R&D Director

Position: R&D Director (USA)
About Horse Powertrain

Horse Powertrain Limited is an independent new powertrain solutions business, with over 125 years of heritage from Renault and Geely. We develop and produce world-class hybrid and combustion engines and transmissions to move our industry forward, offering many different paths to net zero.

Horse Powertrain has 19,000 dedicated and determined employees, working in 17 manufacturing plants, and 5 R&D centers on three continents. This role is based in Detroit, MI USA, with occasional travel possible to Horse Powertrain's other sites.

Why join us?

At Horse Powertrain, you'll have opportunities to grow your career while making a difference. This is a dynamic, international environment, staffed by caring and collaborative people. If you're ready to create excellence with us, you'll be appreciated and rewarded.

What you'll be doing

As Director of R&D, USA, you will establish and lead HORSE Powertrain's North American engineering footprint, ensuring we deliver successful programs for U.S. OEM customers while staying fully aligned with global technology roadmaps. Reporting into global R&D leadership (and working closely with the U.S. leadership team), you'll drive R&D project execution and serve as the senior technical customer interface, translating OEM roadmaps into deliverables, coordinating global resources, and enabling industrialization readiness in the region.

• Set and execute U.S. R&D priorities aligned to global roadmaps, with a strong focus on R&D project/program management and delivery discipline.
• Act as the senior technical interface for U.S. OEMs: requirements definition, engineering alignment, change management, technical negotiations, and escalation leadership.
• Translate customer technical roadmaps into clear product development requirements and aligned internal execution plans.
• Lead regional engineering delivery for assigned platforms/programs across validation and industrialization readiness, ensuring milestones, risks, and deliverables are controlled.
• Coordinate cross-functionally with PMO, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Purchasing to ensure engineering readiness for launches and resolve late-phase issues.
• Build and develop a U.S.
  
  -based engineering organization focused on execution, integration, validation, and launch support (rather than standalone concept design capability at this stage).
• Own U.S. R&D budget and resource allocation across projects; ensure tools/test assets/lab investments are prioritized based on business needs.
• Ensure adherence to engineering governance, standards, safety/regulatory requirements, and robust risk management.

What we're looking for

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Automotive, or Powertrain Engineering.
• 12+ years in automotive/powertrain/EV systems or Tier-1 engineering, with proven leadership of multifunctional engineering teams.
• Strong track record in R&D program/project delivery (milestones, risk, quality of deliverables); PMP/SAE/Six Sigma/INCOSE is a plus.
• Demonstrated experience as a customer-facing technical leader working directly with OEM engineering teams (integration, requirements, issue resolution, change control).
• Solid background in systems engineering, validation, and industrialization/launch support (DV/PV, DFMEA, technical governance, readiness).
• Deep expertise in at least one relevant domain (e.g., ICE, hybrid, e-motor/inverter/EDU, transmission, calibration, NVH, thermal, vehicle integration).
• Strong people leadership and stakeholder management skills across global/matrix environments; able to work across cultures and time zones.
• Fluent English required; Chinese and/or Spanish advantageous.

Equal opportunities employer

As a company, we are committed to equal opportunities, and recruit people based on their competencies and qualifications. We encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply for our job vacancies. If you believe you have the skills and passion to excel in this role, we would love to hear from you. Let's explore the possibilities together.

Horse Powertrain Limited is a global leader in powertrain solutions. Learn more at

Department Technology Locations Detroit