Sr. Vehicle Engineer

„h  Formulation of Targets and Strategic Input
Formulate performance and equipment targets for future vehicles and vehicle systems proposed by our client. These projects are comprised of innovative, state-of-the-art, and cutting edge vehicle and system concepts. Provide strategic input to the development of our client¡¦s system and component strategies to ensure that the US market requirements are fulfilled. Creativity, ingenuity, and imagination are necessary to identify the key attributes and criteria for which targets must be established to satisfy the US market conditions and customer expectations. Foresight is necessary to derive requirements that will anticipate evolving or changing US market conditions. Initiative and persuasiveness are necessary to analyze the customer expectations, competitive offerings, US driving conditions, and existing product weaknesses, and to define the requirements, present the arguments supporting the proposals and negotiate consensus opinion within our client product and strategy departments and then communicate, negotiate, and escalate the targets and requirements in German and English language into the our client¡¦s PEP (Product Development Process) via the corresponding key development partners (ES-x, KIFA) at our client. Very good social and interpersonal skills are necessary for initiation and maintenance of extensive contacts and relationships in the key development areas at client to ensure that credibility and trust are maintained with the business partners at client. The incumbent will be the recognized expert in their specialized KIFA area regarding US market issues.

„h  Identification of Trends in the US Market and with Competitors
High levels of awareness and perception are necessary to observe, analyze, and interpret the US automotive market for emerging technological trends, changing political and cultural trends, competitor offerings and strategies, and evolving customer expectations by attending major US Autoshows and scrutinizing the presentations and messages, reviewing automotive media and publications, and analyzing results of internal and external customer studies, surveys, and focus groups. Identify benchmarks and Best Practices in the US automotive industry concerning vehicle performance, designs, layouts, and technologies by evaluating and analyzing critical competitor vehicles and components, and comparing them to existing and potential client products and technologies. High levels of insight and perception are necessary to interpret the results, assess their significance for client, and translate them into proposed strategic actions and input to the client product strategy and development groups.

„h  Manage and Support client Development Activities in the US Market
Conduct in-house employee surveys and drive evaluation tests (KNT- Kundennaher Test )- To support the vehicle deveIopment process, the candidate will conduct surveys and drive tests using employees as participants. Driving tests include: coordinating the installation of electronic test equipment into different test vehicles and configuring equipment parameters; using demographic data regarding client employees, identify and schedule driving sessions with employees. Depending on the test, the participants drive the test vehicles either on a prescribed local test route or during their free time on any route of their choice; interviewing the test participants concerning their impressions of the vehicle; download sampled data from the driving sessions from the test equipment; transfer data to computer server for data analysis by engineering experts. Perform necessary liaison and communication with client. A very good ability to interact with client employees including upper management who are participating in the drive tests is necessary.

„h  Provide support to client development departments
Provide support to client development departments concerning component and system development activities in the US. Provide technical expertise, market experience, and liaison to client Marketing, Aftersales, Legal departments. Coordinate and execute vehicle component and system evaluations in the US. Represent and coordinate US market interests concerning product requirements and issues within the KIFA groups during the development process. Communicate development issues and concerns from the KIFA groups to the US market team (ES-US-x and V4-US-x). Persuasion skills are necessary for the incumbent to negotiate consensus between client product teams concerning acceptable product performance levels and behavior, as well as coordination and management of any subsequent escalations within client product groups.

SKILLS

„h  1-2 years in project or personnel management

„h  2-3 years in independent project work

„h  4-6 years in vehicle engineering or testing

„h  Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook

„h  Very high vehicle driving and vehicle evaluation skills. Safe car control under all driving circumstances. Experience in analysis of vehicles, vehicle systems and components. Ability to drive manual transmission. Very good German and English language ability in reading, writing and speaking necessary.

„h  Bachelor's degree in engineering or comparable field of study

„h  Exposure to all (including extreme) weather conditions, contact with chemical cleaners or other liquids/chemicals like fuel and oil. Exposure to machines, workshop equipment and most of all cars that emit wide frequency levels of noise and some exhaust gases.

„h  Requires driving of cars with highest skills in evaluating noise, vibrations, jolts, ergonomics, comfort, ride, handling and appearance. To do so good hearing, seeing and feeling on a sensitive level is necessary to enable perfect car control up to the vehicle¡¦s physical limits, accurate evaluating and fault analysis.

„h  Requires connection and light installation of test equipment and portable computers into vehicles including engine compartment and underbody area including reaching, twisting, squatting, and pulling in sometimes confined areas.