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Advanced Propulsion Thermal Senior Engineer

GM
Full-time
Remote
United States
Thermography (Thermal Imaging)

Job Description

Work Arrangement: This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the successful candidate is expected to report to Warren three times per week, at minimum.  

The Role

The Advanced Propulsion Engineering team at General Motors pioneers the innovations that move and connect people to what matters. We aim to achieve an all-electric, zero-emissions world while advancing an equitable and inclusive transition to our carbon neutral future. Our team creates propulsion system solutions and technologies that are commercially viable and provide industry-leading performance on our journey to zero emissions. Components in focus for this role include high voltage batteries, drive units, electric motors, power electronics, and combustion engines. Technical areas in focus include cooling and heating performance, as well as battery thermal runaway.

In this role you will be responsible for developing propulsion thermal technology concepts into engineered solutions with proven cost, mass, and performance improvements. New ideas are evaluated for potential based on physics first-principles, and promising concepts will proceed into Advanced Technology Work (ATW) projects. As you progress through a project you will gain feedback from various internal customers to highlight risk areas, lay out plans to acquire the data needed to gain confidence in the technology, and execute that plan to prove that the new technology is ready to be put on a path to production.

We’re seeking an individual with a history of working in cross-functional engineering teams and successfully delivering technically-complex projects. This person will have the ability to distill ambiguous requests into a quantifiable customer impact, and to establish project deliverables and timelines to realize these impacts. A solid understanding of the first-principles of heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and thermodynamics is essential. This person will use their skills to establish the fundamental learnings that drive GM’s propulsion technology forward.

What You'll Do

  • Lead an advanced technology work (ATW) project team through the development of integrated design solutions for new thermal concepts, defining development work priorities and tracking project status.
  • To begin your ATW project, define the project scope and key metrics required to have success. Outline your project plan for evaluating the concept against these metrics.
  • To complete your ATW project, deliver a package of supporting material to confirm status against key metrics, including thermal performance capability, impact to manufacturing, cost, mass, packaging, controls, and integration to the propulsion system and vehicle.
  • After ATW project completion, provide consulting support to the propulsion new product and execution teams as design solutions are implemented in an architecture, then sourced and launched into production.
  • Continuously benchmark automotive and other industries to identify trends and implement innovative technologies for future vehicles - working with technical specialists on teardowns and assessments.
  • Establish relationships with key suppliers and start-ups to engage on development projects for innovative technologies, typically through Statement of Development Work (SODW) agreements.
  • Ensure requirements and hardware design solutions align with customer expectations by collaborating with engineers from vehicle thermal systems, propulsion systems, battery systems, and battery cell teams.
  • Partner with the Virtual Design, Development, & Validation (VDDV) team to utilize 1D analysis and 3D CFD tools to assess performance of various battery and propulsion thermal designs.
  • Engage with GM R&D to provide input to and partner on advanced research projects.
  • Engage with new product and execution teams to comprehend lessons-learned and hardy perennial issues that may be resolved with ATW projects.
  • Support technical specialists to improve best practices, subsystem and component technical specifications, and bills of design/process/material, taking ownership where appropriate.
  • Protect intellectual property (IP) by documenting your new ideas for invention board review and subsequent patent submissions.

Additional Job Description

    Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

    • Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or relevant field.
    • 5+ years of experience in product engineering or relevant field.
    • Experience leading complex technical projects with cross-functional teams.
    • Ability to distill ambiguous customer requests into project deliverables and timelines.
    • Ability to collaborate with others both inside and outside of our direct team.
    • Demonstrated ability to clearly communicate complex topics to enable leaders to make informed decisions.
    • Strong understanding of first-principles in the fields of heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and thermodynamics.
    • Experience engaging with suppliers.

    What Will Give You A Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications)

    • Master’s, PhD degrees in engineering or related field.
    • 10+ years of experience in propulsion or thermal engineering.
    • 3+ years of experience as a design responsible engineer.
    • Production launch experience.
    • Project management experience.
    • Testing or development experience for thermal or propulsion components.
    • Experience with component design for highly-integrated systems.
    • Experience working with R&D, advanced engineering, and new products teams.
    • Proficient in developing coarse physics-based analytical models to inform design decisions (Excel, MATLAB, etc.).
    • Thermal analysis experience with 1D (GT Power), 3D CFD (STAR-CCM+), or similar tools.
    • Design experience with Unigraphics NX or other CAD software.
    • Demonstrated ability of utilizing engineering creativity in applying novel concepts.
    • Evidence of mentoring and developing others.

    This job may be eligible for relocation benefits

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    About GM

    Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.

    Why Join Us 

    We aspire to be the most inclusive company in the world. We believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Our Work Appropriately philosophy supports our foundation of inclusion and provides employees the flexibility to work where they can have the greatest impact on achieving our goals, dependent on role needs. Every day, we want every employee, no matter their background, ethnicity, preferences, or location, to feel they belong to one General Motors team.

    Benefits Overview

    The goal of the General Motors total rewards program is to support the health and well-being of you and your family. Our comprehensive compensation plan incudes, the following benefits, in addition to many others:
    • Paid time off including vacation days, holidays, and parental leave for mothers, fathers and adoptive parents;
    • Healthcare (including a triple tax advantaged health savings account and wellness incentive), dental, vision and life insurance plans to cover you and your family;
    • Company and matching contributions to 401K savings plan to help you save for retirement;
    • Global recognition program for peers and leaders to recognize and be recognized for results and behaviors that reflect our company values; 
    • Tuition assistance and student loan refinancing;
    • Discount on GM vehicles for you, your family and friends.

    Diversity Information

    General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that workforce diversity creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers.   We understand and embrace the variety through which people gain experiences whether through professional, personal, educational, or volunteer opportunities. GM is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.


    We encourage interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications and apply for any positions that match your skills and capabilities.

    Equal Employment Opportunity Statements

    GM is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. GM is committed to providing a work environment free from unlawful discrimination and advancing equal employment opportunities for all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, all practices and decisions relating to terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, training, promotion, discipline, compensation, benefits, and termination of employment are made without regard to an individual's protected characteristics. For purposes of this policy, “protected characteristics" include an individual's actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, weight, height, marital status, military service and veteran status, physical or mental disability, protected medical condition as defined by applicable state or local law, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws and ordinances.  If you need a reasonable accommodation to assist with your job search or application for employment, email us at Careers.Accommodations@GM.com or call us at 800-865-7580. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.​