Lead, Thermal Systems SET

Scout Motors • Novi, MI

10d • Onsite

About The Position

The Thermal Systems SET Lead is responsible for delivering the thermal system to program timing, cost, quality, and vehicle integration targets. The role leads system execution and integration across engineering, suppliers, purchasing, manufacturing, validation, and program management. It exercises independent judgment on significant program and integration issues, aligns stakeholders, and ensures thermal-system components are released, sourced, and available for vehicle builds and production milestones.

The role owns program timing and part readiness, coordinates supplier recovery plans, leads cross-functional reviews and issue resolution, and oversees thermal-system integration and validation readiness. It also maintains program documentation, status reporting, risk and issue tracking, and management updates, escalating issues with impact assessments and recommended actions when leadership decisions are needed.

The position is based at Scout Motors’ Novi, Michigan location and requires 4–5 days per week in the office, regular in-person meetings and events, and occasional travel.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related field.
• 12–15 years of relevant automotive engineering, systems integration, program management, or thermal systems experience.
• Experience leading complex vehicle-system development programs and resolving significant cross-functional issues affecting program or functional outcomes.
• Broad expertise in automotive product development, engineering releases, validation processes, supplier management, sourcing, and vehicle integration.
• Ability to work independently, direct work through cross-functional teams, influence stakeholders, and manage schedules, risks, decisions, and recovery actions.
• Excellent communication, technical leadership, persuasion, and organizational skills, including the ability to convey advanced information to technical and leadership audiences.
• Integrity, curiosity, resourcefulness, a positive attitude, and a growth mindset.
• Comfort with change and flexibility in a fast-paced, high-growth environment, with a collaborative approach to achieving goals.

Nice To Haves

• Recognized subject-matter expertise in vehicle systems, thermal systems, system integration, or overall systems management.
• Experience with VW Group or Scout product-development processes and coordination across global or multi-organizational stakeholders.
• Experience supporting vehicle builds, launch activities, and production-readiness reviews.
• Familiarity with engineering release systems, change management processes, supplier development, and reusable readiness or governance methods.

Responsibilities

• Own and govern thermal-system timing plans, deliverables, priorities, and milestone tracking for the assigned vehicle program.
• Track component maturity, sourcing status, releases, tooling, validation, and build readiness.
• Define and maintain part-level scorecards, readiness dashboards, and decision criteria for system-level visibility.
• Coordinate prototype, VFF, PVS, and production-build part availability and ensure components are released on time.
• Direct supplier recovery planning when timing, quality, cost, or technical delivery is at risk and align corrective actions.
• Coordinate activities across thermal engineering, purchasing, validation, manufacturing, quality, controls, packaging, program management, and suppliers.
• Lead technical and program reviews, communicate system-readiness information, and drive decisions across stakeholders.
• Resolve significant cross-functional issues, evaluate competing or incomplete inputs, exercise independent judgment, and escalate risks requiring leadership action.
• Maintain visibility of open issues, decisions, dependencies, and action-item ownership while driving accountability for closure.
• Own thermal-system integration readiness and ensure components collectively meet vehicle and program requirements.
• Assess engineering changes and determine impacts to timing, cost, validation, sourcing, and vehicle builds.
• Guide system-level validation planning and execution to align with program milestones.
• Lead cross-functional closure of vehicle-, subsystem-, and component-level testing issues, including technical and program recovery direction.
• Maintain thermal-system status reports, timing plans, risk registers, issue lists, executive updates, and decision records.
• Coordinate and review release documentation, technical specifications, sourcing packages, and engineering deliverables for completeness and readiness.
• Report on system readiness, risks, tradeoffs, recovery actions, and milestone achievement, and recommend actions to management.
• Resolve roadblocks across functions and suppliers; escalate issues with impact assessments, options, and recommended actions.

Benefits

• Competitive medical, dental, vision, and income-protection insurance plans.
• 401(k) program with employer match and immediate vesting.
• 20 days of planned PTO, as accrued.
• 40 hours of unplanned PTO annually.
• 14 company or floating holidays annually.
• Up to 16 weeks of paid parental leave for biological and adoptive parents of all genders.
• Paid leave for bereavement, jury duty, voting time, or military leave.
• Annual performance bonus program.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior