Design Release Engineer - Safety Restraint Systems

ALTEN Technology USA•Auburn Hills, MI

About The Position

ALTEN Technology USA is an engineering company that partners with leading companies in various industries to bring groundbreaking ideas to life. As part of the global ALTEN Group, we deliver across the entire product development cycle. When you join ALTEN Technology USA, you’ll collaborate on challenging engineering projects, supported by mentorship, career growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits in a culture where employees feel valued and inspired. The Restraint Design Release Engineer (DRE) is responsible for the design, development, and release of safety restraint components such as the steering wheel, seat belts, and/or airbags for client vehicle programs. This role involves working with suppliers and cross-functional teams to design, develop, and release restraint components and systems. Key responsibilities include writing change notices, creating compliance reports, managing and updating client systems and core documentation (e.g., DVPR, DFMEA) to meet program timelines, and tracking, root-causing, and resolving issues found during development and serial life (warranty). The engineer will also support plants with build issues during pre-production, production launch, and serial life builds. The DRE is expected to manage the development of passive safety restraint requirements, including specific requirements for capacitive hands-on detection and heating for steering wheel components. The chosen candidate will collaborate with other client engineering organizations to package and develop the complete restraint system and interface with purchasing, product design office, manufacturing, and supply base groups to achieve program objectives. The DRE is responsible for reviewing testing, parts, data, and best practices to ensure compliance with program requirements, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), ECE, and other global certifications.

Requirements

Minimum of a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from an ABET accredited (or equivalent) University
Minimum of 1 years of automotive engineering experience
Highly motivated and driven to achieve goals
Strong leadership, organizational, and communication skills
Good communication, problem solving, computer and presentation skills

Nice To Haves

Experience with the design and release of airbag, seat belt, and/or steering wheel components
Vehicle level restraint system experience
FMVSS or Homologation testing and certification experience
Experience with NX / Team Center CAD Software
Familiar with PFMEA, DFMEA, DVP&R, FEA and CAE impact analysis tools
Experience using proactive quality tools (Design for Six Sigma)
Experience using reactive quality tools (Kepner-Tregoe / Shainin)

Responsibilities

Design, development, and release of steering wheel, seat belts, and/or airbags for client vehicle programs.
Work with suppliers and cross-functional areas to design, develop, and release restraint components and systems.
Write change notices and compliance reports.
Manage and update client systems and core documentation (e.g., DVPR, DFMEA) to meet program timing and deliverables.
Follow, track, root cause, and manage to resolution issues found during development and serial life (warranty).
Provide support to plants for build issues found during pre-production, production launch, and serial life builds.
Manage the development of passive safety restraint requirements.
Manage the development of capacitive hands-on detection and heating (electrical and performance) requirements for steering wheel components.
Work with other client engineering organizations to package and develop the complete restraint system.
Interface with purchasing, product design office, manufacturing, and supply base groups to achieve program objectives.
Review testing, parts, data, and best practices to meet program requirements, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), ECE, and other global certifications.