Product Integration & Applications Engineering Lead

Blue Bird Careers•Troy, MI

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Product Integration and Applications Engineering Lead owns the technical product definition for a new commercial chassis platform from concept through production launch. This role serves as the engineering authority for product configurations, application compatibility, option governance, interface requirements, and body integration throughout the product lifecycle. Working across Engineering, Manufacturing, Strategic Sourcing, Sales, body manufacturers, suppliers, and customers, this position ensures every vehicle configuration is technically feasible, manufacturable, serviceable, and commercially viable. This role establishes and leads the Applications Engineering function, defining the engineering processes, technical standards, and product governance required to support scalable product configurations, body integrations, customer applications, and future platform growth while providing technical leadership to a growing team of Applications Engineers. This is a high-autonomy leadership role for an experienced engineer who thrives in ambiguity, makes complex engineering decisions with confidence, and wants meaningful ownership over how a new commercial chassis platform is configured, integrated, and brought to market.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, or related engineering discipline
8+ years of experience in product engineering, systems engineering, applications engineering, vehicle integration, configuration management, or commercial vehicle product development
All candidates must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States and will be required to provide proof of employment eligibility at the time of hire.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated ownership of configurable vehicle products from concept through production launch
Experience developing product requirements, interface definitions, engineering changes, product configurations, and application strategies
Experience working directly with customers, body manufacturers, suppliers, and cross-functional engineering organizations
Demonstrated experience providing technical leadership, mentoring engineers, or leading engineering teams within a product development environment
Experience with commercial chassis, incomplete vehicles, body-on-chassis platforms, vocational vehicles, or medium- or heavy-duty truck applications
Experience supporting body builder integration, upfitter engineering, or OEM body integration programs
Experience implementing configurable product strategies for highly configurable vehicle platforms
Experience with requirements management, systems engineering, configuration management, or PLM tools
Experience supporting clean-sheet vehicle development or accelerated product launches
Master's degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline
Experience building, leading, or scaling an Applications Engineering or Product Integration organization

Responsibilities

Own the technical product definition, feature content, option strategy, and configuration architecture across the commercial chassis platform throughout the product lifecycle.
Develop, manage, and maintain vehicle, customer, regulatory, body builder, and application requirements while ensuring complete traceability through engineering, validation, manufacturing, and production.
Serve as the primary engineering interface for body manufacturers by defining chassis interfaces, body mounting requirements, electrical interfaces, dimensional envelopes, installation requirements, and integration standards.
Own vehicle configurations, option compatibility, feature dependencies, ordering logic, and engineering constraints to ensure technically valid, manufacturable, and customer-ready product offerings.
Develop and maintain Interface Control Documents (ICDs), application specifications, body builder manuals, configuration standards, engineering requirements, and technical documentation governing product compatibility and system interfaces.
Evaluate engineering changes for technical feasibility, product compatibility, customer applications, manufacturing impact, option logic, and downstream configuration effects.
Partner with Systems Engineering, Vehicle Integration, Manufacturing, Strategic Sourcing, Supply Chain, Sales, Quality, and Program Management to maintain a controlled, scalable, and consistent product definition throughout development and launch.
Provide technical leadership to customers, dealers, distributors, body manufacturers, and internal teams regarding vehicle applications, configuration feasibility, interface requirements, and special application requests.
Lead initiatives to simplify product offerings by balancing customer flexibility with engineering complexity, manufacturing efficiency, serviceability, lifecycle cost, and long-term product sustainability.
Build and lead the Applications Engineering function by establishing engineering standards, developing team capability, mentoring engineers, and driving consistent execution across customer application and product integration activities.
Support prototype builds, manufacturing launch, and early production by resolving product definition issues, configuration conflicts, and application-related engineering challenges.
Create structure and drive execution where product requirements, customer applications, engineering constraints, and business priorities evolve simultaneously.