Lead Vehicle Engineer

We work alongside the best and brightest to do incredibly cool things you wouldn’t believe.  At Roush, you’re part of building the future.  Are you someone that has a passion for providing innovative solutions to complex challenges?  Do you want to work someplace where creativity and new ideas are encouraged?  If so, then keep reading.
We fuse technology and engineering to provide product development solutions to customers in a diverse range of industries. Widely recognized for providing engineering, testing, prototype, and manufacturing services to the transportation industry, Roush also provides significant support to the aerospace, defense and theme park industries.  With over 2,400 employees in facilities throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America, our unique combination of creativity and tenacity activates big ideas on a global stage. 
The Lead Vehicle Engineer acts as the program-level Principal Vehicle Engineer for an assigned vehicle program, owning vehicle-level performance, integration, and validation while ensuring alignment with established Principal Vehicle standards and governance. The Lead Vehicle Engineer is responsible for translating high-level vehicle strategies into program-specific technical targets, leading system integration activities, and coordinating cross-functional engineering execution. This role serves as the primary technical point of contact for the program, driving day-to-day engineering decisions, managing technical risks, and ensuring that all program deliverables meet quality, timing, and cost objectives.
As a Lead Vehicle Engineer, you will:

• Define and manage program-specific vehicle attribute targets; oversee requirement flow-down and maintain interface control documents (ICDs) across all affected systems
• Lead program-level integration planning, including design validation and design verification schedules, coordinating closely with the Vehicle Systems Supervisor for execution
• Make daily technical decisions within program scope and escalate high-impact trade-offs to the Principal Vehicle Engineer for resolution; it is expected that the Lead Vehicle Engineer is both willing and capable of escalating to clients as well pending reviews with the Principal Vehicle Engineer
• Conduct and lead technical reviews with Mechanical, Electrical, CAE, Manufacturing/Prototype, Quality, and supplier teams, ensuring issues are identified and resolved promptly
• Develop and maintain technical risk registers, mitigation plans, and status reports for communication to customers, Program Management, and leadership
• Ensure engineering deliverables are completed in alignment with program gateways, customer milestones, and internal process requirements
• Represent the program’s technical position in customer and executive reviews, ensuring technical accuracy and alignment with business objectives

To be considered as a Lead Vehicle Engineer, you will need:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related discipline
• Minimum of 6 years of experience in vehicle or mobility product engineering, with at least 3 years in full product integration roles
• Proven experience leading cross-functional engineering teams to deliver complex vehicle programs from concept through launch
• Proficiency in system-level packaging, ICD management, attribute trade-offs, DFMEA/DVP creation, and verification/validation planning
• Strong technical leadership capabilities with the ability to manage multidisciplinary teams and cross-system dependencies
• Skilled at integrating mechanical, electrical, and software systems to achieve vehicle-level performance objectives
• Working knowledge of Design for Manufacturing (DFM), and geometric dimensioning & tolerancing (GD&T)
• Knowledge of structured engineering processes, including requirements management, design reviews, and lessons-learned integration
• Strong collaboration skills with internal teams, suppliers, and customers to align technical execution with program objectives
• Demonstrated ability to resolve engineering issues quickly while balancing technical rigor with program constraints
• Demonstrated ability to manage engineering activities within cost, timing, and performance constraints
• Demonstrated ability to consistently coach and mentor engineering teams to ensure program success and to maintain a high level of efficiency
• Demonstrated ability to stay organized in both fluid and fast-paced environments

A successful candidate may also have:

• Master’s degree in engineering, or related technical field
• Prior OEM, Tier-1 supplier, or engineering services company experience leading full vehicle programs
• Background in advanced vehicle technology integration, including electrification, autonomy, or lightweight structures
• Experience working directly with customers on technical program definition, trade-off studies, and milestone reviews
• Engineering-consulting experience within mobility or adjacent fields.
• Familiarity with CAD and engineering analysis tools such as SolidWorks, Siemens NX, CATIA, Pro/E, or MATLAB
• Understanding of vehicle testing methods and validation planning for attributes such as NVH, safety, and durability
• Experience in customer-facing or consulting roles requiring technical presentation and negotiation skills
• Knowledge of major vehicle development process phases, gateways, and deliverables
• Experience with program risk assessment, trade-off studies, and engineering change management
• Ability to adapt engineering solutions to meet unique customer or market requirements