Design Engineer Visa Sponsorship Jobs in Indiana
Indiana's design engineer job market spans automotive manufacturing hubs like Columbus and Fort Wayne, defense contractors around Indianapolis, and large industrial employers such as Cummins, Eli Lilly, and Rolls-Royce. International candidates pursuing visa sponsorship will find the strongest opportunities concentrated in these sectors, where engineering credentials and specialized technical skills consistently drive hiring decisions.
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Get Access To All JobsDesign Release Engineer - Elkhart Plant
Location: Elkhart, Indiana
Department: Engineering
Position Type: Full-Time
Position Summary
Optimal EV is seeking a hands-on Design Release Engineer to support bus vehicle production, option development, prototyping, and engineering release activities at our Elkhart manufacturing facility.
This role is not limited to CAD and documentation. The engineer will work directly on vehicles, support production technicians and line leads, troubleshoot build issues, prototype new solutions, and ensure engineering designs are practical, manufacturable, and properly released into production.
The ideal candidate is comfortable moving between the computer, shop floor, and vehicle - designing a solution, building or modifying the prototype, validating it, and supporting production implementation.
Key Responsibilities
Design, prototype, and validate for new customer options for bus vehicle and updates for continuous design improvements.
- Evaluate customer option requests and determine required components, installation methods, packaging, and design changes.
- Design mechanical components, brackets, mounting systems, enclosures, harness routing, hose routing, and other vehicle-level solutions - need to be a versatile designer working across the vehicle systems.
- Create and maintain drawings, CAD models, BOMs, installation instructions, and engineering release documentation.
- Work with purchasing team and suppliers on ordering parts.
- Prototype and validate the fit, function, serviceability, manufacturability, and installation quality before releasing designs to production.
- Assist with prototype fabrication, drilling, cutting, fitting, assembly, wiring, and vehicle modifications when required.
- Identify opportunities and improve design for cost reduction, weight reduction, and production efficiency.
- Create and address engineering changes, including ECNs/ECRs and production release documentation.
Provide daily engineering support to the Elkhart production team and field service when needed.
- Design and prototype Jig for facilitating production install.
- Write work instruction document for training workers.
- Work directly with technicians, production leads, quality, and process engineers to resolve vehicle build issues such as part issue, in-process issue.
- Support investigating production and field issues, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions.
- Ensure consistency between production and design.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Automotive Engineering, or a related technical field.
- 2+ years of experience in automotive, commercial vehicle, EV, manufacturing, product development, or similar hands-on engineering environment preferred.
- Experience with CAD software such as CATIA, SolidWorks, or similar.
- Ability to create engineering drawings and production-ready documentation.
- Strong understanding of mechanical design, vehicle integration, manufacturing, and assembly processes.
- Comfortable working directly with vehicles, tools, prototypes, and production technicians.
- Ability to troubleshoot problems quickly and develop practical solutions on the shop floor.
- Experience with BOMs, engineering change processes, and product configuration preferred.
- Basic understanding of electrical harnesses, connectors, vehicle wiring, and low-voltage systems is highly desirable.
- Experience with commercial vehicles, buses, specialty vehicles, or EV systems is a plus.
We are looking for an engineer who:
- Is hands-on and willing to work directly on the vehicle.
- Can turn a concept into a working prototype.
- Understands that a good design must also be easy to build repeatedly in production.
- Listens to technicians, line leads, and production personnel when developing engineering solutions.
- Can identify problems, take ownership, and drive them through final release.
- Is comfortable working in a fast-moving manufacturing environment where priorities may change quickly.
- Can balance engineering quality with practical production needs.
A successful Design Release Engineer will help ensure that:
- Production issues are resolved quickly and permanently.
- New options can move efficiently from customer request to prototype to production release.
- Engineering drawings and BOMs accurately match the vehicle being built.
- Designs are practical, repeatable, serviceable, and production-ready.
- Production personnel have clear documentation and engineering support.
- Prototype solutions are properly validated before being released across multiple vehicles.
Design Release Engineer - Elkhart Plant
Location: Elkhart, Indiana
Department: Engineering
Position Type: Full-Time
Position Summary
Optimal EV is seeking a hands-on Design Release Engineer to support bus vehicle production, option development, prototyping, and engineering release activities at our Elkhart manufacturing facility.
This role is not limited to CAD and documentation. The engineer will work directly on vehicles, support production technicians and line leads, troubleshoot build issues, prototype new solutions, and ensure engineering designs are practical, manufacturable, and properly released into production.
The ideal candidate is comfortable moving between the computer, shop floor, and vehicle - designing a solution, building or modifying the prototype, validating it, and supporting production implementation.
Key Responsibilities
Design, prototype, and validate for new customer options for bus vehicle and updates for continuous design improvements.
- Evaluate customer option requests and determine required components, installation methods, packaging, and design changes.
