Technical Project Lead

Location: Austin, United States of America

Thales people architect identity management and data protection solutions at the heart of digital security. Business and governments rely on us to bring trust to the billons of digital interactions they have with people. Our technologies and services help banks exchange funds, people cross borders, energy become smarter and much more. More than 30,000 organizations already rely on us to verify the identities of people and things, grant access to digital services, analyze vast quantities of information and encrypt data to make the connected world more secure.

Position Summary

Austin, Texas, USA Hybrid/Onsite

Thales is looking for a Technical Project Lead/ Project Design Authority (PDA) within Identity and Biometric Solutions (IBS), with minimal supervision of the Program/Project Leader or Engineering Director, to be the main technical leader on our projects, leading teams of engineers and technical staff through the implementation and the deployment of advanced Identity and Biometric solutions. 

In this role, you are accountable for one or more projects of significant complexity and/or cost that are of high significance to the company. You are responsible for designing and delivering customized solutions that meets the customer requirements in high quality and security standards. In addition, you will support the Project Manager in the organization of the project - project-level scheduling, reporting, and working across various functional groups to accomplish project objectives.

Regulatory Compliance Requirements

BIDs and presales:

• Be the primary technical leader for the engineering part of our offers.

• Ensure the feasibility of the solution in term of architecture and technology maturity with respect to the contractual requirements, the consistency of the solution with product policy within target cost, schedule, and customer various constraints.

• Participate in the elaboration of the Work Breakdown Structure to identify work packages and organize engineering activities.

• Approve the main BID/project engineering reviews and deliverables. 

• Support Customer demo/workshop in terms of presentation and technical discussions

Project Technical Leadership:

• Prepare DVa (Design Validation), describing overall solution architecture, technologies choices, customer needs and regulation constraints, standards, including identifying engineering risks and defined mitigation plans.

• Translate the customer needs into functional solution specifications and write the solution level requirements and interface documents.

• Own the overall solution architecture and design, lead the technical choices to comply to required security, performances, environment constraints, cost, and time frame, and in collaboration architects and Work Package Managers (WPM).

• Approve the technical documentation issued by the project engineering team, and the workload estimations and help optimize timelines while keeping high quality standards.

• Lead the customer workshop, ensure a good understanding of the customer needs to articulate into a clear and concise solution description, leading to precise specifications.

• Lead the interfaces definition between integrated solution components (customer’s system, our solution), as well as internal sub-systems.

Project Team Leadership:

• Be the main technical contact with the customer for all engineering topics.

• Organize and lead technical meetings and peer reviews with PMs and Head of Engineering, and other stakeholders, to perform the solution technical assessment and validation of technical choices.

• Be accountable for the project engineering delivery, tracking the progress of the several engineering work package with their respective managers.

• Drive the project execution process for the engineering activities, in close collaboration with the PM and the IVVQM (IVVQ Manager)

• Collaborate with the IVVQM to confirm the right strategy for the verification and integration of the solution; and coordinate the technical Work Packages to ensure consistency for the integration of the solution.

• Identify, consolidate, and monitor the technical risks and related action plans (engineering, quality, and security)

• Report the project status, for the engineering scope, to the PM and the Engineering Operation Manager

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field (or foreign equivalent) or equivalent experience.

• Over 8 years of software engineering experience with in-depth knowledge of engineering practices and processes.

• Proven engineering leadership experience with a pragmatic approach to decision-making and team management.

• Strong technical background, capable of collaborating with architects to design optimal solutions within project constraints.

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a talent for leading teams and fostering collaboration to deliver effective solutions.

• Experience managing multiple projects, leading workshops with stakeholders to clarify requirements and project scope, coupled with proficiency in project tracking tools (Confluence, Jira).

• Strong analytical abilities and a logical, pragmatic approach to problem-solving, supporting the team to find cost-effective solutions.

• Self-starter with excellent technical writing skills, capable of influencing both technical and non-technical decisions while accurately estimating and contributing to project technical plans.

If you’re excited about working with Thales, but not meeting the requirements for this position, we encourage you to join our Talent Community!

Special Position Requirements

Travel: 15-20% annually on average within NORAM

What We Offer

Thales provides an extensive benefits program for all full-time employees working 30 or more hours per week and their eligible dependents, including the following: 

•Elective Health, Dental, Vision, FSA/HSA, Voluntary Life and AD&D, Whole Group Life w/LTC, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, Accident Insurance, Legal Plan, Identity Theft, and Pet Insurance.

•Retirement Savings Plan after 30 days of employment with a company contribution and a match, and with no vesting period. 

•Company paid holidays and Paid Time Off. 

•Company provided Life Insurance, AD&D, Disability, Employee Assistance Plan, and Well-being Program. 

Why Join Us?

Say HI and learn more about working at Thales click here.

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This position will require successfully completing a post-offer background check. Qualified candidates with [a] criminal history will be considered and are not automatically disqualified, consistent with federal law, state law, and local ordinances.

Successful applicant must comply with federal contractor vaccine mandate requirements.

Thales champions inclusion and we believe diversity strengthens the fabric of our culture. We are an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you need an accommodation or assistance in order to apply for a position with Thales, please contact us at [email protected].