General Motors

Lead Systems Engineer - GM Defense

General Motors$100K — $130K *
Aerospace & Defense
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • BSE or BS in Mechanical, Electrical, Systems Engineering, or equivalent experience
  • 10+ years in systems engineering, requirements development, or product integration
  • Effective collaboration and communication skills for cross-functional teamwork
  • Strong understanding of mechanical, electrical, and integrated vehicle systems
  • Proven leader in requirements development and technical issue resolution
  • Experience with System DFMEA and Fault Tree Analysis
  • Analytical ability to translate customer objectives into executable requirements and plans
  • Capability to use AI tools in systems engineering processes

Responsibilities

  • Lead Systems Engineers in developing and rolling down system requirements
  • Ensure alignment of subsystem requirements and verification plans to mission goals
  • Drive integration across engineering disciplines for cohesive product definition
  • Facilitate cross-functional collaboration to meet safety, performance, and cost objectives
  • Oversee requirements traceability and verification planning across systems
  • Create and manage System DFMEA to address potential failure modes
  • Support Fault Tree Analysis for risk identification and mitigation
  • Collaborate on validation plans across mechanical, electrical, and controls domains
  • Lead issue resolution throughout the product development lifecycle
  • Optimize system design with subsystem teams to enhance overall performance
  • Monitor advancements in technology and processes for availability improvements
  • Implement AI tools to enhance requirements development quality and efficiency
  • Train the team in AI practices and tools adoption
  • Identify and manage technical and integration risks early in development
  • Support scalable architecture development for requirements execution

Benefits

  • Eligibility for a company vehicle evaluation program with General Motors
  • Hybrid work arrangement requiring in-office presence at least 3 times a week
  • Flexibility in work schedule with up to 25% travel requirement
  • Opportunity for continuous skill development through AI training programs
Full Job Description

Job Description

The Role

System engineering is a multidisciplinary organization chartered with pulling together the highly complex and interconnected system that is the modern-day vehicle and related products. It transcends the physical nature of any specific design, cutting across traditional engineering disciplines to enable customer-focused execution of vehicle-level features.

The Lead System Engineer is a people leader and technical expert role responsible for leading Systems Engineers in the definition and roll-down of system requirements, alignment of subsystem interfaces, and execution of verification planning to ensure the total product meets mission and program objectives. In this role, the Lead System Engineer provides system-level technical leadership across the product, integrating engineering inputs into a cohesive requirements-driven solution while ensuring safety, performance, timing, cost, and manufacturability targets are supported. Requirements and engineering inputs for this role may come directly from the customer as well as indirectly through the GMD business development team. AI-enabled tools are expected to be used in the development, refinement, and management of requirements, and the role is responsible for building team capability through required AI training and adoption of effective engineering practices.

What You’ll Do

  • Lead a team of Systems Engineers in development, decomposition, and roll-down of system requirements across the product

  • Ensure subsystem requirements, interfaces, and verification plans are aligned to overall mission and program objectives

  • Drive system-level integration across engineering disciplines to deliver a cohesive and executable product definition

  • Lead cross-functional collaboration to ensure requirements support safety, performance, cost, timing, manufacturability, and validation objectives

  • Oversee interface definition, requirements traceability, and verification planning across systems and subsystems

  • Create System DFMEA and ensure system failure modes are understood, documented, and addressed through the design process

  • Participate in Fault Tree Analysis and support development of the technical understanding needed to identify risk drivers and mitigation paths

  • Collaborate on the V&V plan across mechanical, electrical, and controls domains to ensure the system is validated against requirements and intended performance

  • Lead the integration and issue resolution of the system through the full development cycle

  • Work with subsystem and component teams to optimize system design and improve total system performance

  • Set availability targets, allocate them to subsystems and components, determine feature sensitivity to variation and failure modes, and define mitigation plans to improve performance to target

  • Stay abreast of new technology, new processes, and new methods used to predict and improve availability

  • Apply AI-enabled tools to improve the quality, speed, consistency, and traceability of requirements development

  • Ensure the team receives required AI training and adopts AI tools and methods effectively within the systems engineering process

  • Identify technical and integration risks early and lead resolution of cross-system issues that could impact program execution

  • Support development of a scalable system architecture and requirements framework that can be successfully executed through development and launch

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

  • BSE, BS in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or equivalent experience

