Exterior Lighting Design & Release Engineer in Foster City

Energy Jobline ZR; Foster City (CA); On-site; USD 115,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

ALTEN Technology USA in Foster City, CA is seeking an experienced Lighting Systems Engineer to design exterior lighting solutions for vehicles from concept to production. The role involves cross-functional collaboration with design, suppliers, and manufacturing, applying GD&T, tolerance analysis, and root-cause investigations to ensure high-volume manufacturability.

You will leverage CATIA V5/V6, Enovia, and CAN trace data to optimize designs, lead DFMEAs, and support validation plans.

Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline; Masters degree preferred.
• 5+ years of exterior/interior lamp development at a Tier 1 or OEM.
• Experience in lighting systems engineering and CAN traces.
• Capable of managing full part lifecycle from design to production release.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop exterior lighting solutions for vehicles from concept through production, ensuring performance and timing.
• Collaborate with Studio Designers, Suppliers, Manufacturing, and cross-functional teams to meet design targets.
• Leverage plastics, injection molding, optical design, GD&T, tolerance analysis to optimize for high-volume manufacturing.
• Perform high-level root-cause analysis for lighting faults using CAN traces and diagnostics.
• Understand lighting system architecture and drive DFMEAs with cross-functional partners.
• Support product validation plans and sign-off results.
• Manage Tier 1 supplier relationships, RFQ documentation, and design reviews.
• Handle BOM management using Enovia and generate 3D/2D data with CATIA.

Skills

Exterior lamp development

Lighting systems engineering

Root-cause analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

CATIA V5/V6

Enovia

CAN traces

Job description

Job DescriptionJob 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.

Location: Foster City, CA

Responsibilities

• Design and develop exterior lighting solutions for various vehicles, translating aesthetic styling visions into feasible, production-ready designs from concept through production, ensuring performance, timing, and commercial requirements are achieved.
• Collaborate and communicate technical concepts and requirements effectively with Studio Designers, Suppliers, Manufacturing, and other cross-functional teams to achieve design themes, attribute targets, and resolve complex engineering issues.
• Leverage expertise in plastics, injection molding, optical design, GD&T principles, tolerance stack-up analysis, and electronics to solve complex technical problems and evaluate design trade-offs using first-principles reasoning and root-cause analysis, ensuring all parts and assemblies are optimized for high-volume manufacturing.
• Conduct high level root-cause analysis for any lighting system faults. Investigate system-level failures, often involving reviewing communication logs (CAN traces), module diagnostics, and correlating them with the functional model to find the source of the issue.
• Understand lighting system architecture
• Lead the development and creations of DFMEAs ensuring that dependencies are effectively cascaded to relevant cross-functional partners.
• Support product validation plans, validation activities and sign off results.
• Manage Tier 1 supplier relationships including RFQ documentation, technical design reviews, and the integration of supplier feedback.
• Manage engineering change management, maintain accurate Bill of Materials (BOM) using Enovia, and generate and manage 3D and 2D data with Catia V6.
• Align engineering deliverables with commercial program requirements including appearance, cost, weight, durability, legal requirements, and program timing objectives.

Qualifications

• Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Or related discipline, Masters degree )
• 5+ years () of Exterior/interior Lamp development at a Tier 1 or OEM
• Experience in Lighting systems Engineering: communication logs (CAN traces).
• Capable of managing the full part lifecycle, including design, engineering validation, and release to production systems.
• Proficient in CATIA V5/V6, utilizing key modules like Part Design and Geometric Surface Design to generate 3D geometry, sectional data, and communicate technically sound design solutions.
• Strong understanding of engineering first principles and the ability to apply them to identify, analyze, and resolve technical challenges.
• Demonstrated ability to manage information, prioritize tasks, and communicate project status with clarity.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to clearly and concisely communicate with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong working knowledge of FMVSS, ECE, NCAP and other automotive evaluation and regulatory achievement
• Ability to self-direct while managing ambiguity.
• Curiosity and high learning agility.

Salary Range

• $115,000-130,000
• The actual salary offered is dependent on various factors including, but not limited to, location, the candidate's combination of job-related knowledge, qualifications, skills, training, and experience

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of , , , , , , , , protected veteran status, , genetic information, or .

Compliance Notice:

Alten USA is a federal contractor subject to the requirements of the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and Executive Order 11246. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all qualified applicants without regard to , , , , , , , , or veteran status.

Drug Screening Requirement:

As a federal contractor, Alten USA maintains a drug-free workplace. All candidates selected for employment will be required to successfully complete a pre-employment drug screening as a condition of hire.