Research Manager - Vehicle Software Products, Core & Occupant

GM•Warren, MI

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

General Motors is seeking a Customer Research Manager to lead researchers and/or analysts within Global Customer Research Product Research. The team supports the Core Experience and Occupant Experience software product teams within Vehicle Product Management, bringing customer perspectives to decisions shaping in-vehicle experiences. The role partners with product teams and cross-functional stakeholders from early requirements development through launch and in-market performance. The portfolio includes comfort controls, displays, infotainment, connectivity, entertainment, user-interface generations and releases, AI assistants, user profiles, and related digital vehicle experiences. The successful candidate combines customer-centered leadership, research execution, strategic judgment, and consultative partnership. They guide a portfolio of bespoke research, develop team capability, and translate customer learning into clear, timely product direction. The role is hybrid, with an expectation to report to Warren, Michigan at least three times per week or at another frequency directed by the business. Travel is less than 25%. Relocation benefits are not provided. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without immigration-related sponsorship from GM.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree.
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 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 without requiring GM immigration-related sponsorship now or in the future.

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

Partner with Core Experience and Occupant Experience product teams and cross-functional stakeholders as a trusted, consultative research partner.
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, including the business decision, target customer, learning objectives, scope, timing, resource needs, and intended use of findings.
Collaborate with stakeholders to develop research stimuli connecting 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 communicating 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 emphasizing 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 clearly 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.