Manager - Design & Development

About the Role

Manager – Design & Development Leaf Spring Division

Responsibilities

• Develop reliable, cost-effective and manufacturable designs meeting customer specifications and performance
• Develop leaf spring designs for commercial vehicles, trailers and automotive applications.
• Optimize spring geometry, thickness, camber, eye dimensions, material and design parameters.
• Perform stress, load, deflection, stiffness/rate, fatigue and durability calculations.
• Coordinate prototype development, trials and validation with Manufacturing, Quality, Tool Room and Production.
• Lead APQP activities related to product design and ensure timely PPAP documentation.
• Support OEM technical discussions, design reviews, feasibility studies and approvals.
• Perform or coordinate stress, fatigue, load-deflection and durability analysis.
• Use FEA/simulation tools for design optimization and performance prediction.
• Plan and review prototype and validation testing against customer specifications.
• Optimize material grade, geometry and manufacturing process for cost and performance.
• Ensure changes are validated, documented and communicated to relevant functions.
• Ensure design feasibility with rolling, tapering, forming, heat treatment, shot peening, assembly and painting processes.
• Work closely with Production, Quality, Tool Room, Procurement and Supply Chain.
• Support tooling development, production trials and technical issue resolution.

Qualifications

• B.E./B.Tech in Mechanical/Automobile/Metallurgy preferred
• 10–15 years of relevant automotive product design and development experience.

Required Skills

• Strong hands-on leaf spring/suspension component design experience preferred.
• OEM/Tier-1 product development exposure preferred.
• Working knowledge of CATIA / Creo / SolidWorks / AutoCAD and FEA.
• Knowledge of GD&T, APQP, PPAP, spring steel, heat treatment, shot peening, fatigue and durability.

Preferred Skills

• On-time design release and PPAP submission.
• First-time-right design Prototype and validation success rate.
• Product weight and cost reduction.
• Design-related customer complaints/warranty reduction.
• Fatigue/durability performance.
• Engineering change turnaround time.
• VA/VE savings.
• Project completion against timelines.