Pre-Development Engineer (Job Code: 1015)

Responsible for carrying out preliminary development in the area of interior and/or exterior automotive lighting functional systems and devices; identify, evaluate and apply new technologies, ensuring know-how transfer to series development; carry out projects in preliminary development, integrating all the necessary resources; clarify and define the requirements within the context of new interior and/or exterior automotive lighting functional systems and devices; agree on targets in terms of quality, costs and timing with the project sponsor, using existing processes and methods in agreement with those responsible or superiors; define, plan, coordinate and monitor development tasks within a project team; be involved with internal and external service providers if necessary, taking economic, qualitative and scheduling points of view into account; map project status, taking continual processing and interpretation of internal and external information into account; monitor the project progress and make decisions about appropriate measures, with the superior if necessary, if there are any deviations from or changes to the targets set; carry out project control in the form of reviews (concluding and interim reports) with project sponsors on the basis of agreed quality, cost and timing targets; be involved in and/or implement defined escalation scenarios whenever deviations from targets occur; showing existing alternative solutions; utilize product development, project management, Goniometer equipment, integrating spheres, luminance cameras, AutoCAD, and CATIA to perform duties; plan, carry out and analyze specific market observations to identify and evaluate new technologies; prepare, evaluate and agree on technological solution alternatives; check technical commercial feasibility; carry out or arrange the development of the necessary hardware and software; carry out or arrange for the design, calculation and simulation of individual parts, assemblies, devices and systems; carry out or arrange the necessary tests and calculations; interpret the results and derive respective measures; determine the necessary materials and/or components required, taking the optimum use of the technologies available into account; coordinate and support external services and specialists, taking systematic interdisciplinary correlations in product development into account; be involved in internal and external workgroups as well as cultivate contacts to competence carriers (universities, institutes etc.); acquire research funds and trigger respective processes in cooperation with internal positions; arrange for the checking of trademark rights/violations of such for own and external work, if necessary involving the patent department in agreement with superior posts; support and advise Series Development in the use of new technologies, thus securing know-how transfer to series development; prepare and carrying out internal and external presentations, as well as draw up technical-scientific publications taking the respective product division targets into account; examine and evaluate suggestions for improvement; and comply with industrial safety and environmental protection measures pertaining to the scope of duties.

Location:

Northville Township, MI and various unanticipated locations throughout the US;

Salary:

$133,000 per year;

Education:

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering Design, Mechanical Engineering, Optical Engineering, or in a related field of study (will accept equivalent foreign degree);

Experience:

Three (3) years in the position above, as an Industrial Designer, as a Lead Light Engineer, as a Light Engineer, as a Lighting Coordinator, as a Lighting Engineer, as a Product Development Manager, or in a related occupation;