Manager, Field Quality - Powertrain Engineering | Full-Time | OnsiteThe Role We are seeking a highly technical, hands-on Manager, Field Quality - Powertrain (PWT) to lead the identification, investigation, prioritization, and resolution of powertrain concerns in the field. This leader will manage the Powertrain Field Quality team and serve as the bridge between customer and service feedback, real-world vehicle data, and sustainable engineering action.
The role is accountable for driving timely containment, rigorous root cause analysis, corrective action validation, and closed-loop learning across Engineering, Manufacturing, Supplier Quality, Service, Diagnostics, Reliability, Warranty, and Validation. The successful candidate will combine deep EV powertrain knowledge, strong people leadership, disciplined issue management, and executive-level communication.
Success in the first 12 months means strengthening the technical capability and operating discipline of the Powertrain Field Quality team, improving prioritization and investigation cycle time, increasing corrective action effectiveness, reducing repeat repairs and warranty exposure, and improving powertrain reliability and customer experience. What you will find here that you will not find in a comparable role elsewhere is direct leadership responsibility for resolving real-world powertrain concerns across advanced battery-electric vehicle systems while shaping the field-quality processes required to support current products and future launches.
What You'll Own Team Leadership & Capability Development Lead, coach, and develop a team of Powertrain Field Quality Engineers responsible for field investigations, root cause analysis, corrective action verification, and reliability improvement.
Set clear expectations for technical rigor, hands-on diagnostics, ownership, responsiveness, and documentation quality.
Build team capability in high-voltage systems, eDrive, charging, thermal systems, data analysis, component teardown, and structured problem solving.
Powertrain Field Issue Management Own the end-to-end lifecycle of PWT field issues from detection and prioritization through containment, root cause confirmation, corrective action, validation, and verified closure.
Ensure customer, fleet, service, and test vehicles are used effectively to reproduce issues and confirm real-world failure conditions.
Drive urgency on high-severity, high-frequency, safety-related, or customer-impacting concerns.
Technical Investigation & Root Cause Governance Provide technical direction for complex issues involving HV battery systems, drive units, traction motors, inverters, gearboxes, charging and HV distribution, and thermal management systems.
Ensure investigations use objective evidence, vehicle diagnostics, DTCs, data logs, physical inspections, teardown analysis, warranty records, and field performance data.
Differentiate design, supplier, manufacturing, software/calibration, service, and system-integration contributors.
Confirm that root causes are reproducible, data-backed, and supported by appropriate verification and validation.
Cross-Functional Leadership & Accountability Lead alignment across Powertrain Engineering, Systems, Software, Manufacturing, Supplier Quality, Reliability, Validation, Service, Diagnostics, Warranty, and Program teams.
Translate field findings into concise technical problem statements, clear ownership, recovery plans, and measurable exit criteria.
Escalate unresolved risks and ensure sustained accountability for permanent corrective actions rather than temporary containment.
Field Data, Risk & Prioritization Monitor warranty claims, repeat repairs, service reports, customer complaints, telematics, diagnostic data, vehicle health metrics, and field trends.
Establish data-driven prioritization based on safety, customer impact, frequency, fleet exposure, repeatability, warranty cost, launch risk, and business impact.
Identify emerging failure modes and variability across vehicle builds, model years, suppliers, regions, and configurations.
Corrective Action Validation & Reliability Improvement Oversee corrective actions across product design, suppliers, manufacturing processes, software, diagnostics, and service procedures.
Ensure fixes are validated at vehicle and component level and verify effectiveness after implementation in the field.
Drive reductions in vehicle downtime, repeat repairs, unnecessary part replacement, service complexity, warranty exposure, and customer dissatisfaction.
Metrics & Executive Communication Develop and maintain KPIs for field performance, issue aging, investigation cycle time, corrective action effectiveness, repeat failures, warranty exposure, and customer impact.
Prepare concise technical reviews, risk assessments, escalation summaries, and recovery updates for senior and executive leadership.
Communicate decisions, ownership, timing, and residual risk with clarity and fact-based judgment.
What You Bring Required - Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Automotive, Systems, Mechatronics, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field.
- 8+ years of relevant experience in EV powertrain engineering, field quality, product quality, diagnostics, reliability, validation, warranty engineering, manufacturing quality, supplier quality, or sustaining engineering.
- 3+ years of experience leading technical teams, engineering investigations, quality organizations, or complex cross-functional problem-solving activities.
- Strong technical knowledge of battery-electric vehicle powertrain systems, including HV battery packs, drive units, motors, inverters, gearboxes, charging, HV distribution, and thermal management.
- Demonstrated hands-on experience with vehicle diagnostics, data logging, DTC analysis, component-level troubleshooting, failure replication, and root cause analysis.
- Experience leading corrective actions and verification/validation activities from field detection through confirmed closure.
- Experience using warranty, service, telematics, diagnostic, and field data to identify trends and prioritize quality concerns.
- Working knowledge of structured quality methods such as 8D, RCCA, FMEA, Fault Tree Analysis, 5 Whys, Fishbone/Ishikawa, DOE, SPC, Control Plans, and PPAP.
- Ability to assess technical, safety, customer, warranty, launch, and business risk and make timely decisions with incomplete but evolving information.
- Excellent written, verbal, presentation, organizational, and stakeholder-management skills.
- Must be able to read, write, speak, and comprehend English proficiently in a professional and technical work environment.
- Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, technology-driven, cross-functional environment.
Preferred - Master's degree in Engineering, Reliability, Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- Experience leading Field Quality, Warranty Engineering, Reliability Engineering, Product Quality, or Customer Issue Management teams.
- Experience supporting premium electric vehicles, high-voltage systems, or other highly engineered products.
- Experience with CAN communication, remote diagnostics, connected vehicle analytics, and vehicle health monitoring.
- Experience working directly with suppliers on failure analysis, corrective actions, process controls, and performance improvement.
- Experience supporting at least two full product-development or vehicle-launch cycles.
- Six Sigma or Black Belt certification.
- Experience with Power BI, Tableau, SQL, or other analytics tools used for quality decision-making.
Work Requirement - Fully onsite at Lucid Arizona manufacturing facilities and offices, with regular in-person presence required.
- Ability to travel as needed to service locations, suppliers, engineering sites, manufacturing facilities, and field investigation locations.
- Ability to safely support hands-on vehicle and component investigations in laboratory, workshop, manufacturing, and field environments.
Compensation and Benefits Base salary range: [Compensation Range TBD]
Lucid offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, paid time off, and a 401(k) plan. Eligible employees may also participate in Lucid's equity program and/or a discretionary annual incentive program, subject to the terms and conditions of those programs. Cash or equity incentive awards, if applicable, are determined by multiple factors, including individual performance and overall company results.
