Engineering Business Budget Forecasting & Research Manager

GM•Warren, MI

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

At General Motors, our product teams are redefining mobility. Through a human-centered design process, we create vehicles and experiences that are designed not just to be seen, but to be felt. We’re turning today’s impossible into tomorrow’s standard —from breakthrough hardware and battery systems to intuitive design, intelligent software, and next-generation safety and entertainment features. Every day, our products move millions of people as we aim to make driving safer, smarter, and more connected, shaping the future of transportation on a global scale. The Role The ARC Engineering Business Budget Forecasting & Research Manager serves as a strategic partner, bridging technical execution with financial discipline, advanced forecasting, scenario-based business research and operational excellence. This role ensures that engineering initiatives are aligned with business priorities, financially sound, and executed with clarity, accountability, and measurable impact. Role Summary This leader will: Own financial forecasting and budget management for ARC Lead and shape ARC Business Research Unit focused on fast, scenario-based modeling Provide forward-looking guidance across labor, industrial/IE, GPSC/material flow, robotics business, and data science/AI The ideal candidate combines strong business acumen, financial fluency, and a deep comfort in engineering/operations environments, a bias for action, and the ability to guide smart analysts in producing rapid resource optimization and long-term strategic planning.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Engineering, or a related field.
4+ years of experience in business operations, financial analysis, strategy, program management.
Demonstrated experience building or leading complex financial models, forecasts, and scenario analyses in ambiguous or fast-changing environments.
Proven ability to translate technical and operational information into clear business insights and decision options.
Strong analytical and financial skills, including high proficiency with spreadsheets and comfort with assumption-driven modeling.
Excellent communication, storytelling, and stakeholder-management skills, including experience presenting to senior leadership.
Experience leading or mentoring analysts or cross-functional teams, setting priorities, and managing workload in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience in automation, robotics, industrial engineering, GPSC/material flow, or engineering-driven environments.
Advanced degree (MBA, MS in Finance/Analytics, or related field) preferred.
Experience with scenario modeling tools, simulation, or data science/AI-driven decision support.
Demonstrated track record of driving faster, assumption-driven decisions and improving ROI selection in complex portfolios.

Responsibilities

Lead financial planning, forecasting, and budget management for the ARC organization across capital, expense, and headcount.
Analyze cost structures, ROI, and investment trade-offs to support data-driven decision-making and prioritization.
Monitor spend, identify variances, and recommend corrective actions to maintain financial discipline.
Own or support NPP ARs and investment cases; ensure proposals are aligned with strategic and financial goals.
Evaluate ROI and trade-offs to guide decisions on project sequencing, scope, and timing; identify and track offsets for critical projects.
Forecast unapproved projects to support accurate out-year and Long-Term Plan (LTP) planning and performance tracking.
Ensure capital cash and other financial targets are met; lead finance-driven requests for deferrals, re-phasing, and additional funding.
Track progress, risks, and dependencies across ARC initiatives, highlighting business and financial impacts and proposing mitigation paths.
Support portfolio prioritization and sequencing, ensuring the highest-value automation and robotics initiatives are resourced first.
Lead or support risk mitigation planning, including scenario-based impact assessments (upside/downside) and contingency options.
Develop and maintain cost center structures, track headcount, and coordinate reorganizations and staffing changes in partnership with HR.
Drive core operating rhythms including quarterly business reviews, headcount planning, resource allocation, and portfolio performance reviews.
Partner with ARC leadership to define annual goals, OKRs, and long-range plans for automation and robotics initiatives.
Translate ARC strategies into actionable business plans, budgets, and investment roadmaps.
Connect engineering and robotics work to business impact, ensuring clarity on value drivers, risks, and expected outcomes.
Build and lead a fast, assumption-driven business research capability that frames how ARC should think about major automation, deployment, and sourcing decisions.
Develop and maintain scenario models that explicitly document assumptions, sensitivities, and ranges of outcomes, rather than single-point estimates.
Complement Finance by building financial context and future-state models for ARC automation and robotics initiatives, exploring plausible scenarios and de-risking choices before complete data exists.
Standardize how assumptions are captured, challenged, and refreshed; establish clear accountability for assumptions used in business cases and forecasts.
Create reusable frameworks and templates for recurring ARC decisions and comparing scenarios (e.g., alternative deployment strategies, timing options, sourcing approaches) and articulate trade-offs in terms of cost, risk, and strategic impact in areas such as Labor Finance, Industrial/IE (BOM cost predictions, break-even BOM and process optimization), GPSC/Material Flow, Robotics Business (volume forecasts) and Data Science/AI (scenario optimizer).
Serve as a key liaison between Engineering, Finance, Manufacturing, GPSC, Product, HR, and IT/Data.
Prepare clear, compelling materials for executive updates, business reviews, and strategic discussions, including scenario comparisons and recommendation rationales.
Coach analysts and stakeholders in assumption-driven thinking, encouraging thoughtful “best-guess” guidance over analysis paralysis.
Scope and prioritize all projects to meet NPP waterlines.
Author all NPP ARs and ensure alignment with strategic and financial goals.
Identify offsets for critical projects.
Ensure accurate monthly forecasting.
Lead all financial-driven requests for deferrals and offsets.
Ensure financial targets are met for Capital Cash.
Forecast unapproved projects to support accurate out-year planning.
Manage additional funding requests and integration/ARs, if applicable.
Serve as gatekeeper for all ARC projects proposals.
Develop Long-Term Plan (LTP) and manage monthly forecasts and performance.
Lead risk mitigation activities as needed.