Catalyzing a cleaner future 

At ESS (NYSE: GWH), our mission is to accelerate global decarbonization by providing safe, sustainable, long-duration energy storage that powers people, communities, and businesses with clean, renewable energy anytime and anywhere it’s needed. As more renewable energy is added to the grid, long- duration energy storage is essential to providing the reliability and resiliency we need when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing. 

Our technology uses earth-abundant iron, salt, and water to deliver environmentally safe solutions capable of providing up to 12 hours of flexible energy capacity for commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications. Established in 2011, ESS Inc. enables project developers, independent power producers, utilities, and other large energy users to deploy reliable, sustainable long-duration energy storage solutions.

Position Profile

ESS is seeking a Sr. Technical Program Manager, Software & Controls to drive strategic planning and execution across our software, controls, and systems engineering teams. This role owns end-to-end program planning, coordination, and delivery for complex, cross-functional development efforts, ensuring that timelines are realistic, cross-project dependencies are understood, and teams remain aligned to product roadmaps and company commitments as we deliver next-generation energy storage products.
 

You will act as the central execution leader, integrating internal teams of engineers, architects, product leaders, and third-party partners into a cohesive program, proactively managing dependencies, resolving risks, optimizing costs, and synchronizing timelines to ensure business objectives are realized effectively and with emphasis on comprehensive quality. This role operates with a high degree of autonomy and serves as the bridge between domain execution and enterprise program objectives.
 

The ideal candidate is proactive, highly organized, technologically fluent, and comfortable managing competing priorities within teams and across the organization with senior leaders.

What you’ll do

• Own end-to-end strategic planning and execution of software, controls, and integrated system testing programs
• Develop and maintain integrated program plans, including milestones, dependencies, and risks
• Lead Agile execution rhythms (sprint planning, backlog coordination, release tracking) across multiple teams

• Drive cross-functional alignment across engineering, product, systems, and external partners
• Serve as the primary coordination point for third-party development vendors, ensuring alignment to program timelines and deliverables
• Identify, escalate, and resolve cross-team risks, blockers, and execution gaps
• Synthesize program status into clear, actionable insights for leadership and PMO stakeholders
• Run program reviews, standups, and status communications with a focus on accuracy and consistency
• Ensure alignment between customer commitments, internal roadmaps, and enterprise milestones
• Support translation of product and technical strategy into executable plans
• Implement and reinforce program management tools, processes, and governance standards
• Develop and maintain resource planning, forecasting, and program-level budgeting as needed
• Drive continuous improvement in program execution, coordination, and reporting practices

What you bring

• Business mindset and the ability to develop and maintain an effective program strategy aligned to enterprise objectives 
• 8-12+ years of experience in technical program management, project management, or engineering operations
• Experience orchestrating complex, multi-team projects & program outputs in software, controls, or integrated hardware/software environments– relevant applications include automotive, aerospace, energy, or similar technical products
• Strong working knowledge of Agile/Scrum methodologies and development workflows
• Proven ability to manage cross-functional dependencies and external partners
• Excellent organizational, communication, and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to operate independently in fast-paced, evolving environments

• Strong analytical mindset with attention to detail and follow-through
• Ability to engage deeply and motivate technical teams without direct authority
• Ability to deal with ambiguity and dynamic priorities

Key Attributes

• Drives clarity, accountability, and alignment across complex programs
• Proactively identifies risks and resolves issues before escalation is required
• Influences across all levels of the organization with data-driven communication
• Builds strong cross-functional relationships and fosters collaboration
• Balancesstructure and flexibility to enable execution in dynamic environments
• Maintains high standards for communication quality, consistency, and transparency

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in energy storage, power systems, EV, utilities, or similar industries
• Background in hardware + software integrated product development, familiarity with software lifecycle management
• Experience managing third-party engineering or software vendors
• Familiarity with information management tools such as Smartsheet, MS Project, Jira, Confluence, Oracle Cloud, Fusion PLM
• Proficiency with Excel and / or PowerBI

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent experience
• PgMP, PMP, Scrum, or similar certification (strongly preferred)