NASI - Lead Research & Development Engineer - Advanced Vehicle Development; AVD

Summary

The Lead Research & Development (R&D) Engineer is responsible for overseeing various vehicle-related research and development projects. This role also involves acting as a liaison between the U.S. and Japanese engineering teams, significantly influencing technical- and project-related decisions.

The Lead R&D Engineer utilizes their history with the company to identify connections with departments at Subaru Headquarters in Japan (Subaru Corporation [S ]) and their engineers including those who have worked in the U.S as an expatriate.

The Lead R&D Engineer involves collaborating cross-functionally with other Subaru entities and business functions such as S , Subaru of America (SOA), and Subaru Indiana Automotive (SIA). The level of interaction with S , SOA, and SIA is expected to be higher than that of R&D Engineers and Senior R&D Engineers.

The Lead R&D Engineer coaches and guides team members to ensure high-quality work and leads multiple large-scale projects to meet timelines and budgets.

In conjunction with the General Manager (GM), Associate Director (AD), and managers, the Lead R&D Engineer makes high-impact recommendations regarding budget allocation, task distribution, target performance goals for future products, and other technical priorities.

Approximately, core duties will involve 30% management support (coaching team members), 40% project and testing oversight, and 30% execution of tasks (evaluation, research, reporting, etc.).

• Leads multiple large-scale projects to meet timelines and budgets. Independently identifies testing/research needed to progress in each project.
• Makes schedules and plans to achieve project goals.
• Guides Subaru Corporation (S ) development and target specifications based on defined market need.
• Determines project direction based on team goals/S  needs with oversight from manager and General Manager (GM).
• Enhances impact on S  by incorporating results and data from other Subaru entities in North America.

• Proactively identifies future issues and collaborates with other engineers and managers to resolve the issue.
• Finds methods of improvement for the department including:
  • Streamlining test methods.
  • Improving procedures.
  • Enhancing efficient allocation of time.
  • Automation of data collection/processing.
  • Suggestion of projects to better achieve team goals.

• Supports the day-to-day tasks of intern and engineers of lower-level seniority, advising them in the process of testing/evaluation planning and implementations.
• Gives preliminary reviews of technical reports and other technical work submitted by engineers of lower-level seniority. Supports GM, Associate Director (AD), and managers in communicating project timelines and technical goals with the team members.
• Assists the GM and manager in assessing employee performance. Delegated by AD and managers, holds regular one-on-one meetings with team members to follow up on their task progress and identify potential issues.
• Assigns tasks for outsourced workers and contract employees and plans their long-term testing schedule. Provides support and functions as the contact person for any test equipment issues and troubleshooting.

• Coaches and guides team members to ensure high-quality work and considers team members’ professional development.
• Mentors interns or new engineers via:
  • Teaching organizational knowledge.
  • Instructing on using company systems.
  • Using workload from current projects to teach interns and new engineers while making beneficial progress.
  • Creates new projects to teach interns and new engineers while making beneficial progress the team would not otherwise have time to complete.
• Develops professional skills beneficial to the team’s current and future goals by taking classes/courses.

• Works as a part of one or more of the research teams; however, this position has versatile responsibilities to the department as a whole.
• Versatility:
  • Demonstrates ability to temporarily step into any role on the team with as little as one week of learning and preparation.
  • Project, Testing, Evaluation…