Lead Vehicle Engineer

BraunAbility•Winamac, IN

About The Position

The Lead Vehicle Engineer is a senior technical leader responsible for end-to-end engineering delivery of Wheelchair Access Vehicle (WAV) systems. The role defines technical strategy and engineering direction, guiding vehicle solutions from concept through production while ensuring they are robust, compliant, and cost-effective. The Lead Engineer works with a high degree of autonomy to identify risks, influence organizational decisions, and deliver technically sound, production-ready solutions. The position leads engineering projects and vehicle-system development, including CAD design, vehicle architecture, mechanical packaging, layout, and subsystem interface definition. It coordinates with product management, manufacturing, quality assurance, and other stakeholders; manages cost, timing, technical risk, requirements, and release activities; and prepares and presents technical reports and documentation. The Lead Engineer reviews and approves technical deliverables and high-risk technical approaches, supports compliance with safety, regulatory, and environmental standards, and keeps current with engineering technologies and methodologies. The role also provides formal and informal mentorship across engineering levels, leads design reviews and stakeholder alignment, teaches root cause analysis and DMAIC methods, and establishes engineering best practices. It leads strategic efforts to improve cost, quality, and velocity and to future-proof vehicle engineering. The position encourages effective use and critical evaluation of generative AI and engineering copilots to support research, analysis, documentation, problem solving, and workflow automation.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science in Engineering or Engineering Technology.
Minimum 10 years of engineering experience.
Strong understanding of engineering principles and practices.
Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
Effective communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate technical issues, risks, data, and recommendations to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Advanced CAD modeling expertise.
Expertise in vehicle architecture and system integration.
Expertise in GD&T, tolerancing, and engineering release processes.
Expertise in DFMEA creation and interpretation.
Expert understanding of systems engineering V-model applications.
Expertise in system- and vehicle-level compliance requirements and familiarity with industry standards and regulatory requirements.
Ability to manage operational constraints and work closely with cross-functional teams throughout development to meet requirements.
Advanced understanding of simulation tools and correlation of analysis to testing and field performance.
Expert knowledge of Teamcenter, Epicor, EBOM, and MBOM structures.
Ability to independently process technical challenges and propose solutions.
Ability to mentor engineers on engineering principles, requirements, validation, and problem-solving methods.
Demonstrated ability to provide technical leadership and mentorship.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree.
Professional Engineer (PE) certification.
Participation in five or more development cycles across all phases of product development.
Systems Engineering V-model proficiency.
GD&T certification.
APQP application experience.
Six Sigma knowledge.
Commitment to lifelong learning and continuous professional development.
Ability to effectively leverage generative AI and engineering copilots in engineering work.

Responsibilities

Lead the planning, execution, and delivery of engineering projects.
Design and develop new vehicle conversions using CAD tools such as Inventor, NX, or SolidWorks.
Define vehicle engineering strategy and technical direction for assigned programs.
Lead end-to-end development of vehicle systems from concept through production launch.
Drive architectural changes to resolve complex integration challenges.
Lead mechanical packaging, layout, and subsystem interface definition activities.
Provide technical guidance and mentorship to engineers across multiple levels.
Lead and approve technical decisions and approaches for complex or high-risk engineering challenges.
Coordinate with cross-functional teams, including product management, manufacturing, and quality assurance.
Ensure compliance with safety, regulatory, and environmental standards.
Monitor project progress and adjust plans as needed to meet deadlines.
Prepare and present technical reports and documentation.
Lead evaluation and adoption of new technologies, materials, and engineering processes.
Author and approve requirements, standards, lessons learned, and engineering documentation.
Manage cost, timing, technical risk, requirements, and release activities across multiple systems.
Lead cross-functional design reviews and stakeholder alignment activities.
Mentor team members on root cause analysis tools, DMAIC methodology, engineering principles, requirements, validation, problem-solving methods, industry standards, compliance, and emerging technologies.
Establish engineering best practices and help develop engineering talent.
Lead strategic activities to improve company cost, quality, and velocity, and proactively lead efforts to future-proof vehicle engineering.
Stay current with engineering technologies and methodologies.
Use generative AI and engineering copilots to support research, analysis, documentation, and problem solving; provide clear context, requirements, assumptions, and constraints; critically evaluate and validate AI-generated outputs; identify opportunities for AI-enabled workflow automation; and maintain awareness of emerging AI applications in vehicle development, validation, and product engineering.