Senior Trim & Lighting Engineer

In this role, you will:

• Serve as the Trim & Lighting engineering point of contact for the program, coordinating across the body team, suppliers, and internal engineering groups.
• Own the design and release of attachment and mounting interfaces for interior, exterior, seating, and lighting components.
• Drive multiple suppliers in parallel across trim, lighting, seating, and exterior commodities, holding each to design, cost, and timeline commitments.
• Maximize carryover of components and part numbers, minimizing new part creation and preserving existing designs wherever feasible.
• Drive attachment solutions that require minimal to no change to existing tooling; assess and document tooling impact with suppliers where changes are unavoidable.
• Manage interfaces and changes with the body/structures team, translating structural changes into trim, seating, and lighting attachment requirements.
• Partner with the Validation team to define and execute component and subsystem validation plans (DVP&Rs).
• Work across all engineering teams to release parts and assemblies in 3DEXPERIENCE (3DX), owning data quality and change management through release.
• Apply sound cost judgment in design decisions, including VA/VE, carryover, and should-cost awareness to protect program cost targets.
• Present technical direction, anticipate objections, and bring parties together to build consensus on interface and integration decisions.
• Lead a small team of engineers as needed, defining tasks and providing technical supervision, and lead smaller projects that span multiple teams.
• Own design and release using CATIA V6, translating system and interface requirements into manufacturable designs.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, including DFMEAs and DVP&Rs, to support validation and quality.
• Review and apply CAE simulation results to optimize attachment performance, fit, and durability.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering with 8+ years of relevant experience, or a Master's with 7+ years, or a PhD with 3+ years.
• Deep knowledge across multiple relevant areas of automotive interior/exterior trim, seating, or lighting engineering.
• Proven experience taking automotive components and subsystems through at least one full design-to-launch cycle at the OEM or Tier 1 level, from concept through production launch.
• Demonstrated experience with carryover strategy and attachment/interface design across components or subsystems.
• Strong command of GD&T, tolerance stack-up analysis, and selection of fastening and joining methods (clips, fasteners, welds, adhesives) for attachment design.
• Proven ability to draft and execute against technical requirements, implementing industry-standard engineering principles and rigorous design methodologies.
• Experience managing interfaces and change with a body/structures team, translating structural changes into trim, seating, and lighting attachment requirements.
• Proficient in 3D modeling with CATIA V6 (or CATIA V5 / equivalent), with a strong understanding of Design for Manufacturing and attachment/fastening design.
• Experience releasing parts and managing change in a PLM environment (3DEXPERIENCE / 3DX preferred).
• Experience managing multiple technical suppliers and project timelines in parallel, delivering under tight constraints.
• Sound cost judgment in design decisions, including VA/VE and should-cost awareness.
• Familiarity with validation processes, including DVP&Rs and DFMEAs, across at least one complete vehicle lifecycle program.
• Comfortable operating in an early-phase, ambiguous, fast-moving program, defining scope and validation plans where none yet exist.
• Able to work independently on substantial problems and to lead a small team (2-3 people) and cross-team projects.