Program & Operations Manager, Visual Experiences

About The Role

The Program & Operations Manager – Visual Experience and Display Products will manage program planning, operational governance, budget tracking, and execution coordination for HARMAN's automotive display and visual experience (VX) product portfolio. This role is responsible for planning, monitoring, and tracking overall budget, expenditures, PR/PO releases, sample estimations, and operational cadence across multiple display product roadmaps including LCD, Full array local dimming LCD, OLED, AR HUD, Panoramic HUD, and related in-cabin visual experience technologies.

You will play a key role in ensuring disciplined program execution by defining and managing overall project schedules, coordinating cross-functional dependencies, tracking cost and resource commitments, and providing structured visibility to leadership on program status, financial health, risks, dependencies, and key milestones.

This position reports to Sr. Director, Product Management within Strategic Business Unit – Intelligent Cockpit, Product Management Group at HARMAN.

What You Will Do

Budgeting & Expenditure Tracking

Define, maintain, and track program-level budgets for VX display product roadmaps

Monitor planned versus actual expenditures across engineering, samples, prototypes, tooling, supplier activities, and external development support.

Support annual operating plan, track and forecast planned vs actual, participate in budget planning cycles in close collaboration with product management, engineering, finance, procurement, and other teams.

Identify budget risks, cost deviations, and funding gaps, and support corrective actions with relevant stakeholders.

Prepare periodic budget status reports, financial dashboards, and executive-ready summaries for leadership reviews.

Roadmap Schedule Planning & Tracking

Define, consolidate, and manage overall project schedules for multiple VX product roadmaps and technology development programs.

Track key milestones, deliverables, dependencies, sample readiness, engineering releases, customer demonstration timelines, and product maturity gates.

Coordinate schedule inputs across product management, engineering, software, hardware, sourcing, quality, manufacturing, and customer-facing teams.

Proactively identify schedule risks, bottlenecks, and cross-functional dependencies, and drive mitigation plans to support on-time execution.

Maintain structured program trackers, milestone plans, and leadership reporting formats to ensure transparency and accountability.

Sample Build Planning, PR/PO & Key Supplier Coordination

Oversee PR/PO release activities for engineering samples, prototype builds, supplier services, development tools, and external support requirements.

Support sample estimation planning across display products, prototypes, demos, customer events, engineering validation, and internal testing needs.

Track PR/PO status, approval progress, supplier commitments, delivery timelines, and budget alignment.

Partner with procurement, finance, engineering, and suppliers to ensure timely ordering, delivery, and cost tracking of samples and program-related materials.

Maintain clear documentation and traceability of sample requests, purchase orders, budget allocations, and actual expenditures.

Cross-Functional Program Governance

Act as the central coordination point for VX program operations across VX product management, engineering, finance, procurement, quality, manufacturing and GTM sales.

Establish and manage recurring program governance forums, including status reviews, risk reviews, budget reviews, and roadmap execution meetings.

Drive closure of action items, open issues, risks, and dependencies across cross-functional teams.

Ensure alignment between product roadmap priorities, program execution plans, budget availability, and resource commitments.

Support structured decision-making by preparing clear program updates, escalation summaries, and leadership review materials.

Leadership Reporting and Risk Management

Develop and maintain program dashboards covering schedule, budget, expenditure, PR/PO status, sample readiness, risks, and key decisions.

Provide periodic updates and presentations to peers and leadership to support business goals and portfolio execution.

Track and escalate critical risks related to budget, schedule, supplier readiness, resource constraints, sample availability, and delivery commitments.

Drive operational discipline, process standardization, and continuous improvement across VX program management activities.

Portfolio Operations Support

Assist product managers in preparing for PLM100 process, business cases, roadmap reviews, and investment summaries with accurate program and cost inputs.

Maintain alignment between strategic roadmap intent and day-to-day execution progress.

Support governance with best practices to improve predictability, accountability, and execution efficiency across the VX organization.

What Makes You Eligible

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in engineering, business administration, operations management, project management, or a related field from a leading university.

10+ years of experience in program management, project operations, product operations, engineering operations, or portfolio coordination, preferably in automotive, electronics, display technology, or embedded systems

Key Skills

Strong experience in program planning, budget tracking, expenditure monitoring, project scheduling, and cross-functional execution management.

Experience managing project schedules, milestones, dependencies, risks, and deliverables across complex technology or product development programs.

Good understanding of PR/PO processes, procurement coordination, supplier interaction, sample planning, and cost tracking.

Familiarity with automotive display products such as LCD, OLED, HUD, AR HUD, Panoramic HUD, or related in-cabin user experience technologies preferred.

Strong analytical and structured problem-solving skills with the ability to convert complex program data into clear executive summaries.

Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to coordinate product management, engineering, finance, procurement, supply chain, quality, and leadership teams.

Strong communication and presentation skills, especially for leadership reviews and cross-functional governance meetings.

Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools including Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint.

Experience with project management and reporting tools such as MS Project, Jira, Confluence, MS Excel, Team Planner or similar tools.

Ability to manage multiple priorities, track details rigorously, and drive follow-through in a fast-paced global environment

Be willing to travel domestic and international Be willing to work from office as required Successfully completing a background investigation and drug screen as a condition of employment

Bonus Points if You Have

You bring strong operational discipline and can convert ambiguity into structured execution plans. You have experience managing budgets, PR/POs, samples, and development costs in automotive or electronics programs. You understand display technology roadmaps and can coordinate effectively across hardware, software, mechanical, optical, and system engineering teams. You are highly detail-oriented and can provide leadership with clear, accurate, and timely program visibility. You proactively identify risks, drive cross-functional alignment, and keep complex programs moving forward. You have experience supporting global teams across multiple regions, suppliers, and customer programs

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.

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!

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: [HIDDEN TEXT].

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)