Engineer I, R&D Design – Body

Job Type: Location Type: On-site

 

Job Description
The Engineer I, R&D Design Body plays a key role in enabling cross-functional collaboration across Mazda Japan R&D, manufacturing operations, suppliers, and other MNAO related departments. This position serves as a critical link between design engineering, manufacturing, supplier quality, and field quality teams to validate product performance, support timely issue resolution, and drive continuous improvement.

The role is responsible for body systems and components for Mazda vehicles produced at Mazda Toyota Manufacturing (MTM) and contributes to cost and quality improvements through the vehicle development and production lifecycle. Key areas of focus include cost optimization, quality improvement, product change and launch support.

Major Responsibilities

• (40%) Cost Reduction
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to evaluate cost drivers and develop actionable cost reduction strategies to ensure projects meet cost targets.
  • Gather and analyze U.S. market data and trends related to automotive components and systems.
  • Analyze product designs, processes, materials, and supplier options to identify cost-optimization opportunities while maintaining performance and quality standards.
  • Support structured value engineering activities to simplify designs, reduce component complexity, optimize material usage, and eliminate non-value-added features.

• (30%) Quality Improvement
  • Analyze warranty claims data and customer feedback to identify and investigate emerging quality issues, including coordination of parts returns for comprehensive root cause analysis.
  • Conduct in-depth root cause analysis of identified quality issues, developing, documenting, and implementing effective short and long-term corrective actions.
  • Collaborates with senior team members and Mazda Japan R&D to confirm design intent and system functionality in support of the MNAO quality team and MTMUS, before and after engineering change implementation.
  • Escalate issues and critical quality concerns through established core engineering meetings to drive timely resolution and ensure management visibility.

• (30%) Product Change & Launch Support
  • Support engineering changes by confirming proposed updates, coordinating cross-functional alignment, and ensuring successful implementation.
  • Support new model launches and system implementations to ensure design objectives are met during operations and manufacturing ramp-up.
  • Partner with internal teams and supplier partners to identify issues, develop robust countermeasures, and ensure effective implementation.

• Perform other duties as assigned
• Comply with all policies and standards
• The preceding functions have been provided as examples of the types of work performed by employees assigned to this job classification. Management reserves the right to add, modify, change or rescind the work assignments of different positions and to make reasonable accommodations so that qualified employees can perform the essential functions of the job

Work Experience

• 2+ years experience in automotive system engineering and/or components preferred
• 2+ years experience working in automotive manufacturing company, automotive paint manufacturing preferred

Education

• Bachelor Degree in Arts/Sciences (BA/BS) Automotive Engineering
• An equivalent mix of education, training, and/or work experience may be considered in place of a degree Required

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite including Microsoft Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint required (Intermediate-Advanced)
• Ability to prioritize, organize, and complete work in alignment with established standards and deadlines required (Intermediate-Advanced)
• Experience using 3D CAD software, interpreting 2D drawings, and applying geometric dimensioning and tolerancing required (Intermediate-Advanced)
• Effective written and verbal communication skills required (Intermediate-Advanced)
• Demonstrated analytical thinking and experience preparing technical reports required (Intermediate-Advanced)
• Ability to adapt and work effectively in a multicultural and multilingual work environment required (Intermediate-Advanced)
• Knowledge of vehicle systems, engineering principles, and development processes required (Intermediate-Advanced)
• Proven ability to work collaboratively within a team and communicate effectively across multiple levels of the organization required (Intermediate-Advanced)
• Bilingual in English and Japanese preferred (Intermediate-Advanced)

Physical Demands

• Stationary Position/Standing: Constantly
• Move/Traverse: Constantly
• Transport/Lifting: Constantly
• Transport/Carrying: Constantly
• Exerting Force/Pushing: Constantly
• Exerting Force/Pulling: Constantly
• Ascend/Descend: Constantly
• Balancing: Constantly
• Position Self/Stooping: Constantly
• Position Self/Kneeling: Constantly
• Position Self/Crouching: Constantly
• Position Self/Crawling: Constantly
• Reaching: Constantly
• Handling: Constantly
• Grasping: Constantly
• Feeling: Constantly
• Communicate/Hearing: Frequently
• Repetitive Motions: Constantly
• Coordination: Constantly
• Seeing/Observing: Constantly

Working Environment

• Noise: Frequently
• Vibration: Frequently

Travel Requirements

• 80% Driving Domestic: Essential
• 40% Flying International: Essential

Come work with us at our exciting new facility, in the growing city of Huntsville Alabama. Huntsville is in Madison County and is one of the best places to live in Alabama and the 11th best place to live in America. Huntsville offers a vibrant community with a mixture of high-tech ventures, cultural diversity, and is the #1 most affordable place to live in the U.S. in 2019 out of 125 most populous metro areas.

https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/

Pay Range
$66,400.00 – $96,250.00
Salary to be determined by education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data.

Learn more about MNAO’s comprehensive benefits package here