Thermal Systems Lead

Overview

The Thermal Systems SET Lead is responsible for delivering the thermal system to program timing, cost, quality, and vehicle integration targets. This role serves as the lead system execution and integration coordinator across engineering, suppliers, purchasing, manufacturing, validation, and program management. The role exercises independent judgment on significant and unique program and integration issues, aligns diverse stakeholders, and ensures all thermal-system components are released, sourced, and available to support vehicle builds and production milestones.

What you’ll do

Become part of an iconic brand that is set to revolutionize the electric pick-up truck & rugged SUV marketplace by achieving the following:

Program & Parts Management

• Own and govern thermal-system timing plans, deliverables, priorities, and milestone tracking across the assigned vehicle program.
• Track component maturity, sourcing status, releases, tooling, validation, and build readiness.
• Define and maintain part-level scorecards, readiness dashboards, and decision criteria that provide clear system-level visibility.
• Coordinate prototype, VFF, PVS, and production-build part availability.
• Ensure all thermal-system components are released on time to support program milestones.
• Direct supplier recovery planning when timing, quality, cost, or technical delivery is at risk and drive alignment on corrective actions.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Coordinate activities across thermal engineering, purchasing, validation, manufacturing, quality, controls, packaging, program management, and suppliers; build alignment across groups without direct authority.
• Lead technical and program reviews, convey advanced system-readiness information, and drive decisions across diverse stakeholders.
• Lead resolution of significant and unique cross-functional issues; evaluate competing and incomplete inputs, exercise independent judgment, and escalate only risks requiring leadership action.
• Maintain transparency of open issues, decisions, dependencies, and action-item ownership while driving accountability for closure.

Thermal System Integration

• Own thermal-system integration readiness and ensure all thermal components collectively meet vehicle and program requirements.
• Lead assessment of engineering changes and determine impacts to system timing, cost, validation, sourcing, and vehicle builds.
• Guide development and execution of system-level validation plans and ensure readiness is aligned to program milestones.
• Lead cross-functional closure of vehicle-, subsystem-, and component-level issues identified during testing, including technical and program recovery direction.

Documentation & Reporting & Escalation

• Maintain and govern thermal-system status reports, timing plans, risk registers, issue lists, executive updates, and decision records.
• Coordinate and review release documentation, technical specifications, sourcing packages, and engineering deliverables for completeness and program readiness.
• Provide management reporting and recommendations on system readiness, risks, tradeoffs, recovery actions, and milestone achievement.
• Resolve roadblocks across functions and suppliers; escalate issues with clear impact assessments, options, and recommended actions when broader leadership decisions are required.

Location & Travel Expectations:

• This role will be based out of the Scout Motors location in Novi, Michigan.
• This role requires 4-5 days per week in the office, with regular in-person meetings and events. 
• Applicants should expect that the role will require the ability to convene with Scout colleagues in person and travel to participate in events on behalf of the company from time to time.

What you’ll bring 

We expect all Scout employees to have integrity, curiosity, resourcefulness, and strive to exhibit a positive attitude, as well as a growth mindset. You’ll be comfortable with change and flexible in a fast-paced, high-growth environment. You’ll take a collaborative approach to achieve ambitious goals. Here's what else you'll bring: 

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field.
• 12–15 years of relevant automotive engineering, systems integration, program management, or thermal systems experience.
• Experience leading complex vehicle-system development programs and resolving significant cross-functional issues that affect program or functional outcomes.
• Broad expertise in automotive product development, engineering releases, validation processes, supplier management, sourcing, and vehicle integration.
• Demonstrated ability to operate with a high degree of independence, direct work through cross-functional teams, influence diverse stakeholders, and manage schedules, risks, decisions, and recovery actions.
• Excellent communication, technical leadership, persuasion, and organizational skills, with the ability to convey advanced information to technical and leadership audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Recognized subject-matter expertise in vehicle systems, thermal systems, system integration, or overall systems management.
• Experience working with VW Group or Scout product-development processes and coordinating across global or multi-organizational stakeholders.
• Experience supporting vehicle builds, launch activities, and production readiness reviews.
• Familiarity with engineering release systems, change management processes, supplier development, and development of reusable readiness or governance methods.

Success in This Role

• Thermal parts and system deliverables released on time with transparent tradeoffs and recovery actions.
• Prototype and production builds supported without part shortages.
• Significant risks identified early, independently assessed, and resolved or escalated with recommendations.
• Suppliers meeting deliverables or executing aligned recovery plans.
• Cross-functional vehicle integration issues driven to sustainable closure.
• Program milestones achieved with clear, decision-ready visibility of system readiness

What you'll gain

The benefits of joining Scout include the chance to build products and a company from the ground up.  This is a chance to create something new and lasting – with an iconic brand at its foundation.  In addition, Scout provides competitive compensation and benefits to support your physical, mental, and financial wellbeing. Program specifics are detailed in company policies and employee benefit guides, select highlights:

• Competitive insurance including:
  • Medical, dental, vision and income protection plans
• 401(k) program with:
  • An employer match and immediate vesting
• Generous Paid Time Off including:
  • 20 days planned PTO, as accrued
  • 40 hours of unplanned PTO and 14 company or floating holidays, annually
  • Up to 16 weeks of paid parental leave for biological and adoptive parents of all genders
  • Paid leave for circumstances related to bereavement, jury duty, voting time, or military leave

Pay Transparency

This is a full-time, exempt position eligible to receive a base salary and to participate in an annual performance bonus program. Final salary offered will be determined based on factors including but not limited to the candidate's skills and experience. The annual performance bonus program is preset and not candidate dependent.

Initial base salary range = $160,000.00 - $192,500.00

Internal leveling code: IC7