Project Manager Product and Technology PMO

Opportunity:

Do you have a passion for pushing the boundaries of innovation? Are you excited about AI’s potential to improve the human experience? Then come join the ride.

Who is Cerence?
Cerence is the global leader in AI for transportation, specialized in building AI and voice-powered companions for cars, two-wheelers, and more that enable people to focus on what matters most. With over 500 million cars shipped with Cerence technology, we partner with leading automakers (such as Volkswagen, Mercedes, Audi, Toyota and many more), mobility providers, and technology companies to power intuitive, integrated experiences that create safer, more connected, and more enjoyable journeys for drivers and passengers alike.

Our Driving Force
Our team is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of AI innovation, working around the globe with headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA and 16 other offices across Europe, Asia, and North America. We bring together diverse backgrounds and varied skill sets with the shared goal of advancing the next generation of transportation user experiences. Our culture is customer-centric, collaborative, fast-paced and fun, with continuous opportunities for learning and development to support your career growth.

Your Impact:

• Own product delivery commitments towards the Product Owner (PO), management team, and project stakeholders (internal and external).
• Provide and maintain the product release plan based on backlog prioritization, estimation, and squad capacity, in accordance with Product Management.
• Coordinate external dependencies with the squad to ensure alignment and timely delivery.
• Report on project status, maintaining the product dashboard and key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Continuously manage priorities while addressing potential change requests such as new commitment requests, implementation challenges, escalations, and delays between teams.

Daily Functions / Responsibilities:

• Backlog & Release Management:
• Supports the Product Owner (PO) in backlog management, ensuring effective prioritization and planning.
• Organizes and coordinates backlog grooming meetings on behalf of the PO but does not lead them (these are led by the PO or a delegate).
• Ensures that capabilities/epics for the next release are groomed and estimated at least 5 weeks before the release commitment date for regular monthly releases.
• Participates in grooming meetings as needed to gather necessary information for maintaining the project plan.
• Attends sprint planning meetings to capture critical details required for planning and execution.
• Schedules and ensures the execution of recurring Scrum ceremonies, ensuring alignment with the Cerence Agile process.
• Capacity & Resource Management:
• Manages squad capacity and resource allocation to align with project priorities and commitments.
• Develops and maintains a 12-month rolling product roadmap, incorporating PO prioritization and high-level estimates.
• Plans product releases based on backlog prioritization, squad capacity, and capability estimations.
• Bug & Issue Management:
• Supports bug screening and squad prioritization for issue resolution.
• Maintains the squad’s JIRA projects, including creating and managing JIRA releases.
• Ensures the release lifecycle is fully completed, from planning to deployment.
• Creates release notes in collaboration with the PO and squad members based on JIRA capabilities, epics, and bug fixes.
• Dependency & Risk Management:
• Identifies and manages internal and external dependencies to ensure smooth delivery of functionality.
• Works closely with other Project Managers to secure commitments on external dependencies.
• Maintains an up-to-date product release schedule to ensure alignment with broader business objectives.
• Manages and maintains project reports, KPIs, and the risk register to provide transparency on project health.
• Escalation & Stakeholder Communication:
• Acts as a point of escalation, ensuring unresolved issues are promptly communicated to the appropriate stakeholders inside and outside the project.
• Follows up on escalations to ensure they are addressed and properly resolved.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Computer Science, or related field (required).
• Master’s degree or PMP/PMI certification (preferred).
• 2+ years of experience in project/program management, preferably in a global organization.
• Experience with AI, human machine interfaces, Cloud software development, or automotive applications.
• Demonstrated success in leading a project to delivery.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to drive cross-functional and geographically distributed teams.
• Advanced knowledge of project management methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, Hybrid) and tools (e.g., Jira, MS Project, PowerBI).

• Montreal: Fluent in both English and French.

Cerence Inc. (Nasdaq: CRNC and www.cerence.com) is the global industry leader in creating unique, moving experiences for the automotive world. Spun out from Nuance in October 2019, Cerence is a new, independent company that has quickly gained traction as a leader in the automotive voice assistant space, working with all of the world’s leading automakers – from Ford and Fiat Chrysler to Daimler, Audi and BMW to Geely and SAIC – to transform how a car feels, responds and learns. Its track record is built on more than 20 years of industry experience and leadership and more than 500 million cars on the road today across more than 70 languages.

As Cerence looks to the future and continues an ambitious growth agenda, we need someone to join the team and help build the future of voice and AI in cars. This is an exciting opportunity to join Cerence’s passionate, dedicated, global team and be a part of meaningful innovation in a rapidly growing industry.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Cerence is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and to compliance with all federal, state and local laws that prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, protected military or veteran status, genetic information and other protected classifications. Cerence Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.

All prospective and current Employees need to remain vigilant when it comes to executing security policies in the workplace. This includes:

- Following workplace security protocols and training programs to familiarize with the ways to maintain a safe workplace.
- Following security procedures to report any suspicious activity.
- Having respect for corporate security procedures to allow those procedures to be effective.
- Adhering to company's compliance and regulations.
- Encouraging to follow a zero tolerance for workplace violence.

- Basic knowledge of information security and data privacy requirements (e.g., how to protect data & how to be handling this data).

- Demonstrative knowledge of information security through internal training programs.