Engineering Team Lead

About Us Rush Autoworks is a fast-growing automotive manufacturer bringing affordable racing to motorsports. We build fun to drive cars from the ground up and we run the GridLife RUSH National Championship coast-to-coast. We're looking for passionate, skilled individuals to join our team. Role Overview We're hiring an Engineering Team Lead to run and develop our engineering team. You'll report to the Chief Engineer and directly manage two engineers and a development technician. The team is capable and growing — they need someone who knows the right questions to ask, can structure the work clearly, and is genuinely invested in making the engineers around them better. This is a hands-on technical role, not a management-only position. You'll be in SolidWorks alongside the team — designing, reviewing, and setting the standard for how the work gets done. You'll also be the primary coordination point between engineering and the rest of the business: production, procurement, inventory, and sales. What You'll Own Project Management & Scheduling Own the engineering team's schedule and project priorities Run project kickoffs that establish clear goals, design constraints, and requirements before work begins Keep projects moving — nothing stalls because a decision didn't get made or a cross-functional dependency didn't get flagged Communicate project status across departments and surface blockers early Design Work & Review Contribute directly to vehicle design and development in SolidWorks (roughly half your time) Own the design review process — nothing ships with open questions Ensure designs are grounded in clear requirements, well-reasoned, and thoroughly documented Maintain complete design packages that capture decisions, rationale, and tradeoffs Team Development Guide and fact-check the work of the engineers, provide strong technical mentorship Push engineers to develop their own skills and produce better work over time Set a high standard for engineering rigor, documentation quality, and follow-through Cross-Functional Coordination Serve as the engineering team's point of contact with production, inventory, procurement, and sales Translate design decisions into manufacturing and operational impacts before they become problems Ensure other departments have what they need from engineering to do their jobs well What Success Looks Like Projects have clear kickoffs — defined goals, design spaces, and requirements — and engineers know exactly what they're working on and why Design packages are complete, well-documented, and easy to audit; decisions have solid reasoning behind them Nothing falls through the cracks when a new project takes off — existing work stays on track The engineers are measurably improving — technically sharper, asking better questions, producing better work Cross-functional teams view engineering as organized, communicative, and reliable Design reviews are real reviews — thorough enough that surprises on the shop floor are rare Required Qualifications Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent 5+ years of engineering experience in motorsport, OEM automotive, or high-performance vehicles Strong SolidWorks proficiency — comfortable both designing and reviewing complex assemblies Technical depth across vehicle systems: chassis, suspension, fasteners and jointing, manufacturing tolerances, and production process Experience with electrical systems, wiring, and harness design Familiarity with data acquisition systems Demonstrated ability to manage engineering projects through design and into production Experience running design reviews A demonstrated history of developing less experienced engineers Strong communicator Preferred Qualifications Prior team lead or mentorship experience Experience in a small-team or startup environment where process had to be built rather than inherited — this role requires breadth and self-direction Experience with spec racing series or homologated vehicles OEM or production manufacturing background Background spanning both chassis and powertrain systems Traits We Value High standards for engineering rigor Organized and structured Invested in the people around you Proactive Clear communicator across skill levels and departments Ownership mentality Compensation Competitive salary (commensurate with experience)

Paid Time Off Pay:

$90,000.00 - $130,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Paid time off

Experience:

engineering: 5 years (Required)

SolidWorks:

3 years (Preferred)

Work Location:

In person