The Lead Concept Engineer is responsible for leading the creation, development, and delivery of vehicle concepts across a portfolio of niche, low-volume, and specialist vehicle programmes. The role ensures that customer requirements, vehicle attributes, performance targets, regulatory requirements, and engineering constraints are translated into robust vehicle concepts that provide a strong foundation for successful programme delivery.
Working as a key member of the vehicle engineering team, the Lead Concept Engineer will coordinate cross-functional concept activities, drive technical feasibility assessments, and provide engineering leadership from initial customer requirements through to programme definition and vehicle architecture sign-off.
The role requires an individual capable of operating in a fast-paced environment where customer expectations, vehicle specifications, and programme objectives may differ significantly between projects
Key Responsibilities
Vehicle Concept Leadership
- Lead vehicle concept development activities across multiple niche and specialist vehicle programmes.
- Define and maintain vehicle concepts, technical specifications, and system requirements from programme inception.
- Develop vehicle-level targets covering performance, mass, packaging, cost, manufacturability, and customer attributes.
- Ensure concept feasibility aligns with programme objectives and business strategy.
- Support vehicle architecture definition and technology selection activities.
- Lead concept reviews and support programme gateway deliverables.
Requirements & Attribute Development
- Capture and translate attribute requirements into engineering specifications.
- Develop vehicle attribute targets including:
- Performance
- Ergonomics
- Usability
- Safety
- Quality perception
- Support target setting and requirements decomposition across engineering commodities.
Technical Feasibility & Architecture Development
- Conduct concept feasibility studies and trade-off analyses.
- Evaluate alternative vehicle architectures and engineering solutions.
- Assess technical risks associated with new technologies, systems, and customer requirements.
- Support platform adaptation and carry-over component strategies.
- Develop high-level system integration strategies.
- Coordinate concept activities across all vehicle engineering commodities.
- Work closely with Packaging, Chassis, Body, Electrical, Interior, Manufacturing, and Purchasing teams.
- Ensure vehicle concepts remain technically robust and commercially viable.
- Manage concept-level issues and drive effective resolution plans.
CAD and Digital Development
- Support creation and review of concept CAD layouts and vehicle architecture models.
- Create concept CAD data for a broad range of commodity areas such as Body, Electrical, Chassis and Powertrain.
- Management of a concept CAD product structure.
- Support digital reviews and virtual validation activities.
- Act as the primary engineering contact for concept-related discussions with customers.
- Support workshops and technical reviews with key system suppliers.
- Engage with suppliers to assess feasibility of innovative or specialist solutions.
- Present vehicle concepts and engineering recommendations to senior stakeholders.
- Support programme planning and concept phase deliverables.
- Identify and manage technical risks during early development phases.
- Contribute to programme status reporting and engineering reviews.
- Ensure concept activities support programme timing, cost, quality, and performance objectives.
- Vehicle concept definitions and architecture studies.
- Vehicle technical specifications and target cascades.
- Requirements and attribute documents.
- Feasibility studies and trade-off assessments.
- Concept CAD layouts and engineering proposals.
- Technical risk assessments and mitigation plans.
- Design review presentations and engineering reports.
Required Skills & Experience
- Significant experience in automotive concept engineering, vehicle integration, or systems engineering.
- Proven track record developing vehicle concepts from customer requirements through programme definition.
- Experience leading cross-functional engineering activities.
- Strong understanding of vehicle architectures and systems integration.
- Experience managing technical stakeholders and customer interfaces.
- Knowledge of automotive development processes and gateway reviews.
- High-performance and niche sports car development experience would be advantageous.
- Experience within low-volume or specialist vehicle programmes.
- Vehicle attribute development and target setting experience.
- Understanding of homologation and regulatory requirements.
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