Motional

Motional

Senior Design Release Engineer, AV Platforms

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States · Senior

Sponsorship not specified$125k-$167kDetected 7 days ago
Platform EngineeringProduct ManagementProcurementCATIASystems EngineeringRoboticsHardware DesignLeadershipCommunication

About the role

  • This role serves as the central engineering authority for our development bench and vehicle platforms.
  • This role is based in our Pittsburgh office and requires in-office days each week.
  • Salary Range $125,000 - $167,000 USD Motional is a driverless technology company making autonomous vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality.

Responsibilities

  • Own the end-to-end design, release, configuration, and build-readiness of all developmental hardware platforms, including sensor mules, proof-of-concept "test" vehicles, pre-production prototypes, and HIL test benches.
  • Lead the procurement life cycle for developmental platforms by generating, tracking, and managing Purchase Order (PO) requests, and actively monitoring component availability and lead times to ensure physical parts arrive ahead of critical build deadlines.
  • Lead the Engineering Change (ECN) process ensuring traceability, cost impact analysis, version control, and full cross-functional buy-in.
  • Build strong partnerships across the Systems Engineering, Autonomy, Software Infrastructure, and Vehicle Platform Engineering teams to ensure seamless hardware platform design, integration and manufacturability (DFM/DFA).
  • Lead technical program reviews and design readiness assessments, proactively developing risk mitigation plans to ensure platform maturity aligns with build timelines.
  • Provide regular, data-driven status updates to technical and program leadership regarding design and integration maturity, test progress, open cross-functional issues, and key project milestone metrics.
  • Drive technical execution for the full development platform lifecycle, from hardware architecture and requirements definition to platform bring-up and sustainment.
  • You will manage the entire platform evolution across every developmental phase, spanning sensor mules, early conceptual "test" vehicles, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) benches, and pre-production prototype vehicles.
  • Operating as a hands-on DRE, you will drive the initial architecture definitions, build out engineering requirements, handle complex configuration management, and steer the platform through physical design, component sourcing, manufacturing integration, and readiness for testing and operations.
  • We aren't just developing driverless cars

Requirements

  • 5+ years of experience in automotive hardware design, release engineering, or vehicle integration, with a heavy emphasis on advanced prototyping and developmental vehicle platforms.
  • Demonstrated experience driving multi-disciplinary engineering activities, cross-functional milestone tracking, and risk mitigation strategies throughout the full automotive product lifecycle.
  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, or Systems Engineering (or a related field).
  • Fundamental knowledge of automotive engineering documentation, validation processes, and quality standards (including DVP&R, DFMEA, and PFMEA).
  • Familiarity with CAD systems (e.g., NX, CATIA), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems (including requirement management tools such as Polarion), and engineering release workflows.
  • Strong understanding of vehicle integration, packaging, assembly processes, and functional safety standards (ISO 26262).

Nice to have

  • Direct experience engineering and deploying advanced vehicle prototypes and benchtop systems.
  • Proven track record of driving goal-level impact across multiple teams or subsystems.
  • Prior experience in a fast-growing autonomous vehicle or robotics company.

Compensation

  • $125,000 - $167,000 USD

Company info

  • Our Design Release Engineering team, within the Vehicle Platform Engineering group, is seeking a highly motivated Senior Engineer to own the complete design release, engineering lifecycle, and technical deployment of our developmental vehicle platforms and integration systems.
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This listing is sourced directly from Motional's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.