Senior Electrification Systems Engineer

DENSO; Southfield (MI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

DENSO in Michigan is seeking a Senior Electrification Systems Engineer to lead the design, integration and validation of electrification systems across electrical, mechanical, thermal, and vehicle domains.

You will evaluate architectures, develop requirements, perform trade studies, and coordinate with NA/global teams to ensure scalable, reliable and cost-effective solutions for advanced powertrains and energy storage systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant engineering discipline.
• 7+ years of experience in electrified vehicles and powertrain technologies.
• Ability to work independently with periodic leadership review.
• Knowledge of electrical, mechanical, thermal, controls, and software interfaces.
• Experience with system requirements, architecture, and verification.
• Strong communication with diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Independently execute electrification system and subsystem design, development, integration, and validation activities from concept through production support.
• Develop and evaluate system architectures, requirements, interfaces, specifications, and verification plans across electrical, mechanical, thermal, controls, software, and vehicle domains.
• Apply working knowledge of electrified powertrain and energy systems, including electric machines, power electronics, high-voltage distribution, batteries, charging, DC-DC conversion, thermal systems, controls, and mechanical interfaces.
• Perform system-level trade-off studies considering performance, efficiency, range or energy use, thermal capability, packaging, mass, reliability, manufacturability, cost, safety, and customer requirements.
• Coordinate component and subsystem requirements to ensure compatibility, interface alignment, and effective integration within the overall vehicle or equipment architecture.
• Identify and resolve technical issues using structured engineering methods such as root cause analysis, design of experiments, tolerance analysis, and failure mode and effects analysis.
• Analyze test, simulation, and field data to identify performance gaps, technical risks, and improvement opportunities; recommend and implement corrective actions.
• Support development of new concepts, materials, manufacturing approaches, and design solutions that improve system performance, quality, reliability, or cost.
• Plan and coordinate engineering activities with North American and global teams, including design reviews, technical decisions, test execution, issue resolution, and project risk management.
• Collaborate with customers, suppliers, manufacturing, quality, purchasing, program management, and other engineering functions to align technical requirements and deliverables.
• Prepare and present clear technical recommendations, status updates, risks, and decision requests to engineering teams and management.
• Provide day‑to‑day technical support and knowledge sharing to less‑experienced engineers while escalating high‑impact or highly complex decisions to appropriate technical leaders.
• Maintain awareness of relevant industry technologies, standards, regulations, competitive developments, and emerging electrification trends.
• Travel to company affiliates, customer and supplier locations, test facilities, and technical conferences as business needs require, including international travel.

Skills

System architectures

Electrified powertrains

Requirements analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Root cause analysis

Technical communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Mechanical/Systems Engineering

Master's degree (preferred)

Job description

Job Description

The Senior Electrification Systems Engineer develops and integrates electrification system solutions across electrical, mechanical, thermal, controls, and vehicle interfaces. The engineer applies broad working knowledge of electrified vehicle architectures to independently execute system design, analysis, integration, and validation activities with periodic technical oversight. The role evaluates design trade-offs and supports decisions that balance performance, efficiency, reliability, manufacturability, cost, safety, and vehicle-level requirements.Areas supported traction, generation, energy storage, charging, power conversion, thermal management, and related electrification technologies.

Key Responsibilities

• Independently execute electrification system and subsystem design, development, integration, and validation activities from concept through production support, with periodic review by technical leadership.
• Develop and evaluate system architectures, requirements, interfaces, specifications, and verification plans across electrical, mechanical, thermal, controls, software, and vehicle domains.
• Apply working knowledge of electrified powertrain and energy systems, including electric machines, power electronics, high-voltage distribution, batteries, charging, DC-DC conversion, thermal systems, controls, and mechanical interfaces.
• Perform system-level trade-off studies considering performance, efficiency, range or energy use, thermal capability, packaging, mass, reliability, manufacturability, cost, safety, and customer requirements.
• Coordinate component and subsystem requirements to ensure compatibility, interface alignment, and effective integration within the overall vehicle or equipment architecture.
• Identify and resolve technical issues using structured engineering methods such as root cause analysis, design of experiments, tolerance analysis, and failure mode and effects analysis.
• Analyze test, simulation, and field data to identify performance gaps, technical risks, and improvement opportunities; recommend and implement corrective actions.
• Support development of new concepts, materials, manufacturing approaches, and design solutions that improve system performance, quality, reliability, or cost.
• Plan and coordinate engineering activities with North American and global teams, including design reviews, technical decisions, test execution, issue resolution, and project risk management.
• Collaborate with customers, suppliers, manufacturing, quality, purchasing, program management, and other engineering functions to align technical requirements and deliverables.
• Prepare and present clear technical recommendations, status updates, risks, and decision requests to engineering teams and management.
• Provide day‑to‑day technical support and knowledge sharing to less‑experienced engineers while escalating high‑impact or highly complex decisions to appropriate technical leaders.
• Maintain awareness of relevant industry technologies, standards, regulations, competitive developments, and emerging electrification trends.
• Travel to company affiliates, customer and supplier locations, test facilities, and technical conferences as business needs require, including international travel.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 7+ years of relevant engineering experience in electrified vehicles, electric powertrains, power electronics, electric machines, energy storage, charging, high-voltage systems, thermal systems, controls, or related technologies.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently on complex engineering assignments while seeking alignment or escalation when decisions exceed assigned scope or authority.
• Knowledge of electrical and mechanical systems and the interactions among hardware, controls, software, thermal management, and vehicle-level requirements.
• Experience with system requirements, architecture, interface definition, integration, testing, data analysis, and technical problem‑solving.
• Ability to communicate technical information effectively with engineers, management, customers, and suppliers in written and verbal formats.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in an engineering discipline or systems engineering.
• Experience with multiple electrification domain, product types and development lifecycle.
• Experience with model‑based systems engineering, simulation, requirements management, functional safety, cybersecurity, EMC/EMI, or high‑voltage safety.
• Experience working with global engineering teams, automotive OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and manufacturing organizations.

Core Skills And Abilities

• Electrification systems knowledge: Understands major electrification technologies, system interactions, and vehicle‑level implications.
• Systems thinking: Connects component decisions to system performance, interfaces, risks, and customer outcomes.
• Independent execution: Plans and completes complex work with limited day‑to‑day direction and periodic technical oversight.
• Cross‑functional integration: Aligns electrical, mechanical, thermal, controls, software, manufacturing, quality, and commercial considerations.
• Engineering judgment: Makes evidence‑based recommendations, communicates assumptions, and escalates decisions when appropriate.
• Problem‑solving: Uses structured methods and data to isolate root causes and implement robust countermeasures.
• Technical communication: Converts complex analysis into clear requirements, design rationale, recommendations, and decisions.
• Collaboration and influence: Builds alignment across teams without relying on formal authority.

This is a senior‑level Engineering role. The engineer is expected to independently deliver complex system engineering work with periodic oversight. The role includes support of specific technical tasks and support less‑experienced engineers, oversee major design portfolios, serve as the final technical authority based on extensive experience.