Enterprise Data Platform. Reporting to the Executive Director of Data and Analytics, you will work across business domains, data product teams, platform engineering, analytics, AI, architecture, security, and leadership to anticipate needs and help translate them into a coherent, sequenced platform portfolio.

This role owns the portfolio management discipline that supports effective platform decisions: understanding demand, challenging and refining requests, identifying cross-domain dependencies, balancing strategic capabilities with near-term needs, and maintaining a forward-looking view of platform capacity and investment. You will provide the transparency and analysis needed for the Data Platform Manager to make final roadmap, resource, and prioritization decisions.

This is not a traditional PMO coordination role and does not own hands-on platform engineering. It requires enough commercial and technical depth to understand modern data platforms, data products, cloud capabilities, delivery constraints, and operating-model choices so that limited engineering capacity is consistently applied to the work that creates the greatest value.

What You Will Do

- Own the platform demand and portfolio planning process, working with business and technology stakeholders to develop a consolidated view of current demand, emerging needs, strategic opportunities, and upcoming platform requirements.
- Shape demand before it becomes urgent by engaging business domains, data product teams, analytics, AI/ML, architecture, governance, security, and technology leaders to identify future requirements, dependencies, constraints, and opportunities for reuse.
- Translate priorities into a sequenced platform roadmap and backlog, recommending how strategic platform capabilities, technical improvements, onboarding needs, regulatory or risk requirements, and near-term business demand should be balanced over time.
- Manage intake, prioritization, sequencing, dependencies, and capacity planning across the portfolio, partnering with the Data Platform Manager, Platform Engineers, and Data Platform Reliability Engineers to understand delivery constraints and develop realistic portfolio options.
- Apply clear prioritization and investment criteria to distinguish high-value or strategic needs from lower-value requests, constructively challenge demand, and make trade-offs visible to stakeholders and decision-makers.
- Support the hub-and-spoke data operating model by helping determine whether capabilities should be developed centrally, reused from the platform, federated to domains, adopted as common services, or delivered within individual domain and data product teams.
- Coordinate domain onboarding demand without turning the central platform organization into a delivery factory, clarifying platform responsibilities, domain responsibilities, prerequisites, dependencies, and expected adoption before work enters the committed roadmap.
- Maintain portfolio transparency across initiatives, milestones, capacity, dependencies, risks, decisions, expected outcomes, and material changes in demand, providing concise recommendations and trade-off views for the Data Platform Manager and senior stakeholders.
- Maintain a forward-looking portfolio view spanning data engineering, governed data products, analytics, AI/ML, governance, security, self-service capabilities, platform reliability, operational improvements, and other platform capabilities required by the organization.
- Partner with the Data Platform Manager on investment planning, including business cases, funding requirements, resource scenarios, vendor considerations, licensing or consumption implications, and recommendations for where additional investment will have the greatest impact.
- Track value realization from platform investments, including adoption, reuse, business outcomes, engineering efficiency, cost avoidance, platform utilization, or reduction of operational and technology risk.
- Support portfolio planning for legacy technology transition, including Snowflake and Qlik rationalization where relevant, by identifying demand, sequencing dependencies, platform readiness, and competing priorities without taking ownership of the migrations themselves.
- Improve portfolio management practices over time, including roadmap governance, prioritization methods, demand forecasting, capacity views, portfolio metrics, backlog quality, and the quality of information available for investment and prioritization decisions.

What You Need to Be Successful

- 7+ years of experience in technology portfolio management, product management, data or technology strategy, enterprise technology delivery, or a related discipline.
- Proven experience managing complex technology portfolios with competing priorities, significant dependencies, multiple stakeholder groups, and constrained engineering or delivery capacity.
- Strong understanding of modern data-platform concepts, including cloud platforms, data engineering, governed data products, analytics, AI/ML, data governance, platform services, and self-service operating models.
- Demonstrated experience developing roadmaps and applying structured approaches to demand management, backlog prioritization, dependency management, capacity planning, sequencing, and value realization.
- Strong business and technology judgment, including the ability to challenge requests constructively, identify underlying needs, assess relative value, and distinguish strategic requirements from lower-priority demand.
- Experience working across business stakeholders, engineering, architecture, cybersecurity, finance, procurement, vendors, and senior technology leadership.
- Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to make complex priorities, constraints, trade-offs, risks, and recommendations clear to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Experience working with agile or product-oriented delivery models and portfolio/backlog management tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, or comparable platforms.

