Automotive Engineer - Original Equipment - Passenger & Light Truck Tire
ContinentalYour tasks HOW YOU WILL MAKE AN IMPACT SG 10/11 Responsible for driving profitable and sustainable Original Equipment (OE) Passenger and Light Truck (PLT) business growth across the Americas by serving as primary technical interface between OE customers and Continental. This role develops and executes account-specific technical strategies, manages tire development and release activities, secures customer approvals, and collaborates closely with internal and external stakeholders to ensure successful product launches, customer satisfaction, and long-term business success aligned with regional OE strategy. Tire Development and release responsibilities: a. Lead and manage OE tire development projects from initiation through production release. b. Serve as the primary technical liaison between OE customers and Continental's Product Development Team (PDT). c. Support development of design and submission strategies for current and future OE tire programs in collaboration with Tire Development Engineers, Subjective Handling Drivers, Technical Account Managers, and Key Account Managers (KAMs). d. Plan, organize, support, and participate in customer testing activities throughout all phases of tire development. e. Coordinate and manage prototype and sample tire requests for OE customers. f. Manage customer-specific requirements, including performance, testing, quality, marking, shipping, and program-specific standards, ensuring all requirements are incorporated into project scope and deliverables. g. Support Global Tire Testing (GTT) in the development of customer-specific test methods, as required. h. Support or lead the PPAP approval process, including planning, coordination, execution of release and approval testing, and completion of all administrative requirements necessary for production release. Prepare and collect required documentation and drawings to obtain customer engineering approval and support PSW sign-off. i. Coordinate activities with internal and external stakeholders to ensure flawless OE tire launches and production readiness. Business Support: a. Support customer account activities and technical reviews for current and future OE tire development programs. b. Develop and maintain effective, trust-based relationships with key customer decision-makers focused on long-term value creation. c. Support RFQ activities and Five-Year Planning initiatives as requested by the KAM or Technical Account Manager. d. Gather and communicate customer, competitor, and market intelligence to support business growth strategies and alignment with OE customer needs. e. Support management of R&D budgets by promoting cost-effective practices, minimizing non-value-added activities, and leveraging lessons learned across programs. f. Assume additional responsibilities as needed to support changing customer requirements, business priorities, market conditions, and organizational objectives. g. Support the development and execution of technical strategies that strengthen Continental's competitive position and future business opportunities. h. Develop and coordinate customer-focused activities, including technical meetings, technology demonstrations, driving events, facility visits, and advanced development projects to enhance customer perception of Continental's technical capabilities, execution quality, and innovation leadership. Quality: a. Maintain internal and external quality management processes, including creation and management of customer complaint records within applicable systems and databases. b. Share lessons learned across cross-functional teams to prevent recurrence of quality issues. c. Support Account Quality Managers, Regional Quality Managers, and Technical Account Managers as required. d. Monitor customer satisfaction and quality performance metrics, provide regular status updates to account management, and support corrective action plans to address identified gaps. e. Support conformity-of-production testing activities and co…