Scrum Manager - GVHE Hardware Optimization

Employer description

Job Description

At General Motors, our product teams are redefining mobility. Through a human-centered design process, we create vehicles and experiences that are designed not just to be seen, but to be felt. We’re turning today’s impossible into tomorrow’s standard —from breakthrough hardware and battery systems to intuitive design, intelligent software, and next-generation safety and entertainment features.  

Every day, our products move millions of people as we aim to make driving safer, smarter, and more connected, shaping the future of transportation on a global scale..

The Role

In a rapidly-evolving industry like automotive, the need for seamless hardware/software integration is paramount. As a Global Vehicle Hardware Engineering (GVHE) Scrum Manager, you have the unique opportunity to a servant leader and technical product owner for a GVHE Hardware Optimization Scrum Team. This role ensures the team is working on the highest-value hardware co-optimization and virtual-validation work at the right time, with clear requirements, executable stories, measurable outcomes, and strong alignment to Agile Release Train (ART) objectives.

The Scrum Manager owns the team’s multi-sprint backlog and serves as the subject matter expert for its technical content. The role connects end users, hardware and systems engineers, modelers, software and controls teams, validation partners, suppliers, and ART leadership to convert hardware optimization opportunities into prioritized, traceable, and testable work.

What You’ll Do (Responsibilities)

The successful candidate will help establish and scale a disciplined operating model for hardware optimization across GVHE. The role combines backlog ownership, technical product leadership, Agile execution, stakeholder alignment, and dependency management. The Scrum Manager will translate ART Features and product strategy into clear Stories with acceptance criteria, coordinate team capacity and sequencing, and ensure delivered work meets the Definition of Done.

This position is well suited to an engineer or technical leader who can work across hardware, software, systems engineering, simulation, and program execution. The candidate must be comfortable operating in ambiguity, influencing without direct authority, and converting complex technical needs into actionable work that produces reusable engineering capability.

Own the Scrum Team backlog aligned with strategy and vision.Serve as technical subject matter expert for the Scrum Team.Establish and maintain a backlog for hardware optimization and co-optimization capabilities across the assigned domain.Work with end users to define problems, desired outcomes, value hypotheses, and measurable acceptance criteria.Decompose ART Features, capabilities, and technical enablers into Stories that are clear, testable, estimable, and traceable.Coordinate the team’s capacity, sequencing, and commitments across multiple sprints and program milestones.Partner with Hardware Architects, System Integration Architects, Dev Leads, modelers, and validation engineers to ensure technical feasibility and integration readiness.Drive visibility of cross-team dependencies involving models, interfaces, requirements, environments, test support, data, suppliers, or software/hardware baselines.Represent the team in appropriate ART-level coordination forums and bring forward only the topics requiring cross-team alignment, decisions, or escalation.Ensure Jira is the system of record for backlog status, ownership, acceptance criteria, dependencies, and delivery progressSupport focused System Demos and Inspect and Adapt events by confirming evidence, outcomes, gaps, and follow-up actions.Facilitate healthy team culture, inclusive decision-making, constructive conflict resolution, and continuous learningHelp mature repeatable processes for CoSIM, virtual validation, hardware parameter definition, optimization studies, and engineering evidence.
Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, systems engineering, or a related technical field; or equivalent relevant experience.Minimum of 3 years of relevant engineering, technical product ownership, Agile delivery, systems engineering, controls, simulation, or program execution experience.Demonstrated experience owning and prioritizing a technical backlog across multiple sprints or releases.Demonstrated ability to write or guide the creation of clear, testable Stories, acceptance criteria, and Definition-of-Done expectations.Working knowledge of Scrum and/or SAFe practices, including backlog refinement, iteration planning, PI Planning, retrospectives, System Demos, and risk/dependency management.Experience using Jira or a comparable work-management tool to maintain backlog, status, dependencies, and delivery visibility.Understanding of hardware/software integration, systems engineering, requirements capture, and validation or testing practices.Strong analytical judgment and ability to make sound prioritization decisions with incomplete or changing information.Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical issues to varied audiences.Ability to influence across functions and organizations without relying on direct authority.Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining quality, timing, stakeholder alignment, and delivery risk awareness.Willingness to work in a hybrid environment and collaborate across geographically distributed teams.
What May Give You an Edge (Preferred Qualifications)

Experience with hardware optimization, CoSIM, SIL, vECU development, virtual validation, MDAO, MBSE, model-based definitions, Virtual Model requirements, SimBOM, or digital-thread practices.Experience translating hardware-dominated functions, performance objectives, constraints, design variables, or model requirements into executable engineering work.Experience coordinating work across hardware, software, controls, systems, calibration, validation, suppliers, and vehicle program teams.Experience supporting an Agile Release Train, Scrum of Scrums, ART-level dependency management, or similar cross-team execution model.Experience defining or reviewing optimization studies, design-space exploration, model credibility, test evidence, or engineering decision records.Experience with automotive development, embedded controls, vehicle systems, electrification, propulsion, chassis, body, battery, thermal, or other vehicle-domain engineering.SAFe, Scrum, Product Owner, Agile coaching, systems engineering, or project/program management certification.Familiarity with engineering tools and data sources such as Jira, Confluence, Git, MATLAB/Simulink, Python, Cameo/SysML, or equivalent platforms.Experience leading process improvement, technical onboarding, or capability development in an ambiguous or emerging organization.
GM does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. Do not apply for this role if you will need GM immigration sponsorship now or in the future. This includes direct company sponsorship, entry of GM as the immigration employer of record on a government form, and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (e.g., H1-B, OPT, STEM OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc). This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the selected candidate is expected to report to a specific location at least 3 times a week {or other frequency dictated by their manager}. The selected candidate will be required to travel <25% for this role. Relocation benefits are available for candidates who qualify under company policy. About GM

Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.

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