About Subaru
LOVE. It's what makes Subaru, Subaru®. As a leading auto brand in the US, we strive to be More Than a Car Company®. Subaru believes in being a positive force in the communities in which we live and work, not just with donations but with actions that set an example for others to follow. That's what we call our Subaru Love Promise®.
Subaru is a globally renowned automobile manufacturer known for its commitment to innovation, safety, and sustainability. With a rich history dating back to 1953, Subaru has consistently pushed the boundaries of automotive engineering to deliver vehicles that offer not only exceptional performance but also a unique blend of utility and adventure.
Subaru's company culture is built on collaboration, diversity, and a shared passion for our product. We foster an inclusive environment that encourages employees to bring their unique perspectives and talents to the table. Our team members are driven by a common goal: to create exceptional vehicles that inspire and delight our customers.
ROLE SUMMARY
The Research & Development (R&D) Engineer (ADAS & Vehicle Performance Engineering) researches, analyzes, recommends, implements, inspects, and verifies North American engineering activities as well as the
demands and characteristics of the United States market in order to recommend and define corporate goals and target
performance goals for future products.
Activities include:
-Internal research activities:
-Collaborative research with academia, technical consortiums, and other third-party institutions.
-Testing and evaluating new and/or novel technologies.
-Analyzing market and automotive technical trends.
-Assisting with the development of vehicles that meet the current and future demands of our customers while correlating testing with Japan counterparts and assisting with the development and execution of company infrastructure-related plans to support all aforementioned activities.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES
Vehicle Evaluation
- Evaluates competitor products and Subaru development mules and near-production and production vehicles to
identify weaknesses and strengths in the areas including but not limited to ride; handling; braking; drivability; stability;
ride comfort; visibility; noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH); heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); usability,
etc.
Vehicle Benchmarking
- Coordinates and manages the research, evaluation, and analyses of automotive components as well as competitor
vehicle features and performance to guide benchmark vehicle selection and enhance the customer's safety, experience,
and convenience of using Subaru vehicles, either independently or upon request by Subaru.
Coordinates and manages benchmarking activities of competitor vehicles.
Manages, coordinates, and executes the rental of competitor vehicles for benchmarking purposes.
Provides feedback of benchmarking results to Subaru Corporation (SBR) to guide development of next generation
vehicles and maintain Subaru's competitive edge.
Research & Development Activities
- Plans, coordinates, manages, and executes surveys, market research research and evaluation, collaboration with
academia and other third-party institutions, and data analysis of particular automotive components in order to inform the
direction of future research and Subaru technology. This includes evaluating Subaru vehicles and consumer goods and
the environment that they are frequently used in by the U.S. customer. This can apply to components such as exterior,
interior usability, sound design, sustainability/sustainable materials, recycled plastics, advanced driver-assistance
systems (ADAS), electric vehicle (EV) batteries, and Zero Fatalities goals.
- Plans, coordinates, and executes surveys and field research trips to identify customer opinions, needs, and personas
in order to develop use-case scenarios, inform development targets, and ensure palatability to the U.S. market. Topics
include but are not limited to EVs and user experience (UX).
- Plans, coordinates, manages, and measures vehicle factors such as active noise cancellation (ANC), acceleration
noise/vibration, wind noise, road noise/vibration, charging noise/vibration, etc. and implements results into next generation mass-production vehicles.
Provides findings and feedback of results to SBR, SIA, and/or SOA.
Promotes work not only for qualitative evaluation, but also to be able to set the required characteristics numerically to
drop them into the drawings.
- Develops tools for efficient numerical analysis and makes full use of Python, etc., to link the sensations felt by people
with numerical values, clarify the correlation, and incorporate the values into drawings as requirement values.
- Using computer-aided design (CAD), virtual reality (VR), three-dimensional (3D) printers, and computer numerical
control (CNC) mills, creates fabrications and mockups and conducts surveys of customers using those fabrications and
mockups to reflect the results in future vehicles.
- Investigates, analyzes, and shares information about external potential partners and vendors such as recycled plastic
suppliers and EV battery recyclers, repairers, and remanufacturers.
General
- Conducts research and performance evaluations of new technologies, competitive products, and as directed by
project managers as a means to drive new innovative features and functions.
- Coordinates various research programs requested by the SBR Engineering department in Japan or at North American
Subaru, Inc. Research & Development (NASI R&D), which includes gathering research/intelligence on competitive
products and providing feedback to SBR.
Keeps in good working order test equipment and test vehicles under Subaru R&D's charge.
Keeps up to date on industry-related information by attending meetings and conferences and reading industry journals
as well as talking to contacts in other companies and leverages gained information to drive new innovative features and
functions.
- Maintains and coordinates the repair of existing testing equipment and purchases or recommends new equipment as
needed to fulfill or expand NASI R&D's capability.
- Prepares detailed reports, surveys, research of technical information, and competitive analysis, either independently
or upon request by SBR and NASI R&D.
Supports visiting or internally developed test teams throughout the United States.
Works and trains with Subaru engineers in Japan to learn and understand procedures, equipment, and methodology
and subsequently safely, accurately, and proficiently executes them in the U.S.
- Works as part of engineering teams from both the U.S. and Japan to meet each team's goals either remotely or in
person.
- Maintains internal benchmarking results database and coordinates with other engineers in data entry into the
database.
- Using a variety of informational resources, research and studies governmental regulations and industry group
standards to provide preplanning of SBR's North American product lines.
Plans, supports, and manages testing and development activities by contracted third-party entities.
Researches and evaluates third-party contract testing service providers and provides feedback and information for
vendor selection process.
Performs special projects and other miscellaneous duties as assigned by management.
Reports all irregular issues and problems to supervisor for resolution.
Maintains a clean and safe working area.
Observes and maintains all internal and external safety regulations and procedures in the areas of safety,
competency, and technique, as needed.
- Maintains good communication and harmonious relations wi
