Engineering Launch Manager

About Lucid Motors Middle East

Lucid Motors Middle East focuses on creating mobility experiences through innovation, leveraging proprietary technology and software-defined vehicle architecture. The company operates with deep vertical integration, handling design, engineering, and production in-house across global facilities. Teams are drawn from various industries, united by a commitment to excellence.

The Role of Engineering Launch Manager

Lucid Motors Middle East is seeking an Engineering Launch Manager for a full-time position in Makkah, specifically King Abdullah Economic City. This role involves leading Plant Vehicle Engineering for Interior, Exterior, Seating, and Restraint systems during vehicle launch, production ramp-up, and ongoing manufacturing. The manager will connect Product Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Supplier Quality, Program Management, and Vehicle Integration to ensure high-quality vehicles and efficient issue resolution. The position requires 5-10 years of experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and develop a high-performing team through coaching, feedback, performance management, succession planning, and career development.
• Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, technical rigor, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
• Maintain team morale and engagement during demanding launch periods by setting clear priorities, recognizing contributions, balancing workloads, and providing timely support.
• Lead by example with a hands-on approach, strong work ethic, calm decision-making, and willingness to support the team during critical builds and production escalations.
• Lead, coach, and develop Plant Vehicle Engineers supporting various interior, exterior, seating, and restraint systems.
• Serve as the primary engineering escalation point for launch, production, supplier, quality, craftsmanship, fit and finish, dimensional, assembly, and cross-functional concerns.
• Oversee Immediate Corrective Action (ICA) and Permanent Corrective Action (PCA) execution, from containment and risk assessment through verified root cause, corrective action, validation, and sustainable closure.
• Guide the team in structured root cause analysis, including problem definition, data collection, fault isolation, 5 Why, fishbone, 8D, FMEA, and verification of corrective-action effectiveness.
• Ensure decisions are based on evidence, disciplined analysis, and clear validation plans, challenging unsupported conclusions.
• Define and maintain clear roles, responsibilities, system ownership, escalation paths, and decision rights, assigning accountable owners and due dates.
• Collaborate with engineering, manufacturing, quality, suppliers, and program teams to remove roadblocks and resolve issues affecting safety, vehicle quality, timing, cost, manufacturability, and customer experience.
• Establish operating rhythms for issue reviews, technical escalations, launch readiness, workload balancing, and leadership reporting.
• Support engineers in problem-solving and manage technical problems directly when necessary.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of automotive engineering experience, including leadership or people-management experience.
• Strong technical background in Interiors, Exteriors, Seating, Restraints, Vehicle Integration, Manufacturing, Quality, or Launch Engineering.
• Experience supporting vehicle launches, production ramp-ups, manufacturing operations, suppliers, and structured corrective-action processes.
• Excellent leadership, problem-solving, communication, organizational, and stakeholder-management skills.

Work Environment and Expectations

This role involves close collaboration with global teams across North America, Europe, and the Middle East. The manager must communicate effectively across cultures and time zones and be flexible to support early-morning or evening meetings, including calls with ******* engineering teams, as required by launch or business needs.