Research & Development Engineer

About Subaru

LOVE. It's what makes Subaru, Subaru®. As a leading auto brand in the US, we strive to be More Than a Car Company®. Subaru believes in being a positive force in the communities in which we live and work, not just with donations but with actions that set an example for others to follow. That's what we call our Subaru Love Promise®.

Subaru is a globally renowned automobile manufacturer known for its commitment to innovation, safety, and sustainability. With a rich history dating back to 1953, Subaru has consistently pushed the boundaries of automotive engineering to deliver vehicles that offer not only exceptional performance but also a unique blend of utility and adventure.

Subaru's company culture is built on collaboration, diversity, and a shared passion for our product. We foster an inclusive environment that encourages employees to bring their unique perspectives and talents to the table. Our team members are driven by a common goal: to create exceptional vehicles that inspire and delight our customers.

The Research & Development (R&D) Engineer (ADAS & Vehicle Performance Engineering) researches, analyzes, recommends, implements, inspects, and verifies North American engineering activities as well as the demands and characteristics of the United States market to recommend and define corporate goals and target performance goals for future products.

Internal research activities:

• Collaborative research with academia, technical consortiums, and other third-party institutions.
• Testing and evaluating new and/or novel technologies.
• Analyzing market and automotive technical trends.
• Assisting with the development of vehicles that meet the current and future demands of our customers while correlating testing with Japan counterparts and assisting with the development and execution of company infrastructure‑related plans to support all aforementioned activities.

• Evaluates competitor products and Subaru development mules and near‑production and production vehicles to identify weaknesses and strengths in ride, handling, braking, drivability, stability, ride comfort, visibility, noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH), heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), usability, etc.
• Identifies Subaru's strengths and weaknesses when compared with competitors.
• Determines pathways (ways and means) of exploiting Subaru's strengths and counter‑measuring weaknesses.

• Coordinates and manages the research, evaluation, and analyses of automotive components as well as competitor vehicle features and performance to guide benchmark vehicle selection and enhance the customer's safety, experience, and convenience of using Subaru vehicles, either independently or upon request by Subaru.
• Coordinates and manages benchmarking activities of competitor vehicles.
• Manages, coordinates, and executes the rental of competitor vehicles for benchmarking purposes.
• Provides feedback of benchmarking results to Subaru Corporation (S ) to guide development of next generation vehicles and maintain Subaru's competitive edge.

• Plans, coordinates, manages, and executes surveys, market research research and evaluation, collaboration with academia and other third‑party institutions, and data analysis of particular automotive components to inform the direction of future research and Subaru technology. This includes evaluating Subaru vehicles and consumer goods and the environment that they are frequently used in by the U.S. customer. This can apply to components such as exterior, interior usability, sound design, sustainability/sustainable materials, recycled plastics, advanced driver‑assist systems (ADAS), electric vehicle (EV) batteries, and Zero Fatalities goals.
• Plans, coordinates, and executes surveys and field research trips to identify customer opinions, needs, and personas to develop use‑case scenarios, inform development targets, and ensure palatability to the U.S. market. Topics include but are not limited to EVs and user experience (UX).
• Plans, coordinates, manages, and measures vehicle factors such as active noise…