Vehicle Dynamics Performance Lead

Stellantis; Auburn Hills (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Stellantis is seeking a Project Performance Lead (PPL) for Vehicle Dynamics in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The role involves achieving vehicle ride and handling targets, coordinating with engineers, and analyzing performance impacts.

The ideal candidate has a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering, with at least 8 years of automotive experience. Responsibilities include guiding vehicle dynamics design and leading testing activities. Join Stellantis to impact vehicle performance directly.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of automotive testing and validation experience required.
• Must have valid US driver's license.
• Excellent understanding of vehicle systems is necessary.

Responsibilities

• Guide chassis design teams for vehicle line targets.
• Lead development activities for suspension components.
• Evaluate vehicle dynamics and assign ratings using SAE scales.

Skills

Vehicle dynamics knowledge

Project management

Teamwork and communication skills

Education

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering

Tools

Vector CANalyzer

CANape

Microsoft Office

Job description

The Project Performance Lead (PPL) for Vehicle Dynamics is responsible for achieving vehicle level ride and handling targets for Stellantis Vehicles. The candidate will coordinate with a team of core dynamics engineers to establish development timelines to meet all functional objectives, component tuning freeze dates, and electronic control hardware/software release dates. Further responsibilities include analyzing and mitigating the vehicle dynamics performance impact of engineering, brand, and marketing requests. The PPL also leads coordination of activities with multiple external stakeholders (powertrain, mechatronics, etc.) and must be confident providing updates to senior management regarding state of the program.

The Advanced PPL will be responsible for vehicle development of the critical components to meet the vehicle’s overall ride, steering, handling, and tire performance objectives. This development work takes place at numerous sites in and around Southeast Michigan, with travel required to other test locations as both weather, and test surface conditions dictate. Travel is mostly domestic within North America, but can also be international, and is less than 20% of the Engineer’s time.).

Job Responsibilities Include but Are Not Limited To:

• Provide guidance to advanced chassis design teams to develop suspension architectures which support vehicle line targets and FOs
• Lead development activities including testing and subjective assessment of virtual vehicle level function to ensure alignment with targets
• Responsible for development of suspension mechanical and electromechanical components and systems in order to achieve driving dynamics functional attribute targets
• Perform subjective evaluations of ride, steering, and handling and assign ratings according to SAE subjective scales up to and beyond the handling limits of the vehicle
• Work closely with suppliers to drive changes required to complete tuning of all systems including air springs, passive dampers, semi-active dampers, and electronic power steering
• Support all active chassis teams in development/implementation/testing of electromechanical hardware and supporting software through data acquisition system
• Development of state-of-the‑art prototype and production controls solutions
  for electromechanical suspension components
• Contribute to development of future semi‑active damping strategies and algorithm functional execution
• Work closely with chassis controls team members to develop seamless
  integration with other active chassis controls components and systems
• Development and execution of vehicle performance DVP&R
• Support core software team with execution of functional and failsafe DVP&R
  with vehicle level tests

Basic Requirements

• Minimum of a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering or equivalent
• Minimum of 8 years of automotive testing and validation experience
• Excellent knowledge of vehicle dynamics
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of vehicle systems
• Experience with requirements management and software version
  management tools
• Effective project management, organizational, and teamwork skills
• Must be capable of driving vehicles at, or above the limit of handling
• Valid US driver's license

Preferred Qualifications

• Master of Science in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering
• 10 years of Development experience
• DFSS Green Belt certification
• Data logging and analysis using tools (Vector CANalyzer, CANape, etc.)
• Hardware-in-Loop (HIL) simulation experience
• Mechatronics based skills/experience/education
• Self‑starter with strong communication skills
• CAN networking experience
• Microsoft Office tools