Engineering Design Leader Technical - Transmissions and Drive Units

General Motors Company; Warren (MI); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation benefits

Job summary

General Motors Company is seeking a Design Lead Technician for Transmission and Drive Unit design at the Warren Tech Center. The role leads a team, translating requirements into robust, manufacturable designs and driving on-time, launch-ready solutions.

You will guide layouts, tolerances, and PMI to ensure high-quality design execution, while coaching designers and aligning with GM standards across the program lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of product-design experience with technical leadership.
• Experience designing transmissions or electric drive units.
• Advanced knowledge of packaging, interfaces, manufacturing, and product integration.
• Experience creating and reviewing 2D drawings and PMI with GD&T.

Responsibilities

• Provide daily technical direction, assign priorities, balance workload across a team of designers.
• Set expectations for design quality, model robustness, drawing completeness, release discipline.
• Coach designers through design reviews and best practices to improve execution.
• Lead complex transmission and electric drive unit components from concept through launch.
• Translate system requirements into robust component and assembly designs.
• Lead layout studies, balancing packaging, interfaces, and manufacturability.
• Resolve complex design issues involving gears, shafts, housings, and related interfaces.
• Create and release complete 2D drawings and PMI with clear design intent.

Skills

Technical leadership

Design direction

Team coaching

GD&T knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or related field

Tools

NX

Teamcenter

Job description

Job Description

This role is categorized as hybrid, meaning the selected candidate will be expected to work on-site at the Warren Tech Center at least three days per week (or other frequency determined by their manager).

This role is eligible for relocation benefits

At General Motors, our product teams are redefining mobility. Through a human-centered design process, we create vehicles and experiences that are designed not just to be seen, but to be felt. We're turning today's impossible into tomorrow's standard -from breakthrough hardware and battery systems to intuitive design, intelligent software, and next-generation safety and entertainment features.

Every day, our products move millions of people as we aim to make driving safer, smarter, and more connected, shaping the future of transportation on a global scale..

About the Role:

As a Design Lead Technician supporting Transmission and Drive Unit (TDU) design, you will lead the daily technical work of a team responsible for developing robust, manufacturable, and launch-ready transmission and electric drive unit products. You will translate system and subsystem requirements into clear design direction, assign and balance work, set technical priorities, and ensure timely delivery of high-quality design solutions. You will apply advanced expertise in layouts, assemblies, 2D drawings, Product and Manufacturing Information (PMI), GD&T, tolerance stacks, and engineering release. From concept and architecture through validation, production release, and launch, you will guide the team through complex packaging, interface, dimensional, assembly, manufacturing, and integration challenges. You will also coach designers, strengthen design standards, and establish repeatable methods that improve product quality and execution.

What You'll Do:

• Provide daily technical direction, assign priorities, balance workload, and monitor delivery, risks, capacity, and support needs across a team of TDU designers.
• Set expectations for design quality, model robustness, drawing completeness, release discipline, and compliance with GM processes and standards.
• Coach designers through design reviews, lessons learned, standard work, templates, best practices, and continuous improvement.
• Foster ownership, accountability, collaboration, sound problem-solving, and timely risk escalation.
• Lead the design and integration of complex transmission and electric drive unit components and subsystems from concept through launch.
• Translate system, safety, performance, packaging, service, and manufacturing requirements into robust component and assembly designs.
• Lead layout studies and design trade-offs involving packaging, interfaces, clearances, assembly, serviceability, performance, cost, mass, timing, dimensional variation, and manufacturability.
• Direct resolution of complex design issues involving gears, shafts, housings, clutches, differentials, lubrication, actuation, mounts, covers, and related vehicle interfaces.
• Lead component and assembly layouts, including design intent, interfaces, packaging relationships, clearance requirements, and Design Execution Sections.
• Create, review, and release complete 2D drawings and PMI using advanced GD&T, datum schemes, functional dimensioning, specifications, and clear design intent.
• Develop and review tolerance stacks and variation analyses to protect fit, function, performance, assembly, durability, and interchangeability.
• Ensure drawings and layouts align with Interface Control Documents, assembly strategies, manufacturing capabilities, inspection methods, and product-definition requirements.
• Guide robust NX models and assemblies using parametric, associative, and Wave-linked techniques. Use clearance, interference, and TcVis capabilities to validate integration.
• Lead DFM/DFA reviews with Manufacturing Engineering, plants, suppliers, and tooling partners.
• Partner with engineering, CAE, dimensional engineering, safety, service, suppliers, program teams, and manufacturing to evaluate alternatives and resolve issues.
• Apply GM design and change-management processes to maintain design maturity, manage revisions, deliver traceable engineering changes, and achieve cross-functional alignment.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, engineering technology, or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.
• Eight or more years of product-design experience, including technical leadership of design work or a design team.
• Significant experience designing transmissions, electric drive units, or related automotive systems.
• Advanced knowledge of component and subsystem design, packaging, interfaces, manufacturing, assembly, serviceability, and product integration.
• Experience creating and reviewing complete 2D drawings and PMI, including sections, notes, specifications, interface requirements, datum schemes, and functional dimensioning.
• Proficiency with NX and Teamcenter, including complex modeling, assemblies, design intent, Wave lin