- Design mechanical components, brackets, mounting systems, enclosures, harness routing, hose routing, and other vehicle-level solutions - need to be a versatile designer working across the vehicle systems.
- Create and maintain drawings, CAD models, BOMs, installation instructions, and engineering release documentation.
- Work with purchasing team and suppliers on ordering parts.
- Prototype and validate the fit, function, serviceability, manufacturability, and installation quality before releasing designs to production.
- Assist with prototype fabrication, drilling, cutting, fitting, assembly, wiring, and vehicle modifications when required.
- Identify opportunities and improve design for cost reduction, weight reduction, and production efficiency.
- Create and address engineering changes, including ECNs/ECRs and production release documentation.
Provide daily engineering support to the Elkhart production team and field service when needed.
- Design and prototype Jig for facilitating production install.
- Write work instruction document for training workers.
- Work directly with technicians, production leads, quality, and process engineers to resolve vehicle build issues such as part issue, in-process issue.
- Support investigating production and field issues, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions.
- Ensure consistency between production and design.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Automotive Engineering, or a related technical field.
- 2+ years of experience in automotive, commercial vehicle, EV, manufacturing, product development, or similar hands-on engineering environment preferred.
- Experience with CAD software such as CATIA, SolidWorks, or similar.
- Ability to create engineering drawings and production-ready documentation.
- Strong understanding of mechanical design, vehicle integration, manufacturing, and assembly processes.
- Comfortable working directly with vehicles, tools, prototypes, and production technicians.
- Ability to troubleshoot problems quickly and develop practical solutions on the shop floor.
- Experience with BOMs, engineering change processes, and product configuration preferred.
- Basic understanding of electrical harnesses, connectors, vehicle wiring, and low-voltage systems is highly desirable.
- Experience with commercial vehicles, buses, specialty vehicles, or EV systems is a plus.
We are looking for an engineer who:
- Is hands-on and willing to work directly on the vehicle.
- Can turn a concept into a working prototype.
- Understands that a good design must also be easy to build repeatedly in production.
- Listens to technicians, line leads, and production personnel when developing engineering solutions.
- Can identify problems, take ownership, and drive them through final release.
- Is comfortable working in a fast-moving manufacturing environment where priorities may change quickly.
- Can balance engineering quality with practical production needs.
A successful Design Release Engineer will help ensure that:
- Production issues are resolved quickly and permanently.
- New options can move efficiently from customer request to prototype to production release.
- Engineering drawings and BOMs accurately match the vehicle being built.
- Designs are practical, repeatable, serviceable, and production-ready.
- Production personnel have clear documentation and engineering support.
- Prototype solutions are properly validated before being released across multiple vehicles.
Design Engineer Job Roles in Indiana
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Search Design Engineer Jobs in IndianaDesign Engineer Jobs in Indiana: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies sponsor visas for design engineers in Indiana?
Some of the most active visa sponsors for design engineers in Indiana include Cummins, Rolls-Royce, Eli Lilly, Raytheon, and Allison Transmission. These employers have consistent histories of filing H-1B visa petitions for engineering roles. Smaller automotive suppliers and defense contractors throughout central and northern Indiana also sponsor, though less frequently than these larger firms.
Which visa types are most common for design engineer roles in Indiana?
The H-1B visa is the most common pathway for design engineers in Indiana, as the role typically qualifies as a specialty occupation requiring at least a bachelor's degree in mechanical, electrical, or industrial engineering. Canadian and Mexican nationals may qualify for the TN visa under the engineer category. Some early-career candidates work under OPT or STEM OPT extensions before an employer files an H-1B petition.
Which cities in Indiana have the most design engineer sponsorship jobs?
Indianapolis has the highest concentration of design engineer sponsorship opportunities in Indiana, driven by defense, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing employers. Columbus is notable for Cummins' global headquarters and its deep engineering hiring pipeline. Fort Wayne and Kokomo also generate consistent demand through automotive and electronics manufacturers operating large regional facilities in those metro areas.
How to find design engineer visa sponsorship jobs in Indiana?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for international candidates and filters design engineer roles in Indiana to only show positions at employers open to visa sponsorship. Rather than sorting through generic job listings, you can search by role and state to surface relevant opportunities at companies like Cummins, Rolls-Royce, and others actively hiring engineers in Indiana. Creating a profile lets you track new postings as they appear.
Are there state-specific factors that affect visa sponsorship for design engineers in Indiana?
Indiana's manufacturing and defense sectors create steady demand for design engineers, which supports a relatively consistent sponsorship environment compared to states with fewer industrial employers. Employers filing H-1B petitions must pay the Department of Labor's prevailing wage for the specific role and location, so compensation benchmarks in Indianapolis or Columbus will reflect local engineering market rates. University programs at Purdue and Indiana University also create employer pipelines that sometimes translate into sponsorship offers for international graduates.
What is the prevailing wage for sponsored design engineer jobs in Indiana?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.