Manager - VA (Upperbody Architecture)

Mahindra & Mahindra Limited; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 4,200,000 - 6,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Mahindra And Mahindra Ltd. is seeking a seasoned Mechanical Engineer to lead upper body architecture development for our vehicle programs in Bengaluru.

You will own the definition from concept through production, establishing layouts that align with platform strategy and product requirements, while coordinating interfaces across BIW, closures, glass, and roof systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 12-14 years of experience in Automotive Body Engineering, Vehicle Architecture, or Vehicle Integration.
• Strong expertise in Upper Body Architecture and Body Structure Integration.
• Experience across complete vehicle development cycles from concept through production.
• Experience working with automotive OEMs or Tier-1 suppliers is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the definition and development of vehicle upper body architecture from concept to production.
• Establish architectural layouts for the upper body structure, ensuring alignment with vehicle platform strategy and product requirements.
• Define and manage critical interfaces between BIW, Closures, Glass, Roof Systems, Exterior Trim, and Interior systems.
• Ensure optimized package space while balancing structural performance, occupant comfort, visibility, styling, and manufacturability.
• Drive architectural decisions supporting modularity and platform commonality.
• Lead upper body packaging activities, ensuring compatibility between structural, functional, and aesthetic requirements.
• Resolve cross-functional packaging conflicts involving roof, windshield, side glass, pillars, doors, tailgate, sealing systems, and interior trim.
• Support Digital Mock-Up (DMU) reviews and package validation throughout product development.
• Coordinate engineering changes impacting upper body architecture.
• Define architecture requirements for roof structure, windshield and backlite interfaces, door apertures, roof rails, tailgate interfaces, weather sealing systems, exterior trim interfaces.
• Ensure proper dimensional control, gap & flush, tolerance stack-up, and assembly feasibility.
• Collaborate with Styling, BIW, Closures, Exterior, Interior, Safety, Manufacturing, CAE, Validation, Supplier Engineering, and Program Management teams.
• Lead architecture and integration reviews across vehicle development milestones.
• Drive engineering trade-off decisions considering cost, weight, performance, timing, quality, and customer expectations.
• Mentor engineering teams on architecture principles, interface management, and vehicle integration.
• Ensure upper body architecture meets applicable safety and regulatory requirements, including roof crush performance, side impact requirements, pedestrian protection (where applicable), and visibility regulations.
• Support crashworthiness and structural optimization activities in collaboration with CAE teams.
• Support virtual validation, prototype builds, and production trials.
• Analyze architecture-related issues during development and validation.
• Lead root cause analysis and implement corrective actions.
• Ensure robust engineering change management throughout the product lifecycle.
• Develop and standardize upper body architecture guidelines and best practices.
• Capture and implement lessons learned for future vehicle programs.
• Promote innovation in lightweight design, manufacturability, and system integration.

Skills

Upper Body Architecture

Vehicle Packaging

Cross-Functional Leadership

Regulatory Compliance

DFMEA

DMU reviews

Lifecycle management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering/Automotive Engineering

Tools

CATIA V5/V6

Teamcenter/PLM

ENOVIA

3DCS

DMU/Vis Mockup

Microsoft Office

JIRA

Job description

Select how often (in days) to receive an alert:

Key Responsibilities

Upper Body Architecture Development

• Lead the definition and development of vehicle upper body architecture from concept to production.
• Establish architectural layouts for the upper body structure, ensuring alignment with vehicle platform strategy and product requirements.
• Define and manage critical interfaces between Body-in-White (BIW), Closures, Glass, Roof Systems, Exterior Trim, and Interior systems.
• Ensure optimized package space while balancing structural performance, occupant comfort, visibility, styling, and manufacturability.
• Drive architectural decisions supporting modularity and platform commonality.

Vehicle Integration & Packaging

• Lead upper body packaging activities, ensuring compatibility between structural, functional, and aesthetic requirements.
• Resolve cross-functional packaging conflicts involving roof, windshield, side glass, pillars, doors, tailgate, sealing systems, and interior trim.
• Support Digital Mock-Up (DMU) reviews and package validation throughout product development.
• Coordinate engineering changes impacting upper body architecture.

Structural & Interface Management

• Define architecture requirements for:
• Roof structure
• Windshield and backlite interfaces
• Door apertures
• Roof rails
• Tailgate/liftgate interfaces
• Weather sealing systems
• Exterior trim interfaces
• Ensure proper dimensional control, gap & flush, tolerance stack-up, and assembly feasibility.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Collaborate with Styling, BIW, Closures, Exterior, Interior, Safety, Manufacturing, CAE, Validation, Supplier Engineering, and Program Management teams.
• Lead architecture and integration reviews across vehicle development milestones.
• Drive engineering trade-off decisions considering cost, weight, performance, timing, quality, and customer expectations.
• Mentor engineering teams on architecture principles, interface management, and vehicle integration.

Safety & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure upper body architecture meets applicable safety and regulatory requirements, including:
• Roof crush performance
• Side impact requirements
• Pedestrian protection (where applicable)
• Visibility regulations
• ECE, FMVSS, AIS, and global standards
• Support crashworthiness and structural optimization activities in collaboration with CAE teams.
• Support virtual validation, prototype builds, and production trials.
• Analyze architecture-related issues during development and validation.
• Lead root cause analysis and implement corrective actions.
• Ensure robust engineering change management throughout the product lifecycle.
• Develop and standardize upper body architecture guidelines and best practices.
• Capture and implement lessons learned for future vehicle programs.
• Promote innovation in lightweight design, manufacturability, and system integration.

Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 12-14 years of experience in Automotive Body Engineering, Vehicle Architecture, or Vehicle Integration.
• Strong expertise in Upper Body Architecture and Body Structure Integration.
• Experience across complete vehicle development cycles from concept through production.
• Experience working with automotive OEMs or Tier-1 suppliers is preferred.

Industry Preferred

Preferred Industry Experience

• Passenger Vehicles
• Electric Vehicles (EV)
• Hybrid Vehicles
• Commercial Vehicles

Automotive OEMs or Tier-1 Suppliers

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 12-14 years of experience in Automotive Body Engineering, Vehicle Architecture, or Vehicle Integration.
• Strong expertise in Upper Body Architecture and Body Structure Integration.
• Experience across complete vehicle development cycles from concept through production.
• Experience working with automotive OEMs or Tier-1 suppliers is preferred.

General Requirements

• Upper Body Architecture
• Vehicle Architecture & Integration
• Body-in-White (BIW)
• Vehicle Packaging
• Structural Interface Management
• Closures Integration
• Roof Systems
• Glass & Sealing Systems
• Exterior and Interior Interface Management
• Tolerance Stack-up Analysis
• GD&T
• Digital Mock-Up (DMU)
• Design for Manufacturing (DFM)
• Design for Assembly (DFA)
• DFMEA
• Regulatory Compliance (FMVSS, ECE, AIS)

Preferred Tools

• CATIA V5/V6
• Teamcenter/PLM
• ENOVIA
• 3DCS or Variation Analysis Tools
• DMU/Vis Mockup
• Microsoft Office
• JIRA (preferred)

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Job Segment: Mechanical Engineer, Engineer, Architecture, Automotive, Engineering