Senior Program Manager – Release Management

About Cyngn Based in Mountain View, CA, Cyngn is a publicly-traded autonomous technology company. We deploy self-driving industrial vehicles — specifically autonomous tuggers — to factories, warehouses, and other facilities throughout North America. To build this emergent technology, we are looking for innovative, motivated, and experienced leaders to join us and move this field forward. If you like to build, tinker, and create with a team of trusted and passionate colleagues, then Cyngn is the place for you. Key reasons to join Cyngn: We are small and big. With under 100 employees, Cyngn operates with the energy of a startup. On the other hand, we’re publicly traded. This means our employees not only work in close-knit teams with mentorship from company leaders—they also get access to the liquidity of our publicly-traded equity. We build today and deploy tomorrow. Our autonomous vehicles aren’t just test concepts—they’re deployed to real clients right now. That means your work will have a tangible, visible impact. We aren’t robots. We just develop them. We’re a welcoming, diverse team of sharp thinkers and kind humans. Collaboration and trust drive our creative environment. At Cyngn, everyone’s perspective matters—and that’s what powers our innovation. About this role : We are seeking a Senior Program Manager to own the end-to-end release management process for our autonomous vehicle software and hardware systems and to drive cross-functional program execution at scale. This role is ideal for someone with 6+ years of experience in program or technical project management who can operate independently, influence without authority, and build the processes and infrastructure needed to reliably ship complex, safety-critical systems. The ideal candidate combines deep release management expertise with a strategic perspective to align engineering, product, and customer-facing teams around shared delivery goals. Responsibilities Own the release management lifecycle from planning through deployment, including release readiness criteria, go/no-go decisions, and post-release retrospectives. Define and maintain release schedules that account for hardware/software dependencies, customer commitments, and regulatory requirements. Serve as the central coordination point for all release-related activities across engineering, QA, product, and field operations. Drive program-level planning, tracking, and risk management across multiple concurrent initiatives. Develop and maintain release governance processes, including branching strategies, freeze windows, and rollback procedures in collaboration with engineering leads. Identify systemic risks and blockers across programs and drive resolution with appropriate urgency and escalation. Build and report on program and release KPIs, surfacing insights that inform leadership decisions on scope, schedule, and resource trade-offs. Partner with product and engineering leadership to translate roadmap priorities into executable delivery plans. Lead cross-functional release readiness reviews, integration testing coordination, and customer rollout sequencing. Qualifications 6+ years of experience in program or project management within a technical environment, with direct ownership of release management processes. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical or Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline; advanced degree a plus. Proven ability to manage complex, multi-team programs involving both software and hardware components. Deep experience with Jira administration, including workflow configuration, reporting, and cross-project coordination. Strong command of Agile methodologies and SDLC practices, including experience adapting them to hardware-coupled development cycles. Excellent communication and facilitation skills; able to drive alignment across engineering, product, and executive stakeholders. Experience with autonomous systems, robotics, or other safety-critical industries strongly preferred. Track record of bringing order to complex, fast-moving programs without slowing teams down. Benefits & Perks Health benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA and FSA (Health & Dependent Daycare), Employee Assistance Program, 1:1 Health Concierge) Life, Short-term and long-term disability insurance (Cyngn funds 100% of premiums) Company 401(k) Commuter Benefits Flexible vacation policy Remote or hybrid work opportunities Sabbatical leave opportunity after 5 years with the company Paid Parental Leave Daily lunches for in-office employees and fully-stocked kitchen with snacks and beverages Monthly meal and tech allowances for remote employees