Staff Design Release Engineer, Sensors

Motional•Pittsburgh, PA

5h•Onsite

About The Position

Motional’s Pittsburgh office is located in the new Hazelwood Green development, a culmination of the city’s goal of restoring an economic driver to the neighborhood in a thoughtful, inclusive, and sustainable way. With views along the Monongahela river, the Pittsburgh office is in the heart of this new state of the art development. This role is based in our Pittsburgh office and requires in-office days each week. Our newly formed Design Release Engineering team, within the Vehicle Platform Engineering group, is seeking a highly motivated Staff Engineer to own the design release and integration of our autonomous vehicle’s sensor suite. This role serves as the primary technical authority for the end-to-end design, release, validation, and production readiness of our perception and localization sensor hardware. You will ensure robust technical execution, manage supplier and cross-functional alignment, and drive sensor delivery that meets all performance, cost, and timing objectives.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in automotive design and release engineering, with direct ownership of ADAS and/or perception sensor hardware preferred.
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, or Systems Engineering (or a related field).
Deep technical understanding of automotive sensor technologies, CAN/Ethernet network architecture, and environmental validation standards.
Fundamental knowledge of validation documentation and processes, including DVP&R, DFMEA, and PFMEA.
Expert-level experience with the manufacturing BOM and ECN processes, and a proven ability to manage technical discussions with external suppliers.
Familiarity with CAD systems (e.g., NX, CATIA), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems (including requirement management tools such as Polarion), and engineering release workflows.
Strong understanding of vehicle integration, packaging, and functional safety standards (ISO 26262).
Proven ability to lead complex initiatives, manage cross-functional teams, and execute to aggressive program timelines with minimal oversight.

Nice To Haves

Experience with advanced in-vehicle prototypes and benchtop systems.
Proven track record of driving goal-level impact across multiple teams or subsystems.
Prior experience in an autonomous vehicle or robotics company.

Responsibilities

Own the complete design release of sensor system hardware (e.g., camera, radar, LiDAR, ultrasonic, IMU, and microphone), including the mechanical mounting, alignment, thermal management, electrical interface, and vehicle network integration.
Drive technical execution for the full product lifecycle, from concept and architecture definition to sustaining engineering and continuous improvement.
Oversee the generation and release of all engineering documentation, including models and drawings, Bills of Material (BOM), specifications, and test reports, ensuring alignment with vehicle-level design.
Define and maintain the Design Verification Plan & Report (DVP&R), ensuring successful validation against system performance targets.
Lead the Engineering Change (ECN) process for all sensor designs, ensuring traceability, cost impact analysis, version control, and full cross-functional buy-in.
Act as the primary technical and program interface to sensor suppliers (Tier 1 and Tier 2), tracking part maturity through DV, PV, and PPAP phases to ensure tooling and delivery readiness.
Build strong partnerships across the Systems Engineering, Autonomy, Software Infrastructure, Quality, and Vehicle Integration teams to ensure seamless hardware integration and manufacturability (DFM/DFA).
Lead technical program reviews and design readiness assessments, proactively developing risk mitigation plans to ensure sensor maturity aligns with program milestones and build events.
Provide regular, concise updates to technical leadership on design maturity, validation progress, open issues, and timely closure metrics.