Technical Project Lead – Product Development (R&D)

About the role

As a Technical Project Lead in our Automotive R&D Center, you will drive the development of new product and component variants, translating customer and stakeholder requirements into robust technical solutions. You will lead cross‑functional teams and act as the main technical interface across design, simulation, testing, and production.

Key responsibilities

• Manage and develop product/component requirements with internal and external customers.
• Derive technical solutions from existing portfolios and initiate new variant development when needed.
• Coordinate and lead multidisciplinary teams using development methodologies such as LHPH, FMA, FMEA, DRBFM, and 8D.
• Represent engineering work to steering committees, customers, and partners.
• Create, monitor, and fulfill development and validation plans according to project timelines.
• Analyze validation reports, perform data analysis, and support product/component release.
• Maintain up‑to‑date product design documentation and ensure product quality.
• Support production and purchasing with engineering issues, risk assessments, and change requests.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics, Industrial Engineering or a related field.
• Experience in automotive components and systems is preferred.
• Familiarity with project and engineering change processes in an automotive environment.
• Knowledge of product development methods such as LHPH, FMA, DRBFM, FMEA, and 8D.
• Independent, well‑structured, goal‑oriented working style with an entrepreneurial mindset.
• High resilience, willingness to take responsibility and make decisions with limited information.
• Strong team‑management skills and ability to drive teams toward common goals.
• Effective communication and presentation abilities.
• Fluent English; Japanese language knowledge is a plus.
• International or intercultural experience.

Required skills

• LHPH methodology
• FMA (Failure Mode Analysis)
• FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis)
• DRBFM (Design Review Based on Failure Mode)
• 8D problem‑solving process
• Design tools (CAD, etc.)
• Simulation tools
• Testing and validation techniques
• Data analysis for product release
• Risk assessment
• Engineering change management