About this Chassis Engineer, Suspension role at Harbinger Motors Inc.
Harbinger Motors Inc. · Onsite · Garden Grove, CA
About Harbinger
Harbinger is an American commercial electric vehicle (EV) company on a mission to transform an industry starving for innovation. Harbinger’s best-in-class team of EV, battery, and drivetrain experts have pooled their deep experience to bring a first-of-its-kind EV platform to support the growing demand for medium-duty EVs and Hybrids. Harbinger: Familiar Form, Revolutionary Foundation.
Role Overview
As a Chassis Engineer, Suspension (Sustaining), you will be a critical member of the current production engineering team at Harbinger, responsible for maintaining, optimizing, and improving existing mechanical suspension systems for our medium-duty electric vehicle platforms. This role is heavily focused on product lifecycle management—driving cost reductions, resolving manufacturing and supplier quality issues, and implementing engineering changes to improve reliability. You will ensure that our electric vans and pickup trucks continue to deliver industry-leading durability, safety, and ride quality by closely monitoring field performance and executing continuous improvement initiatives.
Key Responsibilities
- Continuous Improvement & VAVE: Identify and lead Value Analysis/Value Engineering (VAVE) initiatives to reduce component costs, improve manufacturability, and optimize existing suspension assemblies without compromising performance.
- Root Cause Analysis: Lead 8D problem-solving investigations for suspension-related field failures, warranty claims, and manufacturing defects, driving issues to permanent resolution.
- Engineering Change Management: Author, review, and execute Engineering Change Requests/Orders (ECRs/ECOs) for running changes, ensuring accurate updates to 3D models, 2D drawings, and Bill of Materials (BOM).
- Manufacturing Support: Partner directly with the vehicle assembly plant to rapidly resolve line-stop issues, address packaging anomalies, and improve assembly ergonomics for suspension components.
- Supplier Quality & Resourcing: Collaborate with supply chain and current suppliers to resolve ongoing quality issues, approve PPAP (Production Part Approval Process) updates, and support the technical validation of new or alternative suppliers.
- Validation & Testing: Define and execute targeted Design Validation Plans (DVPs) specifically for design revisions, cost-down initiatives, or localized supplier changes.
- Documentation & PLM: Maintain and update component specifications, DFMEAs, and rigorous project issue lists to ensure the health of the product through its lifecycle.
Required Skills & Experience
- Education: Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (or a related field) + 5 years of relevant experience, OR a Bachelor’s degree + 7 years of relevant experience.
- Sustaining Engineering: At least 5 years of experience in automotive suspension engineering, specifically focused on current production, sustaining engineering, or quality resolution for commercial applications/pickup trucks.
- EV Specialization: Experience managing suspension systems for electric or hybrid vehicles in series production, with a deep understanding of EV-specific load paths and battery packaging constraints.
- CAD Mastery: Expert-level proficiency in CATIA v5 and/or v6, with strong abilities in updating complex kinematics models, clearance checking for running changes, and maintaining legacy CAD data.
- Manufacturing Expertise: Strong background in forging, casting, and stamping production processes, with a proven track record of diagnosing and resolving manufacturing defects.
- Load Path Analysis: Expert understanding of suspension load paths, static/dynamic loads, and how field wear-and-tear impacts moving and rotating components over time.
- Travel: Willingness to travel up to 20% domestically for supplier quality audits, assembly plant support, and testing.
Preferred Qualifications
- Current Production Track Record: Demonstrated experience managing series production engineering, specifically with successful warranty reduction and cost-saving (VAVE) campaigns.
- Cross-Functional Leadership: Strong ability to collaborate seamlessly with manufacturing, quality, service, and supply chain teams to resolve multi-disciplinary technical issues quickly.
- Commercial Acumen: Familiarity with the specific durability and payload requirements, as well as the typical failure modes, of the medium-duty delivery and logistics sector.
Key Benefits & Perks:
- Comprehensive Health, Dental & Vision (HDV) – 100% employee covered
- Early-stage Stock Options
- Robust Retirement Savings (401k, HSA, FSA)
- Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) & Parental Leave
- Annual Vacation Bonus
- Wellness & Fertility Benefits
- Cell Phone Stipend
- Complimentary Meals & Stocked Kitchens
California Pay Range
$120,000—$140,000 USD
Equal Opportunity
Harbinger is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information or characteristics, physical or mental disability, marital/domestic partner status, age, military/veteran status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Harbinger is committed to ensuring that our hiring process is accessible for persons with disabilities. If you have a disability or limitation, such as those covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, that requires accommodations to assist you in the search and application process, please email us at [email protected].
Candidate Data Privacy
Harbinger may collect, use and disclose your personal information or personal data (within the meaning of the applicable data protection laws) when you apply for employment and/or participate in our recruitment processes (“Candidate Personal Data”). This data includes contact, demographic, communications, educational, professional, employment, social media/website, network/device, recruiting system usage/interaction, security and preference information. Harbinger may use your Candidate Personal Data for the purposes of (i) tracking interactions with our recruiting system; (ii) carrying out, analyzing and improving our application and recruitment process, including assessing you and your application and conducting employment, background and reference checks; (iii) establishing an employment relationship or entering into an employment contract with you; (iv) complying with our legal, regulatory and corporate governance obligations; (v) recordkeeping; (vi) ensuring network and information security and preventing fraud; and (vii) as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law.
Harbinger may share your Candidate Personal Data with (i) internal personnel who have a need to know such information in order to perform their duties, including individuals on our HR, legal, and finance teams, and the team(s) with the position(s) for which you are applying; (ii) Harbinger affiliates; and (iii) Harbinger’s service providers, including providers of background checks, staffing services, and cloud services.
Harbinger may transfer or store internationally your Candidate Personal Data, including to or in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union and in the cloud, and this data may be subject to the laws and accessible to the courts, law enforcement and national security authorities of such jurisdictions.
Please note that we are currently not accepting applications from third party application services. Any unsolicited resumes or candidate profiles submitted in response to our job posting shall be considered the property of Harbinger and are not subject to payment of referral or placement fees if any such candidate is later hired by Harbinger unless you have a signed written agreement in place with us which covers the applicable job posting.
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