Staff Lead Rear Seat Structures Engineer

General Motors; Warren (MI); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Job summary

General Motors is seeking a Technical Lead to support seat structures at the Warren Tech Center. You will guide a team of DREs, drive technical leadership, and optimize the seat structure portfolio across CCC and CMS programs.

You will coordinate with SI engineers, suppliers, and program teams to ensure cost-efficient, high-performance designs while leveraging DFSS and advanced tooling. This hybrid role requires on-site presence three days per week.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science – Engineering.
• Extensive experience in seat structures and system development with strong communication and planning.
• Experience building relationships with regional and global engineering partners.
• Subsystem expertise in seat components and systems.
• Detailed knowledge of seat performance requirements and regulations.
• Early product development to launch expertise.
• Ability to coach and lead internal and external resources.
• Understanding seat system requirements and trade-offs.
• Excellent cross-functional communication and collaboration.
• Ability to work with ambiguity and drive timely decisions.

Responsibilities

• Lead design development and integration of complex seat programs with multiple configurations.
• Coordinate integration and tradeoffs between seat structures and systems to optimize costs.
• Provide technical leadership for seat structures and assembly performance.
• Lead introduction of innovative core products and coordinate advanced technical work.
• Drive lessons learned and knowledge management within the team.
• Coordinate engineers, design staff, and program teams to align with objectives.
• Develop and maintain seat CCC and CMS structures and DFMEAs.
• Ensure virtual validation precedes tooling kick-off.
• Track and optimize enterprise costs for seat development activities.
• Lead problem-solving for cost, quality, and warranty issues on seat programs.
• Grow technical capability of DREs through coaching on DFSS and OPEX.

Skills

Seat structures

Technical leadership

DFSS

Cost optimization

Cross-functional communication

Problem solving

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor of Science – Engineering

Job description

Job Description

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

What Can Give You a Competitive Edge (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.)

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). This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the selected candidate is expected to report to a specific location at least 3 times a week {or other frequency dictated by their manager}.

About GM

Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.

Why Join Us

We believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one General Motors team.

Benefits Overview

From day one, we’re looking out for your well-being-at work and at home–so you can focus on realizing your ambitions. Learn how GM supports a rewarding career that rewards you personally by visiting Total Rewards resources.

Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities (U.S.)

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All employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to sex, race, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, disability, pregnancy or maternity status, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran or protected veteran, or any other similarly protected status in accordance with federal, state and local laws.

We encourage interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications for each role and apply for any positions that match their skills and capabilities. Applicants in the recruitment process may be required, where applicable, to successfully complete a role-related assessment(s) and/or a pre-employment screening prior to beginning employment. To learn more, visit How we Hire.

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