Design Quality Engineer

ALTEN Technology USA•Troy, MI

About The Position

We’re ALTEN Technology USA, an engineering company helping clients bring groundbreaking ideas to life—from advancing space exploration and life-saving medical devices to building autonomous electric vehicles. With 3,000+ experts across North America, we partner with leading companies in aerospace, medical devices, robotics, automotive, commercial vehicles, EVs, rail, and more. As part of the global ALTEN Group—57,000+ engineers in 30 countries—we deliver across the entire product development cycle, from consulting to full project outsourcing. When you join ALTEN Technology USA, you’ll collaborate on some of the world’s toughest engineering challenges, supported by mentorship, career growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits. We take pride in fostering a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to grow. This position is focused on ensuring the visual quality, craftsmanship, and design execution of Class-A interior and exterior components throughout the product development lifecycle. The role involves evaluating molded, painted, wrapped, chrome, and appearance-sensitive components to ensure alignment with design intent, visual standards, dimensional stability requirements, and production readiness expectations. The engineer will work closely with Design, CMF, Mastering, Suppliers, Supplier Quality, Manufacturing, and Product Development teams to identify and resolve craftsmanship, tooling, grain, and appearance-related issues before production launch. This position requires strong attention to detail, visual assessment expertise, supplier collaboration experience, and the ability to balance design intent with manufacturing reality in a fast-paced automotive development environment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Product Development, or a related technical field.
Minimum 8+ years of experience in quality, product development, craftsmanship, supplier quality, or design validation environments, including at least 5 years within the automotive industry.
Strong attention to detail, visual assessment expertise, supplier collaboration experience, and the ability to balance design intent with manufacturing reality in a fast-paced automotive development environment.
Passionate about vehicle craftsmanship, visual quality, and customer-facing product execution
Strong eye for detail and ability to identify subtle appearance concerns
Comfortable balancing design expectations with manufacturing feasibility
Highly organized and capable of managing multiple programs simultaneously
Strong communicator who can effectively work with suppliers, engineers, and design teams
Self-driven and capable of operating independently with limited supervision
Process-oriented with a structured approach to issue identification and resolution
Thrives in fast-paced development and launch environments
8+ years of experience in Quality, Product Development, Craftsmanship, Design Validation, or related disciplines
Minimum 5 years of automotive industry experience
Experience evaluating appearance-sensitive or Class-A automotive components
Experience working with suppliers and cross-functional engineering teams
Strong understanding of craftsmanship, cosmetic quality, and visual acceptance criteria
Experience documenting issues and supporting corrective actions
Strong organizational and project management skills
Ability to manage multiple programs simultaneously
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools

Nice To Haves

Tooling experience
Grain approval experience
Appearance Approval Report (AAR) experience
Injection molded plastic component experience
CMF (Color, Material, Finish) experience
PPAP exposure
Supplier Quality experience
Vehicle launch experience
Class-A interior or exterior component expertise

Responsibilities

Ensure Class-A components meet visual quality, craftsmanship, and design intent requirements
Evaluate vehicle and accessory components against appearance and quality standards
Support development and maintenance of craftsmanship expectations across programs
Drive alignment between design intent and production execution
Review molded parts prior to grain application to ensure tool quality meets approval requirements
Assess tooling and molded surfaces for cosmetic defects and quality concerns
Validate supplier pre-grain approval documentation
Approve tooling readiness prior to grain application activities
Review and evaluate appearance approval parts including: Painted components, Wrapped components, Chrome components, MIC components, Other Class-A appearance parts
Verify parts meet visual quality standards and dimensional stability requirements
Support approval activities required for PPAP signoff and production readiness
Document visual, cosmetic, tooling, and craftsmanship concerns
Generate visual reports supporting issue identification and resolution
Work directly with suppliers and engineering teams to address identified concerns
Support root cause investigations and corrective actions for appearance-related issues
Support supplier visits and on-site quality reviews as required
Collaborate with Supplier Quality Engineers and supplier quality teams
Assist suppliers in resolving tooling, grain, and appearance concerns
Monitor supplier quality performance related to craftsmanship standards
Maintain documentation and records related to grain approvals, appearance approvals, and craftsmanship reviews
Track program deliverables and approval status across multiple projects
Support timeline management and milestone execution
Maintain material development and craftsmanship databases
Collaborate closely with CMF Design, Studio Engineering, Mastering, Manufacturing, and Supplier Quality teams
Support plaque-to-part scaling and design execution activities
Participate in design reviews and provide quality feedback throughout development