Vehicle Launch Engineer, Body Exteriors

ALTEN Technology USA•Long Beach, CA

6d•$120,000 - $135,000•Onsite

About The Position

ALTEN Technology USA is an engineering company that partners with leading companies in various industries, including automotive, to bring innovative ideas to life. As part of the global ALTEN Group, we offer opportunities to work on challenging engineering projects with comprehensive benefits and a supportive culture. This specific role is for a Vehicle Launch Engineer, Body Exteriors, who will be a key contributor to an automotive body exterior engineering team. The engineer will be responsible for driving exterior systems from design intent through various build phases to job one at the assembly plant. This position requires close collaboration between design release, manufacturing, and quality teams, with ownership of the launch readiness of exterior commodities. The role involves being the on-the-ground presence during build events, ensuring engineering intent is translated into plant execution and resolving issues to maintain program timing.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial, or Automotive Engineering, or equivalent experience
5+ years of automotive engineering experience with direct involvement in vehicle launch, prototype builds, or plant side product engineering
Hands on experience with exterior body commodities such as fascias, bumpers, claddings, moldings, spoilers, glazing, or ornamentation
Demonstrated ownership of launch issue resolution, including root cause analysis, corrective action, and cross functional escalation
Working knowledge of GD&T, tolerance stack up, datum and locator strategy, and dimensional measurement methods
Familiarity with automotive product development milestones and launch gates, including prototype build phases, PPAP, and production validation
Experience working directly with suppliers on tooling maturity, part quality, and delivery recovery
Strong communication skills and the ability to operate credibly with plant floor personnel, engineers, suppliers, and program leadership
Willingness to work onsite in Long Beach, CA and to travel to supplier and assembly plant locations, including extended stretches during launch

Nice To Haves

Prior experience launching an electric vehicle program or a new nameplate at a greenfield or low volume plant
Experience with OEM launch processes and terminology
Proficiency with CATIA V5, 3DEXPERIENCE, Siemens NX, or Teamcenter
Experience with dimensional and quality tools such as CMM data interpretation, blue light scanning, or variation simulation analysis
Exposure to exterior sensor apertures, sensor cleaning systems, or ADAS related exterior integration and the launch challenges they introduce
Background in injection molded plastics, Class A surface quality, paint and film processes, or adhesive and fastening systems
Experience managing issue tracking systems such as Jira or equivalent in a launch environment

Responsibilities

Own launch readiness for assigned exterior commodities across all build phases, from early prototype and integration builds through pilot, pre-production, and start of production
Lead build event support at the assembly plant and prototype shop, including part staging, first time build documentation, issue capture, containment, and daily issue review
Serve as the primary interface between exterior DREs, plant vehicle team, manufacturing engineering, STA, and quality on part availability, buildability, and process capability
Drive root cause and corrective action on exterior fit, finish, gap and flush, squeak and rattle, water leak, and craftsmanship findings discovered during build and validation
Manage the exterior launch issue list, prioritize by program risk, and drive closure through design change, tooling change, or process change with clear ownership and timing
Support tolerance and dimensional strategy execution, including fit to nominal execution, locator and datum verification, gap and flush measurement, and correlation of variation studies to build results
Coordinate part readiness with suppliers and purchasing, including tooling maturity, PPAP status, off tool and off process part timing, and escalation of at risk parts
Support DFM and DFA reviews on exterior components and assemblies, providing manufacturing and assembly feedback into the design during the release window
Track and report launch metrics and readiness status to program leadership, including open issue burn down, part readiness, and quality gate performance
Support engineering change execution during launch, verifying change implementation in the plant and confirming effectiveness on subsequent builds
Participate in buck reviews, teardown events, and vehicle audits, documenting findings and driving them into the appropriate engineering or manufacturing lane