Lead Automotive Engineer

Auto Lead, technical leadership of a small team 7-10+ years

Other levels: Automotive Engineer Senior Automotive Engineer Principal Automotive Engineer Junior Automotive Engineer

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The job description

Tech stack. CATIA/NX, JIRA/Confluence, DFMEA systems, program timing tools, supplier scorecards, MATLAB/Simulink

About the role

You will lead a small team of automotive engineers delivering a vehicle subsystem through an active program at a growing automaker. You own the technical output and the people: assignments, reviews, timing, and growth. This role matters because programs run on the teams that hit their gateways, and your leadership determines whether your engineers deliver clean designs on schedule or drown in late changes and firefighting. You will run a small team of engineers through the chaos of a vehicle program, shielding them from thrash while keeping every deliverable visible and on schedule. Your one-on-ones will focus on growth and unblocking, and your design reviews will teach the team to critique ideas without crushing the people behind them. You will also manage the interface to program management, translating technical reality into timelines leadership can plan around without surprises. You will also track team velocity and quality metrics, intervening early when trends point the wrong way.

What you will achieve

Deliver your subsystem scope through all program gateways on time, with open issues trending to zero two months before each milestone
Build a team of 4 to 7 engineers with clear ownership areas, growth plans, and a review culture that catches errors early
Cut engineering change volume by 30 percent through front-loaded requirements and interface agreements with adjacent teams
Own staffing, priority, and escalation decisions across competing program demands without losing team morale
Drive supplier execution: technical reviews, timing recovery plans, and quality containment when suppliers slip

What you will bring

Must-haves

7 to 10+ years of automotive engineering experience with multiple program cycles completed
Demonstrated technical leadership: leading design teams, running reviews, owning cross-functional coordination
Strong program management instincts: timing plans, resource loading, risk registers, and gateway readiness
Deep expertise in your subsystem with working knowledge of full vehicle integration
Ability to hire, coach, and performance-manage engineers including tough feedback
Calm, decisive prioritization when timing, cost, and quality collide
Excellent communication upward to program management and outward to suppliers

Nice-to-haves

Experience leading teams through a full launch including Job 1 and early production
Knowledge of lean product development or agile hardware practices
Background across OEM and Tier 1 perspectives
Formal leadership or project management training