Application Engineer - Automotive Motors & Actuators

Join Our Team as an Applications Engineer - Automotive Motors & Actuators at Johnson Electric!

Location: Plymouth, MI (onsite)
Vacancy Type: Existing Position
Schedule: Full-Time
Travel: 10–20%

As our next Applications Engineer - Automotive Motors & Actuators, you’ll serve as a key technical interface between Johnson Electric and automotive OEM and Tier 1 customers. You’ll support automotive product-development programs from RFQ and requirements definition through validation, PPAP, and production launch, working with brushed and brushless motors, sensors, actuators, and related electromechanical technologies.

This is a hands-on, customer-facing engineering role for someone who can translate customer requirements into practical technical solutions, present confidently to automotive customers, and coordinate effectively with engineering, manufacturing, commercial, and global development teams.

Why You’ll Love Working Here:

• Customer & Technical Impact: Work directly with automotive OEM and Tier 1 customers to solve technical challenges and support new product development.
• Advanced Technologies: Work with brushed and brushless motors, sensors, actuators, and electromechanical automotive applications.
• Global Collaboration: Partner with customers, manufacturing locations, and engineering teams across North America and internationally.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Serve as a technical interface for automotive OEM and Tier 1 customers, supporting technical presentations, customer meetings, product reviews, RFQs, build events, and engineering discussions.
• Lead and support product-development activities for brushed and brushless motor, sensor, actuator, and related automotive applications from requirements definition through validation, PPAP, and production launch.
• Translate customer requirements into clear technical specifications while maintaining product requirements, engineering decisions, changes, risks, and development documentation.
• Coordinate activities across Engineering, Operations, Product Release, Business Development, Sales, Purchasing, Program Management, manufacturing plants, and global engineering teams.
• Apply APQP and automotive product-development practices, including DFMEA, PFMEA, Control Plans, Design Validation, Product Validation, PPAP, and structured risk-management activities.
• Evaluate technical solutions for performance, quality, cost, manufacturability, reliability, and production readiness, including considerations related to plastic injection, metal stamping, GD&T, and tolerance analysis.
• Provide technical support for customer concerns, manufacturing issues, product-quality investigations, and complex engineering problems through structured root-cause and corrective-action methods.
• Communicate project status, technical risks, recommendations, corrective actions, and engineering decisions clearly to customers, global teams, and internal stakeholders.

What We’re Looking For:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related engineering discipline.
• 3–5 years of hands-on automotive engineering experience, including experience supporting automotive OEM and/or Tier 1 customers.
• 3–5 years of experience working with brushed and brushless motors, sensors, actuators, or related electromechanical automotive products.
• Strong customer-facing experience, including technical presentations, requirements discussions, engineering reviews, and communication with automotive customers.
• Working knowledge of automotive product-development and APQP processes, including DFMEA, PFMEA, Control Plans, Design Validation, Product Validation, and PPAP.
• Strong technical problem-solving skills with the ability to evaluate product performance, manufacturability, engineering risks, and corrective actions; experience with GD&T, tolerance analysis, and manufacturing processes is valuable.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication, organization, collaboration, and project-coordination skills, with the ability to work effectively across global and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to travel approximately 10–20%, including primarily domestic customer travel and occasional international travel, and flexibility to participate in occasional late-evening meetings with global teams.

Bonus Points If You Have:

• Direct development or customer-support experience with companies such as AAM, Dana, BorgWarner, TI Fluid Systems, FORVIA HELLA, Astemo, or comparable automotive OEM/Tier 1 organizations.
• Mechanical CAD experience using SolidWorks or Solid Edge.
• Experience developing washer pumps, engine components, chassis products, or other motor-driven automotive systems.
• Experience with Red X, Six Sigma Green Belt/Black Belt methodologies, digital-twin development, or additional structured engineering problem-solving approaches.
• Knowledge of AI tools and applications, with an interest in responsibly applying AI to engineering analysis, product development, problem-solving, or workflow improvement.

How to Apply: Apply online at www.johnsonelectric.com. We can’t wait to meet you!

Come join our global, inclusive & diverse team

Our purpose is to improve the quality of life of everyone we touch through our innovative motion systems. We are a truly global team bound together by our shared values. Our culture is built on the diversity, knowledge, skills, creativity, and talents that each employee brings to the company. Our people are our company’s most valuable asset. We are committed to providing an inclusive, diverse and equitable workplace where employees of different backgrounds feel valued and respected, regardless of their age, gender, race, ethnicity or religious background. We are committed to inspiring our employees to grow, act with ownership and find fulfilment and meaning in the work they do.