Staff Program Manager Cost Out and Productivity

Aurora develops and commercially operates AI-powered self-driving freight technology through its Aurora Driver system.

Pittsburgh, United States
About Aurora Innovation, Inc.

Aurora is a public autonomous-vehicle technology company focused on self-driving freight. Its Aurora Driver combines hardware and AI software to operate trucks and underpins its driver-as-a-service trucking product.

View jobs by Aurora Innovation, Inc.

Skills

Candidate Availability

Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.

About the Role

You will own cost-to-serve performance across the partner portfolio. You will identify efficiency opportunities, analyze cost trends, build reporting tools, lead cost-reduction initiatives, and present tradeoffs and business cases to senior leaders. You will establish reusable optimization playbooks and mentor category leads.

Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
  • 7+ years of relevant experience in program management, cost/productivity management, operations, or a related field
  • Experience independently leading complex, data-driven cost-reduction or productivity programs across functions
  • Ability to define governance mechanisms and performance systems for cost efficiency
  • Track record of delivering measurable cost or efficiency outcomes through cross-functional leadership
  • Executive communication, business judgment, and stakeholder influence skills
  • Experience developing and using metrics, controls, and performance systems, including Python, Tableau, or Power BI
  • Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification or ability to obtain certification within 90 days of hire

Responsibilities

  • Own cost-to-serve performance across the partner portfolio
  • Define measurement frameworks, targets, and improvement roadmaps
  • Analyze cost trends to identify inefficiencies, pricing anomalies, and optimization opportunities
  • Embed cost and productivity metrics into vendor scorecards and quarterly business reviews
  • Lead cross-functional cost-out initiatives using Lean Six Sigma and DMAIC
  • Build and maintain cost-to-serve dashboards and models
  • Frame cost tradeoffs, risks, and business cases for senior leaders
  • Establish cost-optimization playbooks and mentor category leads

Benefits

  • Annual bonus
  • Equity compensation