Plant Vehicle Engineer, General Assembly

Slate Auto•Warsaw, IN

12d•Onsite

About The Position

Slate is seeking a hands-on Plant Vehicle Engineer to support launch readiness, production quality, and continuous improvement in General Assembly, with a primary focus on the base truck. The role supports plant execution of General Assembly content across structure, restraints, interior, exterior, and closure components, helping ensure vehicles can be built repeatedly to product intent in a manufacturing plant environment. The position is the Plant Vehicle Engineering link between the manufacturing plant and Design & Release Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Suppliers, Production, Safety, End of Line, Vehicle Integration, Service, and other cross-functional teams. It focuses on protecting product intent in General Assembly, resolving production and integration issues, and improving build quality, rather than designing new components. The role does not own production release of General Assembly content; it identifies build and integration issues, supports root cause analysis, protects safety-critical and quality requirements, and drives plant-side issue resolution with partner teams. The position is fully onsite in a manufacturing plant environment. The employee must be able to work on the plant floor more than 50% of the time, travel domestically up to 20%, and be willing to relocate to Warsaw, Indiana. Relocation assistance is provided. Applicants must be authorized to work permanently in the United States; visa sponsorship is unavailable.

Requirements

At least 5 years of related automotive engineering, manufacturing engineering, launch, quality, plant vehicle engineering, General Assembly, vehicle integration, or similar experience.
Experience supporting vehicle development and launch, with an understanding of the product lifecycle from concept through production ramp and mass production.
Strong understanding of BOMs, engineering change control, manufacturability, assembly methods, process validation, quality metrics, design reviews, and cost-reduction methodologies.
Strong technical, interpersonal, and communication skills, including the ability to foster collaboration and build effective cross-functional relationships.
Ability to read and interpret drawings, schematics, technical documents, specifications, quality standards, and production process documentation.
Working knowledge of GD&T, tolerance stack-up, and fastening fundamentals, including torque, torque + angle, and clamp load.
Experience with issue tracking, change management, quality systems, deviation and waiver processes, containment tracking, and production breakpoint control.
Hands-on experience supporting assembly lines and driving improvements in build quality, process stability, and production robustness.
Understanding of fit and finish, sealing, water leaks, wind noise, squeaks and rattles, trim alignment, seating and restraints, structural and exterior interfaces, and fastening-related concerns.
Ability to provide plant feedback into product and process decisions through DFM and DFA experience.
Ability to work on the plant floor more than 50% of the time and travel domestically up to 20%.
Willingness to relocate to Warsaw, Indiana.
Authorization to work in the United States on a permanent basis; visa sponsorship is not available.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field; equivalent hands-on automotive launch, manufacturing, or product engineering experience will be considered.
Experience with General Assembly build execution, structure, restraints, interiors, exterior components, closures, or sealing.

Responsibilities

Support General Assembly launch and ongoing production.
Serve as the Plant Vehicle Engineering point of contact for General Assembly production and vehicle integration issues across structure, restraints, interior, exterior, and closure components.
Help ensure General Assembly processes maintain product design intent, safety requirements, quality standards, craftsmanship expectations, and configuration requirements.
Support plant readiness for General Assembly content, including station execution, build sequence, repair methods, inspection standards, and launch issue closure.
Investigate, diagnose, and resolve production issues involving installation, fit/function, craftsmanship, sealing, water leaks, wind noise, squeaks and rattles, trim fit, closure and body interfaces, seating and restraints, fasteners, and component interfaces.
Lead or support root cause analysis, containment, corrective action development, breakpoint coordination, and validation of permanent fixes.
Analyze production data, audit findings, repair trends, teardown feedback, supplier concerns, and plant feedback to identify risks, trends, and improvement opportunities.
Partner with Design & Release Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Production, Suppliers, Safety, End of Line, Vehicle Integration, and Service teams to resolve plant and vehicle-level concerns.
Support engineering change implementation, prototype and pilot builds, breakpoint coordination, plant readiness, issue tracking, containment, readiness reporting, and lessons learned.
Participate in Design for Manufacturing and Assembly reviews, PFMEA input, control plan reviews, station readiness reviews, and related product and process improvement activities.
Review and support production documentation, including work instructions, inspection standards, quality alerts, repair procedures, and related process documentation.
Support issue tracking, change management, quality systems, deviation and waiver processes, containment documentation, and production breakpoint control.
Drive continuous improvement actions to reduce defects, improve first-time quality, minimize rework, and strengthen production robustness in General Assembly.