  • 10+ years professional experience in systems engineering, requirements development, product integration, or equivalent technical roles

  • Demonstrates effective interpersonal and communication skills to collaborate successfully with cross-functional teams, customers, and business development partners

  • Strong understanding of engineering theory and principles of operation of mechanical, electrical, controls, and integrated vehicle systems

  • Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams in requirements development, interface alignment, integration, and technical issue resolution

  • Demonstrated ability to develop and execute System DFMEA, participate in Fault Tree Analysis, and collaborate on verification and validation planning

  • Strong analytical ability to translate customer and product objectives into executable system requirements, availability targets, and mitigation plans

  • Demonstrated technical and professional skills in systems engineering, including requirements management, traceability, risk identification, and cross-functional decision-making

  • Ability to apply AI-enabled tools and methods to improve requirements quality, speed, consistency, and traceability while building team capability through effective adoption practices

  • Candidate must be a U.S. Person (U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, asylee or refugee).

Company Vehicle: Upon successful completion of a motor vehicle report review, you will be eligible to participate in a company vehicle evaluation program, through which you will be assigned a General Motors vehicle to drive and evaluate. Note: program participants are required to purchase/lease a qualifying GM vehicle every four years unless one of a limited number of exceptions applies.

#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 <25% for this role. This job is not eligible for relocation benefits. Any relocation costs would be the responsibility of the selected candidate. 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).

About General Motors

General Motors Company engages in the manufacture and sale of cars and trucks in the United States, China, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy. It offers sedans, crossovers, sport utility vehicles, pick-up trucks, coupes, sports/convertibles and hybrid vehicles, hatchbacks/wagons, and vans, as well as mini cars in India. The company also provides parts and accessories, such as iPod and MP3 compatibility, mobility accessories, performance parts, AC parts and services, and merchandise. In addition, it offers vehicle safety, security, and information services. The company provides used vehicles. It offers its products through dealers and distributors. General Motors Company was formerly known as NGMCO, Inc. and changed its name to General Motors Company in July 2009. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is based in Detroit, Michigan. It operates manufacturing facilities in India, the United States, and Canada. General Motors Company operates as a subsidiary of the United States Department of The Treasury. General Motors led global vehicle sales for 77 consecutive years from 1931 through 2007, longer than any other automaker, and is currently among the world's largest automakers by vehicle unit sales. General Motors acts in most countries outside the USA via wholly-owned subsidiaries but operates in China through 10 joint ventures. GM's OnStar subsidiary provides vehicle safety, security, and information services. In 2009, General Motors shed several brands, closing Saturn, Pontiac, and Hummer, and emerged from a government-backed Chapter 11 reorganization. In 2010, GM made an initial public offering IPOs to date and returned to profitability later that year.

General Motors Careers

Join the dynamic team at General Motors, a global leader in automotive innovation and technology. At General Motors, we offer unparalleled job opportunities that propel your career forward while contributing to a legacy of engineering excellence.

Work You’ll Do

Embark on a career with General Motors to drive the future of mobility. Our team is dedicated to redefining the automotive landscape through innovation and leadership in electric vehicles and sustainable solutions. By joining us, you will be part of a culture that values diversity, teamwork, and continuous professional growth.

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At General Motors, innovation is at the core of everything we do. From research and development to manufacturing, our teams work collaboratively to lead the industry with cutting-edge technologies and sustainable practices. We encourage our employees to think big and push the boundaries of what’s possible.

Join Our Global Team

As part of our global workforce, you will collaborate with talented individuals who are passionate about shaping the future of transportation. General Motors offers a variety of career paths in engineering, design, IT, marketing, and more. With over 155,000 employees worldwide, our network provides expansive opportunities for networking and professional development.

Internship Programs and Employment Benefits

Start your career journey with a General Motors internship, where you can apply your academic knowledge to real-world projects. Our internships provide a robust foundation in the automotive industry, with mentorship from experienced leaders. Full-time employees enjoy a wealth of benefits, including comprehensive health care, retirement plans, and performance bonuses, ensuring that your hard work is rewarded.

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Learn more about General Motors
Size
157,000 employees
Market Cap
$46.9 billion
Industry
Net Income
$6.4 billion
Founded
1908
5 Year Trend
-3.2%
Revenue
$122.4 billion
NASDAQ

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