Vehicle Architect - Western Star

Daimler Truck•Portland, OR

10d•Hybrid

About The Position

Vehicle Architecture is a department where you get to lead with the vehicle view to help lead the development of industry leading products that deliver customer value. As a Vehicle Architect, you will act as a technical lead for the Western Star Platform. Leading with the vehicle view, you will thoroughly understand the customer’s needs (Customer Value Criteria) and align our vehicle development programs to deliver customer value throughout the development cycle, design verification, and ultimately a final sign off on the vehicle as ready for the customer.

Requirements

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
7+ years of experience in vehicle engineering, or technical program management.
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive technical strategy at the vehicle/platform level.
Strong knowledge of automotive product development processes, quality gates, and lifecycle management.
Excellent communication, collaboration, and decision-making skills.
Ability to mediate technical decisions and facilitate progress in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
An attached resume is required.
Applicants must be legally authorized to work permanently in the country the position is located in at the time of application.
Final candidate must successfully complete a criminal background check.
Final candidate may be required to successfully complete a pre-employment drug screen.

Responsibilities

Lead the technical implementation of vehicle-level strategies, ensuring alignment with customer needs and business objectives.
Own and drive the technical implementation of PARs and Production Year Programs from a vehicle level, guiding their development through the Engineering and Technology organization.
Lead the Strategic Technical Forum for the Western Star Platform to drive customer value.
Ensure all engineering technical deliverables required for QGS – QG9 are met, steering implementation to pass critical quality gates.
Implement and shepherd vehicle technical attributes and plans from QG9 to QG2, overseeing the entire product lifecycle.
Lead cross functional technical design reviews to resolve conflicts, ensure progress toward vehicle-level specifications, and oversee target sign-off at key milestones.
Define and monitor progress checks, ensuring technical attributes advance toward defined goals.
Serve as the escalation path for conflicting targets and attributes, making timely decisions to resolve competing priorities.
Represent the vehicle platform to external stakeholders and customers, providing technical leadership and clarity.
Drive development of Western Star, ensuring segment-specific needs are addressed.
Ensure PAR execution is aligned with the vision for the platform and is driving the most possible value for the customer.
Manage offensive and defensive patent strategies for the platform, including design and utility patents, and IP for production and aftermarket.