Project Journey Resident Engineer

Description

As the Resident Engineer – Automatic Transmission Launch & Localization, you will represent Product Development onsite at a new manufacturing facility producing automatic transmissions.

You will provide technical leadership throughout equipment commissioning, pre-production builds, production validation, launch, ramp-up, and ongoing production. You will also lead regional Product Development activities associated with localization of components and assemblies.

The position combines two closely related areas of accountability:

1. Resident engineering leadership for the transmission manufacturing operation.
2. Regional Product Development leadership for component localization and implementation.

You will work closely with regional and global transmission engineering teams to ensure localized products, manufacturing changes, supplier proposals, validation activities, and production approvals meet applicable engineering, functional, durability, quality, and manufacturing requirements.

The role reports to the Product Development General Manager for Underbody Systems in Chennai, with a matrix reporting relationship to the Global Rear-Wheel-Drive Transmission Manager.

Responsibilities

Serve as the onsite Product Development technical representative

• Act as the primary Product Development interface between the transmission plant and regional and global engineering organizations.
• Represent Product Development in decisions related to product engineering, manufacturing feasibility, quality, production readiness, and launch.
• Interpret engineering drawings, specifications, design requirements, validation results, and product acceptance criteria.
• Connect plant concerns with the appropriate Product Development, Design and Release, systems engineering, manufacturing, quality, supplier, and vehicle engineering owners.
• Establish productive working relationships with plant leadership, engineers, manufacturing personnel, suppliers, and regional and global Product Development teams.

Support plant launch and production readiness

• Provide onsite engineering support during installation, commissioning, pre-production builds, production validation, launch, ramp-up, and ongoing production.
• Support applicable prototype, development, validation, tooling-trial, pre-production, and production builds.
• Coordinate engineering disposition of build concerns and ensure unresolved risks have defined owners, containment actions, and closure plans.
• Support transmission and component approval for regional vehicle builds and vehicle assembly plants.
• Lead or support Product Development reviews for Production Validation, part approval, production sign-off, and Ok-to-Ship decisions.
• Identify emerging product and manufacturing concerns early and escalate issues requiring regional or global engineering support.
• Capture launch lessons learned and support the transition to stable production.

Lead technical problem solving

• Lead Product Development response to transmission and component concerns identified at the plant.
• Determine whether concerns originate from product design, supplier quality, manufacturing processes, assembly execution, specifications, or interactions among these areas.
• Lead structured root-cause analysis using appropriate problem-solving methods and coordinate interim and permanent corrective actions.
• Review end-of-line test results, process audit data, component measurements, transmission build history, teardown findings, and other engineering evidence when assessing product acceptability.
• Support investigation of plant concerns, vehicle assembly plant concerns, field/warranty returns, and transmission teardowns.
• Ensure significant technical issues are documented, tracked, escalated, and driven to verified closure.

Manage engineering changes and plant concerns

• Initiate, review, approve or reject, track, and close engineering concerns within delegated authority.
• Coordinate implementation of engineering changes at the transmission plant and affected regional vehicle assembly plants.
• Ensure manufacturing teams understand each change's technical rationale, affected components, implementation timing, validation requirements, and production risks.
• Review supplier requests for engineering approval and coordinate Design and Release and systems engineering input.
• Review Manufacturing Risk Assessments within established engineering governance and delegated authority.
• Coordinate temporary engineering deviations with appropriate regional and global engineering owners.
• Monitor component availability, supplier readiness, implementation timing, production run-out plans, and trial results.
• Maintain a current record of open engineering concerns, changes, decisions, owners, due dates, risks, and closure evidence.

Lead regional product localization

• Serve as the regional Product Development focal point for localization and manufacturing implementation.
• Coordinate localization with global transmission systems, component engineering, Design and Release, validation, manufacturing, purchasing, supplier, and program teams.
• Ensure localized components maintain approved design intent and satisfy applicable functional, durability, quality, engineering, and manufacturing requirements.
• Develop and execute localization-specific component and transmission validation plans, obtaining global engineering approval where required.
• Coordinate pre-production and Production Validation testing, analyze results, identify gaps, and drive closure.
• Lead regional execution of Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), Part Submission Warrant (PSW), Production Validation, and Ok-to-Ship activities as applicable.
• Support supplier technical reviews, site assessments, readiness reviews, Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), control-plan reviews, and production trials.
• Coordinate local vehicle-integration support, prototype requirements, transmission sign-off, and regional vehicle-program interfaces.
• Ensure sourcing, supplier, tooling, timing, cost, and local-content decisions do not compromise product requirements.
• Maintain alignment with global Design and Release ownership, engineering specifications, engineering changes, Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (DFMEA), and Design Verification Plan and Report (DVP&R) requirements.

Drive regional and global engineering alignment

• Provide clear, concise status updates to regional Product Development and global transmission leadership.
• Communicate significant product risks, launch concerns, quality trends, approval gaps, decisions required, and support needs.
• Participate in relevant regional and global product, design, manufacturing, supplier, launch, and quality reviews.
• Collaborate across regions and time zones to obtain timely technical decisions.
• Ensure locally made decisions are properly documented and comply with applicable global engineering governance.
• Share lessons learned and effective practices with other resident engineers and Product Development teams.
• Escalate unresolved safety, regulatory, durability, quality, supplier, production, or customer risks through established leadership channels.

Minimum qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline.
• 10+ years of relevant engineering experience in one or more areas such as Product Development, Design and Release, systems engineering, powertrain engineering, transmission engineering, manufacturing engineering, vehicle plant engineering, launch, or product quality.
• Demonstrated experience resolving complex technical problems in manufacturing, product launch, or product-development environments.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings, specifications, product requirements, validation results, test data, and manufacturing data.
• Experience with engineering change control, product concern management, production approvals, or supplier deviation processes.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate technical risks and recommendations to engineering specialists and senior leaders.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple high-priority technical issues while maintaining disciplined ownership and action tracking.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with manufacturing employees, engineering specialists, suppliers, cross-functional teams, and leadership.
• Ability to work onsite at the transmission manufacturing facility and support launch or production activities outside normal business hours when necessary.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with regional and global teams across time zones.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with  or comparable longitudinal automatic transmissions, including transmission systems, mechanical components, controls, calibration, manufacturing, or validation.
• Experience launching a new powertrain manufacturing operation, automatic transmission line, or major localized automotive product.
• Experience with APQP, PPAP/PSW, DFMEA, DVP&R, root-cause analysis, production validation, and engineering change management.
• Experience working directly with automotive component suppliers during product localization or manufacturing launch.
• Experience using structured problem-solving methodologies such as 8D, 5-Why analysis, Ishikawa/fishbone analysis, or equivalent methods.