Design Release Engineer (DRE) - Soft Trim

altentechnologyusa; Auburn Hills (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

ALTEN Technology USA is seeking a Product Design Engineer specializing in automotive Soft Trim components to join our design team in Auburn Hills, MI. You will model and design carpets, dash insulators, and firewall insulators, and collaborate with NVH, CAE, and supplier teams to meet specs.

The role requires 5–10 years in automotive soft trim design, experience with UG/NX and CATIA, and familiarity with Teamcenter/Enovia PLM.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years in automotive product design & development for soft trim components (carpets, dash insulators, firewall insulators).
• Exposure to hard trim or overhead systems is a plus.
• Experience with design release processes and PLM concepts.

Responsibilities

• Support the design and modeling of Soft Trim components (carpets, dash insulators, firewall insulators).
• Assist in design reviews with the Global Technical Centre team under guidance from senior engineers.
• Support packaging, manufacturing, and assembly feasibility studies for soft trim components.
• Help create Technical Data Sheets and DVP/R documentation for new components.
• Assist in preparing DVPR/DFMEA documentation for trim components with suppliers and design team.
• Coordinate with NVH/CAE to support target validation and functional checks.

Skills

Product design

Automotive

NVH

Presentations

Communication

Problem solving

Education

B.E./B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

NX/UG

CATIA

Teamcenter

Enovia

Job description

We're ALTEN Technology USA, an engineering company helping clients bring groundbreaking ideas to life-from advancing space exploration and life-saving medical devices to building autonomous electric vehicles. With 3,000+ experts across North America, we partner with leading companies in aerospace, medical devices, robotics, automotive, commercial vehicles, EVs, rail, and more.

As part of the global ALTEN Group-57,000+ engineers in 30 countries-we deliver across the entire product development cycle, from consulting to full project outsourcing.

When you join ALTEN Technology USA, you'll collaborate on some of the world's toughest engineering challenges, supported by mentorship, career growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits. We take pride in fostering a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to grow.

Job Description

• Support the design and modeling of Soft Trim components - carpets, dash insulators, and firewall insulators.
• Assist in design reviews with the Global Technical Centre team under guidance from senior engineers.
• Support packaging, manufacturing, and assembly feasibility studies for soft trim components, particularly injection molded and formed parts.
• Help create Technical Data Sheets and DVP&R documentation for new components.
• Assist in preparing DVPR/DFMEA documentation for trim components in coordination with suppliers and the design team.
• Support CAD data finalization ahead of Step releases; assist with TKO packaging and clearance studies to confirm components meet specification.
• Coordinate with the NVH/CAE team to support component target validation and functional requirement checks, especially for carpet and insulator systems.
• Participate in design release/TKO sign-off activities under senior engineer supervision, helping track project timelines.
• Support benchmarking studies as required.
• Assist with supplier interactions, PLM activities, and CFT coordination, including tracking checklist approvals in PLM at project milestones.
• Provide design support to analysis teams (Impact, Durability, and NVH) to help meet regulatory and test requirements.
• Develop working knowledge of soft trim systems (carpets, insulators) and injection molding / thermoforming processes.

Preferred Education

• B.E./B.Tech in Mechanical, Automobile, Production, or Industrial Engineering

Preferred Experience

• Essential:
• 5 to 10 years of Product Design & development experience in automotive Soft Trim components (Carpets, Dash Insulator, Firewall Insulator); exposure to Hard Trim or Overhead Systems is a plus.
• Working knowledge of NVH considerations in carpet and insulator design.
• Exposure to injection molded and/or formed component design and development.
• Basic working knowledge of Component & System level design and release processes.
• Working knowledge of UG or CATIA modeling and surfacing; exposure to Ennovia/Teamcenter preferred.
• Basic understanding of manufacturing & assembly feasibility considerations.
• Exposure to working with Tier 1 suppliers and/or OEMs preferred.
• Basic knowledge of the injection molding process.
• Good presentation and communication skills, with willingness to learn and grow under senior engineer mentorship.
• Desirable:
• Familiarity with Motion Simulation tools.

Preferred Experience

• Essential:
• 5 to 10 years of Product Design & development experience in automotive Soft Trim components (Carpets, Dash Insulator, Firewall Insulator); exposure to Hard Trim or Overhead Systems is a plus.
• Working knowledge of NVH considerations in carpet and insulator design.
• Exposure to injection molded and/or formed component design and development.
• Basic working knowledge of Component & System level design and release processes.
• Working knowledge of UG or CATIA modeling and surfacing;exposure to Ennovia/Teamcenter preferred.
• Basic understanding of manufacturing & assembly feasibility considerations.
• Exposure to working with Tier 1 suppliers and/or OEMs preferred.
• Basic knowledge of the injection molding process.
• Good presentation and communication skills, with willingness to learn and grow under senior engineer mentorship.
• Desirable:
• Familiarity with Motion Simulation tools.
• Basic knowledge of manufacturing processes (Thermoforming, Molding, Compression Molding) and plastic materials.

Software Skill Requirement

• Working knowledge of NX& Teamcenter required.
• Knowledge of MS Office or Google G-Suite.

Recommended Additional Skills

• Basic knowledge of CATIA and Enovia is an additional advantage

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, genetic information, or pregnancy.