Staff Lead Rear Seat Structures Engineer

General Motors LLC; United States; Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Hybrid work model

Job summary

General Motors seeks a Technical Lead for seat structures at its Warren Tech Center. The role focuses on leadership, advancement, and optimization of the Structure CCC and CMS portfolios, with on-site collaboration and remote support as needed.

The candidate will guide a team of about 10 DREs, drive design development for complex seat configurations, and ensure robust DFMEAs and virtual validation prior to tooling. relocation assistance is available for this role.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science – Engineering required.
• Extensive experience with seat structures & system development.
• Strong communication, organizational and planning skills.
• Experience building relationships with regional/global engineering partners.
• Knowledge of seat performance requirements and regulations.

Responsibilities

• Lead design development and integration of complex seat structure programs.
• Coordinate integration and tradeoffs between seat structures to optimize cost and meet requirements.
• Provide technical leadership for seat structures, assemblies, and tradeoffs for comfort, crash worthiness, mass, and cost.
• Identify and lead introduction of innovative core products and exploratory projects.
• Drive lessons learned and knowledge management within the team.
• Coordinate engineers, design staff, and program teams to align with SMT objectives.
• Develop and maintain seat CCC and CMS structures and DFMEAs.
• Ensure virtual validation is completed before tooling kickoff.
• Lead cost/quality/warranty issue resolution on seat programs.

Skills

Seat structures

Leadership

DFSS

Coaching

Cross-functional communication

Problem solving

Global environment

Education

Bachelor of Science – Engineering

Job description

About the Role

This role is categorized as hybrid. The selected candidate will be expected to work on-site at the Warren Tech Center at least three days per week, or as otherwise determined by the hiring leader.

This role is eligible for relocation assistance.

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

This Technical Lead role is to support seat structures EGM and a team of about 10 DREs. Focus will be on providing technical leadership, advancement, and optimization of the Structure CCC and CMS structure portfolio.

What You’ll Do (Responsibilities)

• Lead the design development and integration of highly complex and large scope programs with multiple seat structure configurations.
• Coordinate integration and tradeoffs between seat structures and seat systems to optimize the overall enterprise cost while ensuring program requirements are achieved
• Provide technical leadership for overall seat structures and seat assembly performance and associated tradeoffs for comfort, crash worthiness, cost, mass, etc.
• Identify and lead introduction of innovative core products, coordinate Advanced Technical Work and exploratory projects
• Driving Lessons Learned behavior of the team to be responsible for their own knowledge management
• Coordinate SI engineers, internal technical resources, vehicle program teams, purchasing, design staff on design solutions while ensuring alignment to program and SMT objectives.
• Lead the development and maintenance of the program seat CCC and CMS seat structures, integration in seat system and integration DFMEAs
• Ensure virtual validation successfully completed before tooling kick off
• Coordinate, track, manage and optimize enterprise piece and tooling costs for a complex large scope seat development activity
• Lead focused problem-solving efforts on significant cost/quality/warranty issues on seat programs
• Leverage program specific learnings to expand the overall GM seat system knowledge base by demonstrating outstanding problem-solving skills and knowledge management
• Demonstrate exemplary commitment to customer focused product development
• Utilize DFSS methodologies to insure robust design development and trade off management.
• Responsible for working with the team in closing issues in Problem Resolution and Tracking System to support programs milestones
• Support DRE’s and Technical Specialists in: Creating interface control documents Supplier prequalification, tooling kick off and launch support Problem Solving and Warranty reduction Prevent Repeat Defects Components Strategy Planning and Competitiveness Commodity Quality Chain process Updating and maintaining best practice
• Grow technical capability of component DRE’s by coaching and mentoring DFSS and OPEX projects.

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

• Bachelor of Science – Engineering
• Extensive experience in seat structures and system development with demonstrated levels of outstanding performance in communication, organizational and planning capabilities.
• Experience in building strong relationships through strategic project work with regional and global engineering partners.
• Demonstrated sub system expertise in structures, foam, trim covers, plastic components, head restraints, lumbar systems, heat and heat/vent/cool systems, occupant detection systems, airbag deployment technologies, CLAs, haptic systems, etc.
• Detailed knowledge of seat performance requirements including regulations and best practices
• Demonstrated early product development to launch expertise and capability
• Demonstrated ability to coach and lead internal and external resources
• Thorough understanding of seat system requirements and trade offs
• Excellent cross-functional communication skills – able to build effective coalitions.
• Ability to break down complex technical issues into simple terms for multiple audiences
• Demonstrated ability to “deal with ambiguity” while driving timely decision making toward issue resolution
• Ability to navigate in the global environment, understanding diversity, equity and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to motivate and empower team members to enable optimized levels of performance and execution.
• Complexity management ability: High level of analytical ability where problems are unusual and difficult to manage, with a multitude of assignments, program deliverables and strategic launches
• Strategic Agility Innovative mindset
• Managerial Courage to speak up and lead bold moves
• Excellent customer focus, having customer in the center of what is done
• Sponsorship: GM DOES NOT PROVIDE IMMIGRATION-RELATED SPONSORSHIP FOR THIS ROLE. DO NOT APPLY FOR THIS ROLE IF YOU WILL NEED GM IMMIGRATION SPONSORSHIP NOW OR IN THE FUTURE. THIS INCLUDES DIRECT COMPANY SPONSORSHIP, ENTRY OF GM AS THE IMMIGRATION EMPLOYER OF RECORD ON A GOVERNMENT FORM, AND ANY WORK AUTHORIZATION REQUIRING A WRITTEN SUBMISSION OR OTHER IMMIGRATION SUPPORT FROM THE COMPANY (e.g., H-1B, OPT, STEM OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc.)
• #LI-JN1 GM does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. Do not apply for this role if you will need GM immigration sponsorship now or in the future. This includes direct company sponsorship, entry of GM as the immigration employer of record on a government form, and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (e.g., H1-B, OPT, STEM OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc).

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We are leading the change to make our world better, safer and more equitable for all through our actions and how we behave. Learn more about: Our Company Our Culture How we hire Our diverse team of employees bring their collective passion for engineering, technology and design to deliver on our vision of a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion. We are looking for adventure-seekers and imaginative thought leaders to help us transform mobility. Explore our global locations We are determined to lead change for the world through technology, ingenuity and harnessing the creativity of our diverse team. Join us to help lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all by becoming a member of GM’s Talent Community (beamery.com).