Bonus Points if You Have

- Experience with Microsoft Azure, Databricks, or comparable enterprise-scale cloud data platforms.
- Experience working within a federated or hub-and-spoke data organization, including shared platform services and domain-owned data products.
- Experience supporting technology investment planning, budgeting, vendor planning, commercial assessments, or business-case development.
- Experience measuring platform adoption, technology investment outcomes, reuse, cost efficiency, or other forms of value realization.
- Experience supporting data-platform modernization, technology rationalization, or transitions from legacy analytics and data platforms in a global organization.

What Makes You Eligible

You are willing to travel, if necessary.

- Ideally, you live near Novi, MI. Because this is a hybrid role, commuting to our Novi office will be required each week.
- Successfully complete a background investigation and drug screen as a condition of employment

What We Offer

- Access to employee discounts on world-class products (JBL, HARMAN Kardon, AKG, and more)
- Extensive training opportunities through our own HARMAN University
- Competitive wellness benefits
- Tuition reimbursement
- “Be Brilliant” employee recognition and rewards program
- An inclusive and diverse work environment that fosters and encourages professional and personal development

Pay Transparency

Dependent on the position offered, other forms of compensation are also available, such as bonuses or commission.
Pay is based on a wide range of factors, including, without limitation, skill set, experience, training, location, and business need. While the above range is a reasonable estimate of the wage range for this position, please note the disclosed range estimate has not been adjusted for the applicable geographical differential associated with the location where the position may be filled.
Benefits HARMAN is interested in the health and wellbeing of you and your family and offers a range of benefits designed to support your needs for holistic wellbeing. Benefits and perks may vary depending on the nature of your employment with HARMAN, and may include paid vacation and holidays, paid sick leave, volunteer leave, and paid bonding and care giver leave. Employees may also be eligible to participate in comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, fertility support and adoption assistance, Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan with employer match, short and long term disability coverage, life insurance, and more.

About HARMAN: Where Innovation Unleashes Next-Level Technology Ever since the 1920s, we’ve been amplifying the sense of sound. Today, that legacy endures, with integrated technology platforms that make the world smarter, safer, and more connected.
Across automotive, lifestyle, and digital transformation solutions, we create innovative technologies that turn ordinary moments into extraordinary experiences. Our renowned automotive and lifestyle solutions can be found everywhere, from the music we play in our cars and homes to venues that feature today’s most sought-after performers, while our digital transformation solutions serve humanity by addressing the world’s ever-evolving needs and demands. Marketing our award-winning portfolio under 16 iconic brands, such as JBL, Mark Levinson, and Revel, we set ourselves apart by exceeding the highest engineering and design standards for our customers, our partners and each other.
If you’re ready to innovate and do work that makes a lasting impact, join our talent community today! (https://harmanglobal.avature.net/talentcommunity)

Important Notice: Recruitment Scams
Please be aware that HARMAN recruiters will always communicate with you from an '@harman.com', ‘@careers.harman.com’ or ‘@harmanglobal.avature.net’ email address. We will never ask for payments, banking, credit card, personal financial information or access to your LinkedIn/email account during the screening, interview, or recruitment process. If you are asked for such information or receive communication from an email address not ending in one of the above email domains about a job with HARMAN, please cease communication immediately and report the incident to us through: [email protected]. (mailto:[email protected])
You Belong Here HARMAN is committed to making every employee feel welcomed, valued, and empowered. No matter what role you play, we encourage you to share your ideas, voice your distinct perspective, and bring your whole self with you – all within a support-minded culture that celebrates what makes each of us unique. We also recognize that learning is a lifelong pursuit and want you to flourish. We proudly offer added opportunities for training, development, and continuing education, further empowering you to live the career you want.
HARMAN is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. HARMAN strives to hire the best qualified candidates and is committed to building a workforce representative of the diverse marketplaces and communities of our global colleagues and customers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. HARMAN attracts, hires, and develops employees based on merit, qualifications and job-related performance.(www.harman.com (https://www.harman.com))
HARMAN is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process, please contact us at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]). Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis in accordance with applicable law.