Senior Engineer – Whole Vehicle Issue Management (Automotive)

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina, United States; requires 4–5 days per week in the office with regular in-person meetings and occasional travel.

Salary: $120,000–$145,000 annual base salary, plus eligibility for an annual performance bonus.

Company

hirify.global develops electrified and digitally enabled pickup trucks and rugged SUVs, including all-electric and range-extender powertrains.

What you will do

• Own central issue tracking for complete vehicle programs during prototype and pre-series phases.
• Define and maintain JIRA taxonomies, workflows, dashboards, reporting views, and data-quality standards.
• Lead Schadentisch and issue-review meetings, tracking critical issues, escalations, decisions, actions, and follow-ups.
• Coordinate engineering, validation, test, prototype, garage, and supplier teams on issue understanding, priorities, root causes, and resolution timing.
• Identify and escalate risks affecting vehicle functionality, test readiness, and program milestones.
• Implement AI, automation, and digital improvements for issue categorization, prioritization, reporting, pattern detection, and real-time visibility.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Automotive, or related Engineering.
• 8+ years of experience in vehicle development, integration, validation, pre-series work, issue management, or problem resolution.
• Mandatory advanced JIRA experience, including workflows, dashboards, and system ownership.
• Strong understanding of whole-vehicle development, system interactions, and VW Group processes and structures.
• Fluent German language skills required.
• Proven ability to drive structured execution across complex organizations.

Nice to have

• Experience leading Schadentisch or equivalent issue-management forums.
• Prototype or pre-series vehicle program experience.
• Familiarity with DVP and validation processes.
• Exposure to AI tools, automation, data analytics, or digital efficiency improvements in engineering workflows.

Culture & Benefits

• Entrepreneurial, collaborative, and fast-paced environment focused on building a new automotive company and products.
• Medical, dental, vision, and income protection plans.
• 401(k) program with employer match and immediate vesting.
• 20 days of planned PTO, 40 hours of unplanned PTO, and 14 company or floating holidays annually.
• Up to 16 weeks of paid parental leave, plus paid bereavement, jury duty, voting, and military leave.