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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.