Development Lead - Front End Closures

Stellantis•Auburn Hills, MI

31d•Onsite

About The Position

The Body Closures Development Lead is responsible for leading the design, development and validation of front-end closure systems including hoods, fenders and hinges. This role ensures that closure systems and standards meet performance, durability, safety, manufacturing, cost, and quality targets throughout the product development lifecycle. The Development Lead Engineer coordinates cross-functional teams across design, CAE, manufacturing, supplier engineering, purchasing, and program management to deliver production-ready closure systems for new vehicle programs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or related field
Minimum of 8 years of automotive engineering experience with focus on body structures or closures
Proven experience developing: Door systems
Hood or liftgate systems
Hinges and latch systems
Experience with automotive product development processes (APQP, DFMEA, DV/PV testing).
Strong understanding of sheet metal design, stamping, hemming, and assembly processes.
Proficiency with CAD tools (CATIA, NX, or equivalent).
Experience working with tier-1 suppliers.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading engineers or technical teams.
Knowledge of tolerance stack-up analysis and GD&T.
Familiarity with aluminum and mixed-material closure systems.
Experience with electric vehicle platforms and lightweighting strategies

Responsibilities

Lead engineers for development of body closure systems from concept through production launch
Own closure system performance targets including fit & finish, sealing, stiffness, NVH, durability, ergonomics, and safety
Manage technical deliverables aligned with vehicle program timing and milestones
Lead cross-functional design reviews, best practice alignment and conformance and engineering sign-offs
Lead engineers to develop and release closure system components including: Hood assemblies
Hinges
Struts / props
Fenders and brackets
System level interfaces and functions
Ensure compliance with vehicle packaging, crash safety, and regulatory requirements
Drive robust design solutions balancing mass, cost, manufacturability, and performance
Lead technical collaboration with tier-1 suppliers and tooling vendors
Support design for manufacturing (DFM) and design for assembly (DFA) activities
Work with manufacturing teams on stamping feasibility, hemming processes, assembly strategy, and tolerance stack-ups
Support tooling kick-off, best practice and production readiness reviews
Define and support validation plans, durability testing, slam testing, corrosion testing
Environmental sealing validation
Structural and stiffness validation
Work with CAE teams to ensure simulation results meet program targets
Support prototype builds and pre-production builds
Resolve engineering issues identified during DV/PV testing and manufacturing trials
Provide engineering support during vehicle launch activities