About this role
Responsibilities & Key Deliverables
Key Responsibilities
Upper Body Architecture Development
- Lead the definition and development of vehicle upper body architecture from concept to production.
- Establish architectural layouts for the upper body structure, ensuring alignment with vehicle platform strategy and product requirements.
- Define and manage critical interfaces between Body-in-White (BIW), Closures, Glass, Roof Systems, Exterior Trim, and Interior systems.
- Ensure optimized package space while balancing structural performance, occupant comfort, visibility, styling, and manufacturability.
- Drive architectural decisions supporting modularity and platform commonality.
Vehicle Integration & Packaging
- Lead upper body packaging activities, ensuring compatibility between structural, functional, and aesthetic requirements.
- Resolve cross-functional packaging conflicts involving roof, windshield, side glass, pillars, doors, tailgate, sealing systems, and interior trim.
- Support Digital Mock-Up (DMU) reviews and package validation throughout product development.
- Coordinate engineering changes impacting upper body architecture.
Structural & Interface Management
- Define architecture requirements for:
- Roof structure
- A, B, C & D pillars
- Windshield and backlite interfaces
- Side glass systems
- Door apertures
- Roof rails
- Tailgate/liftgate interfaces
- Weather sealing systems
- Exterior trim interfaces
- Ensure proper dimensional control, gap & flush, tolerance stack-up, and assembly feasibility.
Cross-Functional Leadership
- Collaborate with Styling, BIW, Closures, Exterior, Interior, Safety, Manufacturing, CAE, Validation, Supplier Engineering, and Program Management teams.
- Lead architecture and integration reviews across vehicle development milestones.
- Drive engineering trade-off decisions considering cost, weight, performance, timing, quality, and customer expectations.
- Mentor engineering teams on architecture principles, interface management, and vehicle integration.
Safety & Regulatory Compliance
- Ensure upper body architecture meets applicable safety and regulatory requirements, including:
- Roof crush performance
- Side impact requirements
- Occupant protection
- Pedestrian protection (where applicable)
- Visibility regulations
- ECE, FMVSS, AIS, and global standards
- Support crashworthiness and structural optimization activities in collaboration with CAE teams.
Validation & Engineering Support
- Support virtual validation, prototype builds, and production trials.
- Analyze architecture-related issues during development and validation.
- Lead root cause analysis and implement corrective actions.
- Ensure robust engineering change management throughout the product lifecycle.
Continuous Improvement
- Develop and standardize upper body architecture guidelines and best practices.
- Drive modular architecture initiatives across vehicle platforms.
- Capture and implement lessons learned for future vehicle programs.
- Promote innovation in lightweight design, manufacturability, and system integration.
Experience
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a related discipline.
- 12–14 years of experience in Automotive Body Engineering, Vehicle Architecture, or Vehicle Integration.
- Strong expertise in Upper Body Architecture and Body Structure Integration.
- Experience across complete vehicle development cycles from concept through production.
- Experience working with automotive OEMs or Tier-1 suppliers is preferred.
Industry Preferred
Preferred Industry Experience
- Passenger Vehicles
- Electric Vehicles (EV)
- Hybrid Vehicles
- Commercial Vehicles
Automotive OEMs or Tier-1 Suppliers
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a related discipline.
- 12–14 years of experience in Automotive Body Engineering, Vehicle Architecture, or Vehicle Integration.
- Strong expertise in Upper Body Architecture and Body Structure Integration.
- Experience across complete vehicle development cycles from concept through production.
- Experience working with automotive OEMs or Tier-1 suppliers is preferred.
General Requirements
- Upper Body Architecture
- Vehicle Architecture & Integration
- Body-in-White (BIW)
- Vehicle Packaging
- Structural Interface Management
- Closures Integration
- Roof Systems
- Glass & Sealing Systems
- Exterior and Interior Interface Management
- Gap & Flush Engineering
- Tolerance Stack-up Analysis
- GD&T
- Digital Mock-Up (DMU)
- Design for Manufacturing (DFM)
- Design for Assembly (DFA)
- DFMEA
- Engineering Change Management
- Root Cause Analysis
- Regulatory Compliance (FMVSS, ECE, AIS)
Preferred Tools
- CATIA V5/V6
- Siemens NX
- Teamcenter/PLM
- ENOVIA
- 3DCS or Variation Analysis Tools
- DMU/Vis Mockup
- Microsoft Office
- JIRA (preferred)