Vehicle Integration Leader

Order Reference: (phone number removed)
Contract Opportunity
Location: Gaydon

This is a high‑impact leadership role for an experienced Vehicle Integration Leader to shape the delivery of next‑generation vehicle programmes. You will sit at the heart of vehicle development, influencing architecture decisions, integrating advanced technologies, and ensuring whole‑vehicle engineering excellence from concept through to production.

You will operate as a senior technical authority, balancing innovation, quality, and delivery while collaborating with a broad network of engineering and programme leaders.

As Vehicle Integration Leader, you will:

• Lead whole‑vehicle technical integration, ensuring alignment to GRID, commodity strategies, and functional targets
• Drive the successful integration of new technologies into existing and future vehicle architectures
• Act as the voice of the customer, providing technical arbitration and decision‑making at key programme milestones
• Reduce system complexity by delivering efficient, well‑balanced engineering solutions
• Embed design quality, robustness, serviceability, and manufacturability through close collaboration with Attribute Robustness teams
• Own vehicle technical data progression across CAD, DV, AIMS, build, test, and release activities
• Oversee delivery of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) through virtual and physical verification and validation across the programme lifecycle
• Proactively identify, manage, and resolve cross‑functional technical obstacles, ensuring timely escalation where required
• Champion Agile ways of working, supporting engineering studies and spike activities to solve complex problems

Technical Leadership & Expertise:

• Extensive automotive engineering experience with proven whole‑vehicle systems integration capability
• Deep technical understanding across vehicle, system, and component design and delivery
• Strong ability to challenge, validate, and ratify technical assumptions, standards, and solutions
• Proven experience leading teams through complex engineering trade‑offs and decision‑making

Delivery & Influence:

• Excellent technical communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills
• Strong programme and project delivery experience within complex, multi‑disciplinary environments
• Demonstrated use of structured problem‑solving methodologies (e.g. 8D, Six Sigma)
• Confident, resilient leader able to challenge constructively and build trust at senior levels

Mindset & Approach:

• Customer‑first, delivery‑focused professional who is easy to work with
• Forward‑thinking individual with a strong interest in emerging technologies and industry trends
• Experienced in Agile delivery models and comfortable acting as an Agile advocate
• Proven leader of cross‑functional teams, capable of motivating, developing, and aligning diverse stakeholders

You will work closely with:

• Programme Group Leads (PGL) and interfacing zone leadership
• STGL and Vehicle Engineering Managers (VEM)
• Engineering Delivery Director
• Technology Centre Leadership
• Architecture and Vehicle Programme Product Owners
• Lead Engineers across Engineering Delivery and Design
• External specialists, suppliers, and technical partners

This is an opportunity to influence vehicle architecture at scale, work on technically complex programmes, and operate at senior leadership level within a world‑class automotive engineering environment.