Lead of Telematics

Role Overview As the Lead of Telematics, you will be the strategic visionary and operational leader responsible for shaping the future of our connected vehicle technology ecosystem. You will spearhead the design, implementation, and scaling of end-to-end telematics solutionsintegrating IoT hardware, cellular communications, cloud data infrastructure, and advanced analytics. This role bridges the gap between complex engineering and commercial execution. You will lead cross-functional teams of hardware engineers, data scientists, and product managers to deliver scalable, secure, and data-driven solutions that optimize fleet efficiency, improve driver safety, and unlock new revenue streams. Key Responsibilities Strategic Leadership: Define the long-term technology and product roadmap for the telematics platform, ensuring alignment with overarching business growth and digital transformation goals. Ecosystem Architecture: Oversee the selection, integration, and lifecycle management of telematics hardware (OBD dongles, dashcams, OEM embedded systems) and wireless connectivity partners (4G/5G, satellite). Data Strategy & Analytics: Partner with Data Engineering teams to build robust, low-latency data pipelines capable of processing millions of data points. Drive the development of predictive models for vehicle diagnostics, driver behavior profiling, and predictive maintenance. Vendor & Partner Management: Lead negotiations and manage relationships with external tier-1 hardware manufacturers, cellular carriers, and software vendors. Compliance & Cyber Security: Ensure all connected vehicle systems rigorously comply with global data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) and industry-standard automotive cybersecurity protocols. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Serve as the internal subject matter expert, collaborating with Product, Sales, Operations, and Actuarial/Risk teams to translate raw telematics data into actionable business intelligence. Required Qualifications & Skills Experience: 8+ years of experience in telematics, IoT, or connected vehicle technology, with at least 3+ years in a senior leadership or directorial capacity. Technical Domain Expertise: Deep understanding of CAN bus protocols (J1939, OBD-II), GPS/GNSS systems, cellular IoT technologies (LTE-M, NB-IoT), and cloud architecture (AWS, Azure, or GCP). Data Fluency: Proven experience managing large-scale, real-time data streaming architectures (e.g., Kafka, MQTT) and familiarity with big data analytics tools. Leadership Style: A track record of building, mentoring, and leading high-performing, cross-functional engineering and product teams in a fast-paced environment. Education: Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Automotive Engineering, or a highly related technical field. A Master’s degree or MBA is highly preferred. Preferred Attributes Direct experience working with automotive OEMs on embedded telematics integrations. Background in fleet management software (SaaS), usage-based insurance (UBI), or autonomous vehicle technology. Strong commercial acumen with experience presenting technical concepts to C-suite executives and external enterprise clients.