Thermal Lead Development Engineer - GM Defense

About this role

Job Description GM Defense is looking for a Thermal Lead Development Engineer (LDE) that is interested in creating the future of GM Defense-related vehicles.  The GM Defense Performance Team is a dynamic, fast paced environment where every day provides a new problem to solve that is having an impact on our current & future defense ground vehicles. This includes participating in the AVD process, establishing vehicle level and subsystem requirements.  Then following that project through protype builds, integrating the vehicle and then launching a new vehicle program.

The Role The Thermal LDE 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, serving 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 LDE relentlessly drives consistent thermal system and vehicle integration for a given program or architecture, holding themselves and others accountable for high-quality, timely delivery without compromising integrity, safety, or quality.

What You'll Do • 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

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications) • 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).

What Can Give You a Competitive Advantage (Preferred) • 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

#GMD



GM does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. Do not apply for this role if you will need GM immigration sponsorship now or in the future. This includes direct company sponsorship, entry of GM as the immigration employer of record on a government form, and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (e.g., H1-B, OPT, STEM OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc).

This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the selected candidate is expected to report to a specific location at least 3 times a week {or other frequency dictated by their manager}.

The selected candidate will be required to travel 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 believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one General Motors team.

Benefits Overview From day one, we're looking out for your well-being–at work and at home–so you can focus on realizing your ambitions. Learn how GM supports a rewarding career that rewards you personally by visiting Total Rewards resources .

Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities (U.S.) General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of unlawful discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that providing an inclusive workplace creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers.

All employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to sex, race, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, disability, pregnancy or maternity status, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran or pr

Similar jobs

• Senior Materials Engineer - GM Defense — General Motors · Warren, Michigan, United States
• Lead Thermal Engineer — Starcloud · Redmond, WA
• Lead Manufacturing Engineer, High-Speed Missiles — Andurilindustries · Costa Mesa, California, United States
• Senior Thermal Engineering Technical Leader — Cisco · San Jose, California, United States
• Lead Thermal Simulation Engineer — Openai · San Francisco
• Technical Program Manager, Thermal Systems — Altentechnologyusa · Foster City, California, United States
• Welding & Joining Launch Engineer, Armored Vehicles - GM Defense — General Motors · Warren, Michigan, United States
• Lead Manufacturing Engineer, Missiles — Andurilindustries · Costa Mesa, California, United States