Senior Product Engineer- Shocks and Struts
About The Position
The Senior Product Engineer - Shocks & Struts provides advanced technical leadership for aftermarket ride-control products and supports their development, validation, release, resourcing, launch, and ongoing support. The role leads complex engineering work, reviews and approves technical deliverables within delegated authority, resolves escalated product and supplier issues, and mentors less-experienced engineers while protecting product performance, quality, fit, appearance, timing, and customer requirements. The position reports to the Engineering Manager and is a senior individual-contributor role with no direct reports assumed. The engineer independently leads assigned projects and complex technical reviews, recommends product and supplier decisions, and approves work within delegated engineering authority. Safety, compliance, cost, timing, and precedent-setting decisions are escalated to the Engineering Manager. Work takes place in a collaborative engineering environment involving internal functions, laboratories, manufacturing sites, and suppliers. The site location, work arrangement, schedule, and travel expectations require stakeholder confirmation.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Materials Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
- Typically 7 or more years of progressive product, design, application, validation, test, or supplier engineering experience in automotive, automotive aftermarket, ride control, chassis, or a comparable engineered-product environment; the final threshold requires HR and hiring-manager confirmation.
- Advanced knowledge of mechanical product development, engineering drawings and tolerances, validation planning, failure analysis, PPAP, and engineering change/release processes.
- Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical reviews.
- Strong project management, technical writing, data analysis, problem-solving, and cross-functional communication skills.
Nice To Haves
- Direct experience with shocks, struts, dampers, suspension systems, automotive aftermarket applications, supplier resourcing, vehicle fitment, ride evaluation, DVP&R, APQP/PPAP, 3D comparison, and mentoring engineers.
- Familiarity with IATF 16949 and ISO 9001 environments.
Responsibilities
- Lead complex product engineering activities for shocks, struts, strut assemblies, mounts, springs, and related ride-control components from design input through release and production support.
- Own advanced supplier drawing and print reviews, validating design intent, form, fit, function, appearance, interfaces, materials, tolerances, weld details, and application requirements.
- Develop, review, and approve engineering specifications, RFQ inputs, technical checklists, DVP&R test plans, drawings, reports, engineering changes, and release documentation within assigned authority.
- Provide technical direction for PPAP readiness, design validation, vehicle fit checks, ride audits, test-data review, 3D comparisons, and corrective actions.
- Lead root-cause analysis for performance, durability, fitment, warranty, supplier, and field issues; assess technical risk and recommend or approve corrective actions based on engineering evidence.
- Serve as a technical escalation point for suppliers and internal teams, clarify requirements, resolve deviations, and ensure technical actions are documented and closed on time.
- Collaborate with Product Management, Quality, Purchasing, Operations, Customer Service, laboratories, manufacturing sites, and suppliers to support new product introductions and ongoing product-line needs.
- Maintain accurate, audit-ready engineering records and follow applicable company procedures, quality requirements, and approved product specifications.
- Plan and lead assigned engineering projects, establish priorities and milestones, identify risks and dependencies, and communicate recovery actions.
- Apply lessons learned and improve specifications, checklists, validation methods, and engineering workflows.
- Mentor entry-level and intermediate engineers and review technical work for consistency and quality.
- Escalate safety, compliance, cost, timing, or precedent-setting decisions to the Engineering Manager.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
