Design Release Engineer (m/f/x)

Gebauer & Griller•Southfield, MI

About The Position

GG Group is a global, family-owned business that develops and produces high-quality cables and wiring systems for energy and data transmission in automotive and industrial applications. The Design Release Engineer serves as the primary customer engineering contact and has full technical ownership of wiring harness and component development projects, from prototype through production launch. The role ensures designs meet customer specifications, internal standards, and automotive regulations, and supports validation, feasibility studies, design verification and production validation, and engineering change requests. The engineer reviews, releases, and maintains drawings, models, technical specifications, and bill-of-materials documentation; manages product changes and open issues; and coordinates engineering activities with customers, project management, manufacturing plants, suppliers, and global development teams. The role also supports customer plant trials, prepares status reports and technical presentations, assesses technical compliance and project impacts, drives continuous improvement and cost reduction, mentors less experienced engineers, and travels to customers as required. Occasional travel within North America and close collaboration with Austrian and global teams are expected.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, automotive engineering, or a comparable technical discipline.
At least 2 years of experience as a Design Release Engineer, Product Engineer, or Development Engineer in the automotive industry.
Strong knowledge of wiring harness systems, vehicle integration, and automotive development processes.
Experience with CAD, PLM/PDM systems, engineering releases, and change management processes.
Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to work effectively in an international environment.
Ability to multitask, prioritize, and close action items to meet internal and external deadlines.
Good working knowledge of MS Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Willingness to travel occasionally within North America.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a Tier I supplier environment; FCA experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary customer engineering contact for technical discussions, design reviews, and on-site support.
Represent GG Group at customer technical and program meetings.
Lead the customer interface for change control, technical issues, and engineering deliverables.
Evaluate customer information for accuracy and communicate requirements clearly to internal teams.
Escalate issues to management when appropriate.
Own the technical development of wiring harness and component projects.
Ensure designs meet customer specifications, internal standards, and automotive regulations.
Lead development from prototype through production launch.
Maintain program-specific DFMEA and align with global engineering teams.
Support validation, feasibility studies, DV/PV, and engineering change requests.
Review, release, and maintain 2D drawings, 3D models, technical specifications, and BOM documentation.
Manage product changes throughout the product lifecycle in alignment with customer and internal requirements.
Maintain open-issues lists and drive timely closure.
Coordinate engineering activities with project management, manufacturing plants, suppliers, and global development teams.
Collaborate with manufacturing teams to assess design-change impacts on production, industrialization, and product quality.
Work with customer and internal cross-functional teams to achieve program milestones.
Collaborate with DVP&R teams to validate products against customer requirements.
Initiate customer plant trials, document results, and obtain required approvals.
Support internal teams in understanding customer requirements and act as the lead interface.
Prepare engineering status reports, risk assessments, and technical presentations for customers and internal stakeholders.
Evaluate customer requirements for technical compliance and communicate impacts on timing, cost, and feasibility.
Drive continuous improvement and support successful product launches.
Generate and support cost-reduction ideas involving design, materials, and manufacturing processes.
Mentor less experienced engineers and support collaboration across global engineering teams.
Lead project timelines and coordinate global activities to achieve milestones.
Travel to customers as required and collaborate closely with Austrian and global GG teams.