Senior Software Product Manager - Embedded & Real-Time Systems (Automotive)

Senior Software Product Manager – Embedded & Real-Time Systems (Automotive)

Location: Munich, DE, Bucharest, RO, Austin, TX (or flexible NXP location)

Function

Automotive Processors – Senior Software Product Management

Role Overview

We are hiring a Senior Software Product Manager to own the low-level software stack for next-generation automotive real‑time processing. You will drive product roadmap, strategy and execution across Real‑Time Drivers (RTD), Firmware, Security, and BSP, ensuring alignment from silicon to system integration. This role is critical to enabling system bring‑up, software quality, and scalable customer deployment in Software‑Defined Vehicle (SDV) architectures.

Key Responsibilities

• Product Ownership
  • Define, execute, and own the product roadmap for low‑level real‑time software including RTD (drivers), BSP, RTOS, and RTHV (virtualization/isolation)
  • System management (boot, firmware services, PMIC control)
  • Security (secure boot, crypto, key management)
• Translate OEM, Tier1, and system requirements into clear product feature definitions and priorities
• Balance trade‑offs across timeline, quality, performance, safety, security, and scalability
• System Bring‑Up & Integration
  • Boot and power sequencing
  • Driver and peripheral enablement (CAN, LIN, DDR, PCIe, Ethernet)
  • System firmware, safety and security framework
  • Drive adoption of AI‑assisted tools across SW lifecycle
  • Define and enable AI‑driven customer experience on platform
  • Ensure low‑level software enables end‑to‑end platform bring‑up to ensure system‑level readiness, not just feature delivery
• Cross‑Functional Leadership
  • Serve as the single owner bridging Software R&D (feature delivery), Applications Engineering (customer enablement, integration), Product & Systems Engineering Teams (platform definition and roadmap)
  • Drive clear ownership, dependency management, and execution alignment across teams
• Execution & Delivery
  • Own delivery across pre‑silicon bring‑up, NPI, customer deployment and maintenance
  • Track and communicate: system readiness, risks and dependencies, execution gaps and mitigation plans
• Customer & Ecosystem Engagement
  • Engage with OEMs and Tier1 partners to understand real‑world requirements
  • Translate customer feedback into product improvements
  • Drive simplification, usability, and reduced complexity to accelerate adoption and design wins
  • Represent low‑level SW in customer discussions on bring‑up, performance, safety, and security

Qualifications

• 10+ years in embedded software, automotive systems, or related field
• Strong background in low‑level SW: drivers, bootloaders, firmware, BSP, AUTOSAR, RTOS, or Zephyr environments
• Experience in product management, technical leadership, or system architecture
• Solid understanding of system bring‑up and HW/SW integration challenges

Preferred

• Experience with automotive SoCs or industrial systems
• Familiarity with safety (ISO 26262) and security (ISO 21434, HSE)
• Experience with CI/CD and OTA‑based software delivery
• Experience enabling AI‑assisted development tools
• Experience driving AI‑driven developer and customer workflows
• Customer‑facing experience with OEMs or Tier1s

What Success Looks Like

• Improved software quality for first‑time success rate
• Reduced customer escalations
• Strong alignment across SW R&D, Applications, and Product teams
• Faster customer enablement and NPI execution
• Reliable system‑level bring‑up readiness for new platforms