Thermal Lead Development Engineer - GM Defense

GM Defense is looking for a Thermal Lead Development Engineer (LDE) interested in creating the future of GM Defense-related vehicles. The GM Defense Performance Team is a dynamic, fast-paced environment where every day presents new challenges impacting current and future defense ground vehicles.

About the Role

The Thermal Lead Development Engineer provides technical leadership for thermal system integration, with deep knowledge of thermal integration at the vehicle level and proficiency in applicable requirements and standards. This role leads a cross-functional team including hardware performance and design release engineers, comfort and propulsion/powertrain cooling calibrators, and thermal analysis engineers. The LDE serves as the Thermal single-point contact to the program team and other integration areas, working closely with vehicle systems engineers, technical leads, and program management. The role drives consistent thermal system and vehicle integration, ensuring high-quality, timely delivery without compromising integrity, safety, or quality.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical direction and assurance to performance engineers and design release engineers
• Own and develop vehicle-level thermal system requirements in collaboration with vehicle performance owners and technical stakeholders
• Manage the development and validation plan, including prioritization of physical properties (benches/vehicles), climatic wind tunnel time, and trip coordination
• Partner with virtual analysis teams to prioritize computational work and special requests
• Lead thermal program integration meetings; engage in program forums across vehicle performance, development, and validation workstreams
• Review engineering design documents; advocate for design best practices and participate in component technical reviews
• Lead thermal system peer reviews at key program milestones; ensure team readiness and delivery excellence
• Coordinate read-across and cross-program integration issues
• Lead issue resolution for customer-facing concerns related to comfort, quality, and warranty; balance ongoing system and feature continuous improvement work alongside active program milestone delivery
• Mentor team members and support their professional development

Requirements

• BS/MS in Engineering
• 5+ years of experience in thermal system design release, development, or validation (any combination)
• Strong knowledge of applicable thermal requirements, standards, and vehicle-level specifications
• Demonstrated ability to simplify complex technical concepts and communicate effectively across all levels — from peers to senior leadership
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively; comfortable navigating ambiguity to enable timely decisions
• Working knowledge of DFMEA, PFMEA, and CFD analysis
• Strong knowledge of program timing and vehicle development process deliverables
• Candidate must be a U.S. Person (U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, asylee or refugee)

Qualifications

• MS in Mechanical Engineering
• 8+ years of experience in thermal systems
• Demonstrated engineering leadership experience (e.g., team lead or subject matter expert)
• Experience supporting both battery electric and conventional powertrain architectures
• Familiarity with virtual vehicle analysis tools or HVAC calibration processes
• Demonstrated ability to interpret customer satisfaction data and translate to development priorities
• Six Sigma certification or equivalent structured problem-solving experience
• Defense engineering experience

Schedule

This role is categorized as hybrid. The selected candidate is expected to report to a specific location at least 3 times a week or as dictated by their manager. The selected candidate will be required to travel less than 25% for this role.

This position requires the ability to legally operate a motor vehicle on a regular basis and successfully complete a Motor Vehicle Report review. The position is subject to export control restrictions and requires the successful candidate to be a U.S. Person (U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, asylee or refugee).