Technology Manager (BU Integration)
Harman · Northridge · $134,250–$196,900 (stated in the posting)
A Career at HARMAN
As a technology leader that is rapidly on the move, HARMAN is filled with people who are focused on making life better. Innovation, inclusivity and teamwork are a part of our DNA. When you add that to the challenges we take on and solve together, you’ll discover that at HARMAN you can grow, make a difference and be proud of the work you do every day.
Introduction: A Career at HARMAN Corporate
We’re a global, multi-disciplinary team that’s putting the innovative power of technology to work and transforming tomorrow. At HARMAN Corporate, you are integral to our company’s award-winning success.
- Enrich your managerial and organizational talents – from finance, quality, and supply chain to human resources, IT, sales, and strategy
- Augment your comprehensive skillset with expert training across decision-making, change management, leadership, and business development
- Obtain 360-degree support throughout your career life cycle, from early-stage to seasoned leader
About the Role
The Technology Manager for BU Integration serves as the key strategic liaison between the Intelligent Audio team and the business units. In this role, you bridge advanced technology development and product execution - ensuring that the innovations from Intelligent Audio align with business unit roadmaps and get successfully integrated into products. You will manage the technology planning process, capturing product requirements from various BUs (consumer, automotive, professional) and mapping them to the Intelligent Audio portfolio. This includes maintaining an integrated technology roadmap that shows when and how new AI/DSP features will land in products and coordinating efforts so that research delivers the “right technology at the right time” for the BUs. Additionally, you will handle outward communication and education – evangelizing Intelligent Audio capabilities to product teams and customers, and bringing feedback back to the R&D team. Think of this role as part product manager, part program manager for the Intelligent Audio initiatives, with a focus on cross-organizational alignment. Success means no gap between what the technology team is building and what the product teams need - leading to smoother product integrations and maximum business impact.
What You Will Do
- Roadmap Alignment: Develop and maintain a unified roadmap that links Intelligent Audio technology deliveries with product release schedules across multiple divisions. Work with each BU’s product managers and technical leads to understand their upcoming product plans and feature needs. Ensure that the Intelligent Audio team’s project timelines and milestones are aligned to these needs (or communicate adjustments as needed to stakeholders).
- Requirements Gathering: Proactively gather detailed requirements from business units for intelligent audio features – e.g. performance targets, platform constraints, certification needs, user experience goals. Translate these into technical requirements or feature definitions for the R&D team. Regularly update the R&D team on changing market or product priorities so that research focus can adjust in a timely manner.
- Integration Planning: Coordinate the integration of new technologies into BU product development. For each new feature (say an adaptive EQ or a machine-learning noise canceller ready for productization), work out with the BU when and how it will be integrated: which product program will pick it up, what integration support is needed, what testing will be done. Essentially manage the “hand-off” from research to product teams to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
- Stakeholder Communication: Serve as the evangelist for Intelligent Audio within the company and to key external partners. Create presentations, demos, and documentation to educate BU teams (product management, engineering, sales) on the capabilities and benefits of the latest intelligent audio innovations. Equally, communicate the business context back to the R&D team – why certain features matter, what end-user problem we’re solving – to guide development.
- Program Management: Oversee cross-team initiatives that involve Intelligent Audio tech. For example, if a particular feature requires contributions from the cloud team and the embedded team, facilitate those collaborations. Track progress of technology-related deliverables in product programs and intervene to resolve blockers (resource issues, technical hurdles, priority conflicts) by working with leadership.
- Market & Competitive Awareness: Keep a pulse on industry trends and competitive moves in smart audio, AI, and adjacent domains. Understand what Amazon, Apple, Google, etc. are doing in similar spaces. Leverage this insight to inform the roadmap and to advise BUs on strategic positioning. Ensure our internal planning accounts for external technological shifts (for instance, a new AI audio framework or a new connectivity standard).
What You Need to Be Successful
- Education & Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science or related field; MBA or relevant business training is a plus. 5-8+ years of experience in a technology management, product management, or technical program management role, ideally in the audio, consumer electronics, or automotive tech industry. Prior experience interfacing between R&D teams and product/business teams is highly desired.
- Technical Familiarity: Broad understanding of audio and AI technologies – you don’t need to design algorithms, but you must grasp the fundamentals (Audio, DSP, machine learning concepts, connectivity standards) to effectively communicate and plan. Experience with media or audio technologies (e.g. codecs, audio signal flow, audio software stacks) or AI/ML products is a strong asset.
- Project/Program Skills: Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects or roadmaps with multiple stakeholders. Strong organizational skills to track numerous threads and ensure timely follow-ups. Familiarity with project management tools and methodologies (Agile, stage-gate, etc.) in a development context.
- Communication & Influence: Excellent communicator in both written and verbal form. Capable of translating technical details into business implications and vice versa. Comfortable presenting to executives and large groups. Strong negotiation and influence skills – able to align teams with different objectives towards a common plan. Thought leadership capabilities to advocate for certain technologies or approaches across the organization.
- Business Acumen: Good understanding of product lifecycle and go-to-market considerations. Able to weigh the business value of a feature against development effort and guide prioritization discussions. Experience conducting competitive analysis or market research in tech. Passion for user experience and an ability to champion the end-user perspective when discussing features.
- Personal Attributes: Highly collaborative, works well in a matrix organization. Proactive and self-driven – doesn’t wait for instructions to connect dots between teams. Adaptable to changing priorities and able to handle ambiguity. A genuine enthusiasm for audio technology and AI, and the ability to convey that excitement to motivate teams.
What Makes You Eligible
- Successfully complete a background investigation and drug screen as a condition of employment (post-offer).
What We Offer
- Flexible work environment, allowing for full-time remote work globally for positions that can be performed outside a HARMAN or customer location
- 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.
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Salary Ranges:
HARMAN is proud to be an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer. 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.