Job Title: Body Closures Development Lead – Front End Closures
Department: Vehicle Engineering / Body Engineering
Reports To: Body Closures Engineering Manager
Location: Auburn Hills, MI Chrysler Technical Center
Employment Type: Full-Time
Position Overview:
The Body Closures Development Lead is responsible for leading the design, development and validation of front-end closure systems including hoods, fenders and hinges. This role ensures that closure systems and standards meet performance, durability, safety, manufacturing, cost, and quality targets throughout the product development lifecycle.
The Development Lead Engineer coordinates cross-functional teams across design, CAE, manufacturing, supplier engineering, purchasing, and program management to deliver production-ready closure systems for new vehicle programs.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead engineers for development of body closure systems from concept through production launch
- Own closure system performance targets including fit & finish, sealing, stiffness, NVH, durability, ergonomics, and safety
- Manage technical deliverables aligned with vehicle program timing and milestones
- Lead cross-functional design reviews, best practice alignment and conformance and engineering sign-offs
Engineering Development:
- Lead engineers to develop and release closure system components including:
- Hood assemblies
- Hinges
- Struts / props
- Fenders and brackets
- System level interfaces and functions
- Ensure compliance with vehicle packaging, crash safety, and regulatory requirements
- Drive robust design solutions balancing mass, cost, manufacturability, and performance
Supplier & Manufacturing Collaboration:
- Lead technical collaboration with tier-1 suppliers and tooling vendors
- Support design for manufacturing (DFM) and design for assembly (DFA) activities
- Work with manufacturing teams on stamping feasibility, hemming processes, assembly strategy, and tolerance stack-ups
- Support tooling kick-off, best practice and production readiness reviews
Validation & Testing:
- Define and support validation plans, durability testing, slam testing, corrosion testing
- Environmental sealing validation
- Structural and stiffness validation
- Work with CAE teams to ensure simulation results meet program targets
Launch Support:
- Support prototype builds and pre-production builds
- Resolve engineering issues identified during DV/PV testing and manufacturing trials
- Provide engineering support during vehicle launch activities
Preferred Qualifications
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or related field
- Minimum of 8 years of automotive engineering experience with focus on body structures or closures
Proven experience developing:
- Door systems
- Hood or liftgate systems
- Hinges and latch systems
- Experience with automotive product development processes (APQP, DFMEA, DV/PV testing).
- Strong understanding of sheet metal design, stamping, hemming, and assembly processes.
- Proficiency with CAD tools (CATIA, NX, or equivalent).
- Experience working with tier-1 suppliers.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience leading engineers or technical teams.
- Knowledge of tolerance stack-up analysis and GD&T.
- Familiarity with aluminum and mixed-material closure systems.
- Experience with electric vehicle platforms and lightweighting strategies
Key Competencies:
- Technical leadership
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Problem solving and root cause analysis
- Program management and prioritization
- Communication and stakeholder alignment
Key Performance Metrics:
- Closure system performance against NVH, durability, and fit/finish targets
- On-time engineering deliverables aligned with program milestones
- Cost and mass targets achievement
- Successful DV/PV validation and launch readiness
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or related field
- Minimum of 8 years of automotive engineering experience with focus on body structures or closures
- Proficiency with CAD tools (CATIA, NX, or equivalent)
- Experience developing door systems, hood or liftgate systems, hinges and latch systems
- Strong understanding of sheet metal design, stamping, hemming, and assembly processes
Stellantis Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Stellantis and has not been reviewed or approved by Stellantis.
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Pay Growth & Progression — Contract-driven increases lifted hourly wages roughly 25% over 4.5 years and restored cost-of-living adjustments, pushing top rates near $42 per hour by the end of the agreement. Union hourly positions appear to have benefited most since the 2023 deal.
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Affordable Benefits — UAW-represented hourly workers pay no premiums and about 3% of total healthcare costs while receiving comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and wellness coverage. This creates materially lower out-of-pocket costs for represented hourly roles.
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Retirement Support — Post-2007 hourly hires receive a 10% employer 401(k) contribution and legacy workers saw defined-benefit improvements with retiree bonuses. Salaried roles also cite a 401(k) with employer match and contribution up to a maximum of 8%.
Stellantis Insights
What We Do
Our storied and iconic brands embody the passion of their visionary founders and today’s customers in their innovative products and services: they include Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep®, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, Vauxhall and mobility brands Free2move and Leasys. Powered by our diversity, we lead the way the world moves – aspiring to become the greatest sustainable mobility tech company, not the biggest, while creating added value for all stakeholders as well as the communities in which we operate.
