Research Manager - Vehicle Software Products, Core & Occupant

General Motors•Warren, MI

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

General Motors is seeking a Customer Research Manager to lead a team of researchers and/or analysts within Global Customer Research (GCR) Product Research. The team supports the Core Experience and Occupant Experience software product teams within Vehicle Product Management, bringing the voice of the customer to decisions shaping in-vehicle experiences. The portfolio includes comfort controls, displays, infotainment, connectivity, entertainment, user-interface generations and releases, AI assistants, user profiles, and related digital vehicle experiences. The manager partners with product teams and cross-functional stakeholders from early requirements development through launch and in-market performance. This customer-centered people leader combines research execution, strategic judgment, and consultative partnership to guide a portfolio of bespoke research, develop team capability, and translate customer learning into clear product direction. The position is hybrid and based in Warren, Michigan. The selected candidate is expected to report to the location at least three times per week, or at another frequency directed by the business or manager. Travel is required for less than 25% of the role. Relocation benefits are not available, and relocation costs are the candidate’s responsibility. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States; GM does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. GM describes its vision as a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion, and says it is committed to meaningful change, inclusion, and belonging. The company states that employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis and that reasonable accommodations are available to job seekers with disabilities. Role-related assessments and/or pre-employment screening may be required where applicable.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree.
At least 7 years of relevant experience.
Working knowledge of vehicle or product-development processes and the role of customer research in product decision-making.
Experience leading or using primary research to inform product decisions.
People-leadership experience, including setting goals, coaching, performance management, and developing team members.
Ability to manage multiple projects, priorities, schedules, and stakeholders in a complex, changing environment.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to create clear, concise, actionable research deliverables.
Strong presentation, facilitation, negotiation, and persuasive storytelling skills; ability to communicate effectively with technical, business, program, and leadership audiences.
Proficiency using AI-enabled tools to improve the speed, quality, and effectiveness of research and day-to-day work.
Creativity, resourcefulness, sound critical thinking, problem-solving, organizational, and stakeholder-management skills.
Legally authorized to work in the United States; GM does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role.

Nice To Haves

Experience in automotive, mobility, connected services, consumer technology, digital products, or other complex hardware-software ecosystems.
Software product development experience.
Post-graduate degree.
Direct market research experience across qualitative, quantitative, formative, generative, and evaluative methodologies.

Responsibilities

Serve as a trusted, consultative research partner to Core Experience and Occupant Experience product teams and their cross-functional stakeholders.
Learn stakeholders’ business priorities, product plans, decision timelines, and customer-learning needs.
Translate business priorities into research plans and proposals aligned with product-development milestones and the GCR research roadmap.
Facilitate research framing, defining the business decision, target customer, learning objectives, scope, timing, resource needs, and intended use of findings.
Collaborate with stakeholders to develop research stimuli that connect product intent with customer feedback.
Represent the customer perspective in cross-functional forums through clear, persuasive, evidence-based storytelling.
Plan, design, and execute fit-for-purpose qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method research to provide timely, actionable insight.
Synthesize findings into concise, decision-ready deliverables describing customer needs, implications, opportunities, and recommended actions.
Connect learning across studies, customer themes, product areas, and technology domains, and communicate relevant read-across to stakeholders.
Lead, coach, and develop researchers and/or analysts; set goals and expectations, provide timely feedback, and support professional growth.
Build a high-performance, customer-centered culture characterized by intellectual curiosity, collaboration, accountability, constructive challenge, and continuous improvement.
Manage an assigned portfolio, including priorities, work plans, milestones, budget, supplier support, and stakeholder expectations.
Direct study materials, suppliers, logistics, fieldwork, analysis, reporting, and stakeholder follow-through to meet agreed scope, timing, quality, and budget expectations.
Communicate status to leadership and stakeholders; surface risks and negotiate scope, timing, and resource trade-offs early.
Manage research suppliers, budgets, schedules, tools, and facilities in accordance with GM processes and policies.