Motorsports Full-Vehicle Test Cell Leader

Job Description

At GM Motorsports, we are driven by a clear purpose: to accelerate our teams’ ability to win on the racetrack and in the marketplace. Our vision is to be the benchmark of global motorsports excellence, inspiring enduring passion for our brands and products through world-class performance, innovation, and teamwork. We are looking for people who share our mindset and core values — ownership in organizational success, a commitment to add value to our team, and the courage to reject mediocrity in pursuit of exceptional results.

The Role

GM Motorsports is seeking an experienced engineering leader for the Charlotte Technical Center full-vehicle test cell and its connected simulation capabilities. This people leader role will lead a focused team of highly technical personnel and establish the strategy, talent, processes, and technology needed to deliver safe, reliable, and high-value testing for Motorsports programs, race team partners and GM production groups.

Alongside its core test-cell responsibilities, the role will help advance a connected development capability linking powertrain and full-vehicle dynamometers with driver-in-the-loop simulation, real-time models, controls, and analysis. This capability will support faster calibration, improved correlation, and more efficient use of limited track testing time.

What You’ll Do

Lead the Organization

- Lead, develop, retain, and hold accountable a high-performing team of dyno and simulation specialists.

- Set priorities, staffing plans, performance expectations, and development goals aligned with Motorsports and future propulsion needs.

- Build a culture of safety, ownership, innovation, technical excellence, inclusion, and continuous improvement.

- Transfer relevant Motorsports technologies and capabilities to GM production-vehicle development organizations.

Own the Test-Cell Capability

- Own the performance, reliability, capability roadmap, and operating model of the full-vehicle test cell.

- Lead the use and continued advancement of powertrain and full-vehicle dynamometer systems supporting ICE, hybrid, and EV programs.

- Maintain effective interfaces among dyno systems, instrumentation, controls, data acquisition, automation, and supporting simulation tools.

- Improve test-cell methods, safeguards, documentation, and standard work to increase repeatability, data quality, and customer value.

- Represent the organization in capital planning, equipment selection, facility development, commissioning, and operating-model decisions.

Integrate Programs and Partners

- Serve as the technical integrator across race-program propulsion systems and related Motorsports engineering functions.

- Align vehicle dynamics, propulsion, controls, calibration, integration, instrumentation, data engineering, facilities, safety, procurement, suppliers, and race team partners.

- Translate technical complexity into clear development strategies, business value, decisions, risks, and trade-offs.

- Establish model-correlation, validation, signal, and test standards across connected development environments.

Direct Test Strategy and Execution

- Plan and prioritize full-vehicle and powertrain dynamometer testing across programs, customers, staffing, resources, and facility constraints.

- Lead test-plan development, vehicle and equipment readiness reviews, installation and instrumentation coordination, test execution, session closeout, and issue resolution.

- Establish consistent operating procedures and test methods that deliver safe, repeatable, high-quality data.

- Coordinate staffing, shift coverage, customer requirements, materials, and facility availability to support planned and emergent testing.

- Review test results, anomalies, equipment status, and data quality; communicate findings, risks, and schedule impacts to program and race team partners.

- Coordinate with controls, simulation, calibration, and vehicle-dynamics teams when test methods require supporting models or closed-loop development.

Ensure Safe, Reliable Operations

- Own safe and compliant operation of high-voltage electrified systems, high-speed rotating machinery, vehicles, and integrated dyno environments.

- Direct maintenance, preventive maintenance, calibration, reliability, and operational-readiness activities for test-cell assets and facility systems.

- Drive uptime, throughput, repeatability, data quality, cost effectiveness, and customer experience through fact-based problem solving and root-cause analysis.

- Stop, delay, or reschedule work when the vehicle, test cell, facility systems, or test setup are not in a safe or acceptable condition.

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.

- Ten or more years of progressive professional engineering experience in dynamometer operations, test-cell operations, propulsion, automotive testing, motorsports, controls, simulation, or a related technical field.

- Demonstrated experience leading people or complex technical programs, including setting direction, developing talent, assigning work, and delivering results through others.

- Demonstrated experience leading full-vehicle or powertrain dynamometer and test-cell operations, including scheduling, readiness, execution, and closeout.

- Experience operating, supporting, or managing AVL dynamometer systems and associated test-cell equipment, instrumentation, or facility systems.

- Working knowledge of laboratory safety, high-voltage systems, high-speed rotating machinery, maintenance, calibration, commissioning, and operational readiness.

- Experience with real-time simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, or a comparable simulation-based development environment.

- Strong understanding of engineering test methods, instrumentation, troubleshooting, data quality, equipment reliability, and root-cause problem solving.

- Ability to prioritize multiple programs, make timely decisions under pressure, and communicate effectively with technical and nontechnical stakeholders.

- Willingness and ability to work full-time onsite, support nonstandard hours when required, and travel in support of Motorsports activities.

What Will Give you a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications)

- Master’s degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline.

- Experience with driver-in-the-loop, powertrain-in-the-loop, vehicle-in-the-loop, software-in-the-loop, or other XiL environments beyond basic simulation or HiL use.

- Experience integrating simulation, vehicle-dynamics models, controls, instrumentation, and dyno systems, including model correlation to hardware or track data.

- Controls engineering or control-systems development experience.

- Experience with AVL dynamometer systems such as PUMA, RVS, Concerto, or Indicom, and with real-time platforms such as dSPACE, NI, or Speedgoat.

- Experience with modeling and simulation tools such as Simulink, AVL RVS, GT-SUITE, Amesim, CarSim, or IPG, including FMI/FMU co-simulation.

- Experience with electrified propulsion systems and advanced controls such as torque arbitration, energy management, torque vectoring, or energy optimization.

- Professional motorsports experience, including race team, trackside, test, development, competition engineering, or track-correlation work.

- Experience defining technical roadmaps, capability-investment strategies, capital plans, facility-development plans, or technology-transfer activities.