Head of Engineering

Amor Management Consultants - India’s Premiere Auto Talent Hiring Specialists; Chennai District; On-site; INR 2,300,000 - 3,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Amor Management Consultants is looking for a Head - Vehicle Engineering to provide strategic leadership in vehicle customer performance engineering. This role aims to integrate customer insights and technical excellence to deliver market-leading products that ensure superior customer satisfaction.

The ideal candidate will have over 18 years of experience in Vehicle Engineering and proven expertise in managing cross-functional teams. A Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical or Automobile Engineering is essential, with a Master's Degree preferred.

Qualifications

• 18–25+ years of experience in Vehicle Engineering, Product Development, or Performance Engineering.
• Strong experience in complete vehicle development programs.
• Proven expertise in Vehicle Customer Performance Engineering.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for vehicle customer performance engineering.
• Lead cross-functional teams to achieve vehicle-level performance objectives.
• Manage project timelines, budgets, resources, and deliverables.

Skills

Vehicle Engineering

Product Development

NVH target setting

Passive Safety

Ride & Handling development

Cross-functional team management

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical / Automobile Engineering

Master's Degree

Job description

Objective of the Role – Head - Vehicle Engineering:

To provide strategic leadership for vehicle customer performance engineering, integrating customer insights, technical excellence, validation rigor, and competitive benchmarking to deliver market‑leading products that achieve superior customer satisfaction, safety ratings, ride quality, refinement, and advanced driver assistance performance.

Customer Performance Strategy & Leadership

• Define and drive vehicle customer performance targets aligned with brand positioning and market requirements.
• Lead cross‑functional teams to achieve vehicle‑level performance objectives.
• Establish benchmarks against competitor vehicles and industry standards.
• Provide technical direction and strategic inputs during vehicle development programs.

Marketability & Customer Acceptance

• Evaluate vehicle attributes from a customer perspective.
• Lead customer clinics, competitive benchmarking, and market assessments.
• Translate customer feedback into measurable engineering targets.
• Ensure vehicle performance aligns with target customer expectations across different markets.

NVH (Noise, Vibration & Harshness) & System Validation

• Define NVH performance targets and validation plans.
• Lead development and tuning activities to improve vehicle refinement and acoustic comfort.
• Oversee system‑level and vehicle‑level validation activities.
• Ensure compliance with internal quality standards and regulatory requirements.
• Drive root‑cause analysis and resolution of NVH‑related issues.

Passive Safety

• Lead passive safety development and validation activities.
• Ensure compliance with global and local crash safety regulations and consumer rating programs.
• Oversee crash testing, CAE correlation, occupant protection, and restraint system performance.
• Coordinate with design, CAE, and testing teams to achieve safety targets.
• Monitor emerging safety regulations and industry trends.
• Define ride and handling performance targets.
• Lead suspension tuning and vehicle dynamics development.
• Optimize steering feel, vehicle stability, ride comfort, and drivability.
• Conduct objective and subjective evaluations.
• Benchmark competitors and implement best practices.

Program Management & Delivery

• Manage project timelines, budgets, resources, and deliverables.
• Review risks and implement mitigation plans.
• Support launch readiness and production validation activities.

Quality & Continuous Improvement

• Analyze field issues, warranty data, and customer complaints.
• Drive corrective and preventive actions.
• Implement robust validation processes and quality systems.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement and technical excellence.

Team Development

• Build and mentor high‑performing engineering teams.
• Develop technical competency within the organization.
• Conduct performance reviews and succession planning.
• Foster innovation and collaboration across functions.

Candidate Requirements

• 18–25+ years of experience in Vehicle Engineering, Product Development, Vehicle Integration, or Performance Engineering within automotive OEMs.
• Strong experience in complete vehicle development programs from concept to production.
• Proven expertise in Vehicle Customer Performance Engineering and attribute development.
• Hands‑on experience in NVH (Noise, Vibration & Harshness) target setting, development, validation, and issue resolution.
• Strong knowledge of Passive Safety, crashworthiness, occupant protection systems, and NCAP requirements.
• Experience in Ride & Handling development, suspension tuning, steering feel, vehicle dynamics, and drivability optimization.
• Exposure to vehicle‑level validation, testing, durability, and quality assurance processes.
• Understanding of ADAS, active safety systems, and advanced vehicle technologies.
• Strong capability in customer clinics, benchmarking, competitive assessments, and translating customer insights into engineering targets.
• Experience managing cross‑functional teams across Design, CAE, Testing, Manufacturing, and Quality functions.
• Proven track record of leading large‑scale vehicle development projects with responsibility for cost, quality, timing, and performance targets.
• Strong problem‑solving, root‑cause analysis, and continuous improvement mindset.
• Experience in managing engineering budgets, resources, risks, and program milestones.
• Demonstrated leadership capability in building and developing high‑performing engineering teams.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and decision‑making skills.
• Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical / Automobile Engineering; Master's Degree preferred.
• Preferred background from leading Passenger Vehicle OEMs with exposure to global vehicle development standards and customer expectations.