Design Release Engineer- Instrument Panel, Floor Console and Deco Trim Systems

Description

Job Description

This role is categorized as hybrid. The selected candidate will be expected to work on-site at the Warren Tech Center at least three days per week, or as otherwise determined by the hiring leader.

This role is not eligible for relocation assistance.

At General Motors, our product teams are redefining mobility. Through a human-centered design process, we create vehicles and experiences that are designed not just to be seen, but to be felt. We’re turning today’s impossible into tomorrow’s standard —from breakthrough hardware and battery systems to intuitive design, intelligent software, and next-generation safety and entertainment features.  

Every day, our products move millions of people as we aim to make driving safer, smarter, and more connected, shaping the future of transportation on a global scale..

About the role:

As an Interior Design Release Engineer, you will serve as the technical authority for instrument panel, floor console, or decorative trim systems. You will lead the engineering development, integration, validation, and launch of these systems with a strong focus on safety, quality, technical excellence, and flawless execution.

In this role, you will drive disciplined delivery to vehicle development milestones while enabling high-quality design execution and achieving targets for cost, quality, mass, craftsmanship, and performance across the vehicle portfolio. This position requires strong engineering fundamentals, systems thinking, and technical rigor, with hands-on responsibility for CAD and package integration, supplier collaboration, failure mode analysis, and robust validation from early product definition through launch and into production.

What You’ll Do

Program and Technical Leadership

Lead the design, development, analysis, implementation, and validation of complex instrument panel and floor console subsystems.

Perform engineering design evaluations and support concept development across vehicle programs.

Use engineering tools such as Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, Interface Control Documents, and Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis to develop robust system solutions.

Partner with Computer-Aided Engineering teams, including Safety Performance, to validate designs and drive data-based design decisions.

Assess designs for manufacturability, including processes such as injection molding, vibration welding, vacuum forming, foam-in-place, and wrapping.

Package components and manage CAD development through suppliers or GM designers while ensuring best practices are incorporated into the models.

Collaborate closely with adjacent vehicle systems, including thermal, electrical, body, chassis, and restraints.

Schedule and lead peer reviews to evaluate designs with technical peers and resolve issues early.

Support early vehicle configuration work, cost optimization, customer-driven requirements, and product and process improvements.

Balance key business imperatives including cost, part count, mass, complexity, timing, and content.

Communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders, including Creative Design, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Quality, and suppliers.

Lead the product development team in tracking, escalating, and resolving open issues.

Review and apply competitive benchmarking to inform design direction and feature competitiveness.

Lead execution through change management processes to support program workstreams and engineering initiatives.

Support development of Statements of Requirements and lead development of statements of work.

Serve as a key partner for Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, Design Review Based on Failure Modes, and finite element analysis activities.

Lead launch activities for your program and commodity with a strong quality and on-time execution mindset.

Operational Excellence and Enterprise Alignment

Contribute to enterprise initiatives such as Computer-Aided Engineering-driven design, virtual execution, automation, faster development, and enhanced supply chain performance.

Maintain strong process discipline throughout development, including clear documentation, lessons learned, risk assessment registers, and disciplined engineering execution.

Drive rigorous change management with concise problem statements, clear alternatives, documented decisions, and quantified impacts on cost, mass, timing, and complexity.

Use benchmarking to calibrate design competitiveness and inform bill of material strategy and feature decisions.

Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and psychological safety within the product development team by escalating risks early with facts and options.

Strengthen knowledge management through checklists, playbooks, templates, and golden references while supporting global alignment on standards and read-across.

Travel as needed during development, integration, and launch phases, including plant builds, supplier trials, design validation and product validation events, and craftsmanship audits.

What You’ll Need

Required Qualifications:

Bachelor of Science in Engineering, such as Mechanical, Automotive, Aerospace, Materials, a related field.

8 to 10 years of experience in instrument panel, floor console, and decorative trim development with end-to-end exposure from early product definition through launch.

Demonstrated track record of strong subsystem ownership, issue resolution, and on-time delivery to vehicle development milestones.

Experience with injection molded trim, foam-in-place, thermoformed skins, and cut-and-sew wrapping of substrates.

Detailed knowledge of instrument panel, instrument panel structure, and floor console performance requirements, regulations, and best practices.

Proven experience in component and subsystem design and development, vehicle integration, and design for manufacturability and automation.

Strong working knowledge of Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, Design Review Based on Failure Modes, validation plan development, Interface Control Documents, and Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis in collaboration with Manufacturing Engineering.

Demonstrated partnership with Computer-Aided Engineering teams, including Safety Performance, to validate robustness and inform design iterations.

Design for Six Sigma Green Belt required.

Demonstrated use of Design for Six Sigma tools to prevent defects and enable read-across.

Skills:

Strong ownership, urgency, and ability to manage competing priorities while driving clear outcomes on cost, mass, complexity, timing, and content.

Effective project management capability.

Strong change management skills, including clear problem framing, options with quantified impacts, and decisive, documented approvals.

Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to lead product development teams and coordinate across functions.

Proven ability to influence without direct authority, escalate appropriately, and drive cross-functional alignment.

Tools and Software:

Proficiency with CAD workflows and release processes, including the ability to manage CAD through suppliers or GM designers, ensure best practices are met, and lead peer reviews.

Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Project.

Experience with CAD and visualization tools such as VisMockup, NX, UniGraphics, or similar systems.

Preferred Qualifications

Design for Six Sigma Black Belt preferred.

Project Management Institute or Project Management Professional certification preferred.

GM DOES NOT PROVIDE IMMIGRATION-RELATED SPONSORSHIP FOR THIS ROLE. DO NOT APPLY FOR THIS ROLE IF YOU WILL NEED GM IMMIGRATION SPONSORSHIP NOW OR IN THE FUTURE. THIS INCLUDES DIRECT COMPANY SPONSORSHIP, ENTRY OF GM AS THE IMMIGRATION EMPLOYER OF RECORD ON A GOVERNMENT FORM, AND ANY WORK AUTHORIZATION REQUIRING A WRITTEN SUBMISSION OR OTHER IMMIGRATION SUPPORT FROM THE COMPANY (e.g., H-1B, OPT, STEM OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc.)

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