Vehicle Architect

CFMOTO USA; Brooklyn Park (MN); On-site; USD 115,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

CFMOTO USA is seeking an experienced Vehicle Architect to lead the definition, performance development, and systems integration of future off-road vehicle platforms. This role translates customer needs and strategy into a cohesive architecture, balancing performance, cost, quality, timing, and manufacturability.

The Vehicle Architect acts as the technical leader through concept and development, establishing requirements, guiding tradeoffs, and aligning across vehicle systems while driving

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field is required.
• 10+ years of experience in powersports, automotive, off-highway or related vehicle development.
• Proven experience with vehicle architecture, packaging, systems integration, and vehicle-level tradeoff decisions.
• Strong understanding of vehicle dynamics, chassis systems, powertrain integration, controls, ergonomics, and manufacturing processes.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional engineering teams and influence technical decisions.
• Ability to safely ride and evaluate off-road vehicles.

Responsibilities

• Define vehicle layouts, packaging strategies, hard points, and system architectures for new programs.
• Establish vehicle-level performance targets and engineering requirements based on customer needs and product objectives.
• Ensure architecture decisions support performance, cost, manufacturability, serviceability, and platform strategy.
• Serve as the primary technical leader during vehicle concept and development.
• Lead architecture reviews and coordinate activities across Product Management, Industrial Design, Engineering, Manufacturing, Validation, and Purchasing.
• Negotiate tradeoffs and drive decisions between competing requirements.
• Analyze competitive products and emerging technologies to identify differentiation opportunities.
• Develop innovative architecture solutions to improve value, performance, and development efficiency.
• Drive platforming and component commonization across vehicle families.
• Ensure effective integration of chassis, powertrain, controls, electrical, body, ergonomics, and accessory systems.
• Identify and resolve system conflicts early and support prototype development to reduce risk.
• Collaborate with global engineering teams, suppliers, and technical partners.

Skills

Vehicle architecture

Systems integration

Packaging

Vehicle dynamics

Powertrain integration

Controls

Ergonomics

Manufacturing processes

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field

Advanced degree in Engineering or Systems Engineering

Tools

NX CAD

Vehicle simulation tools

Systems engineering methodologies

Job description

CFMOTO is seeking an experienced Vehicle Architect to lead the technical definition, performance attribute development, and systems integration of future off-road vehicle platforms. This role is responsible for translating customer needs and product strategy into a cohesive vehicle architecture that achieves vehicle-level performance, cost, quality, timing, and manufacturability targets.

The Vehicle Architect serves as the technical leader throughout vehicle concept and development, establishing vehicle requirements, driving system-level tradeoff decisions, and ensuring alignment across all vehicle systems. The ideal candidate combines deep vehicle engineering expertise with strong system-thinking skills and a passion for creating industry-leading products.

Vehicle Architecture & Performance

• Define vehicle layouts, packaging strategies, hard points, and system architectures for new vehicle programs.
• Establish vehicle-level performance targets and engineering requirements based on customer needs, benchmarking, and product objectives.
• Ensure architecture decisions support vehicle performance, cost, manufacturability, serviceability, and platform strategy.

Technical Leadership & Integration

• Serve as the primary technical leader during vehicle concept and development.
• Lead architecture reviews and coordinate activities across Product Management, Industrial Design, Engineering, Manufacturing, Validation, and Purchasing.
• Negotiate technical tradeoffs and drive decisions between competing requirements.

Benchmarking & Innovation

• Analyze competitive products and emerging technologies to identify opportunities for differentiation.
• Develop innovative architecture solutions that improve customer value, vehicle performance, and development efficiency.
• Drive platforming and component commonization strategies across vehicle families.
• Ensure effective integration of chassis, powertrain, controls, electrical, body, ergonomics, and accessory systems.
• Identify and resolve system conflicts early in the development process.
• Support prototype and mule vehicle development to validate architecture decisions and reduce technical risk.

Compliance & Collaboration

• Ensure vehicle meets regulatory requirements and internal engineering standards.
• Collaborate with global engineering teams, suppliers, and technical partners.
• Support the development of engineering standards, requirements, and best practices.

Qualifications

Education & Experience Required

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related engineering field.
• 10+ years of experience in powersports, automotive, off-highway, motorsports, or related vehicle development.
• Proven experience with vehicle architecture, packaging, systems integration, and vehicle-level tradeoff decisions.
• Strong understanding of vehicle dynamics, chassis systems, powertrain integration, controls, ergonomics, and manufacturing processes.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional engineering teams and influence technical decisions.
• Ability to safely ride and evaluate off-road vehicles.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Engineering or Systems Engineering.
• Experience leading complete vehicle programs from concept through production.
• Experience with NX CAD, vehicle simulation tools, and systems engineering methodologies.
• Motorsports, racing, or high-performance vehicle development experience.

The wage range for this role takes into account the wide range of job-related factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to skill sets, experience, training, certifications, education, location and other business and organizational needs. A reasonable estimate of the current salary range is $115k-$140k annually. Our competitive salaries are just one component to CFMOTO’s total compensation package. Additional benefits include: medical, dental & vision insurance, 401K Match, Vacation & Sick Time, Life Insurance and Employee Purchase Discounts and opportunities.