About the Role

Body Safety Design and Release Engineer (DRE)

Work Model: Hybrid

Primary Location: Mexico City / Toluca Metropolitan Area, Mexico

Position Overview The Body Safety Design and Release Engineer leads the design, integration, testing, validation, and production release of passive safety systems and crash energy management structural components. In this role, you will hold complete component ownership across occupant protection systems, front and rear impact management structures, side impact reinforcements, bumper beams, energy absorbers, and pedestrian protection systems from initial concept through vehicle launch. You will collaborate closely with Vehicle Safety and Crashworthiness CAE, Occupant Restraints, Body Architecture, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, and Tier 1 suppliers to ensure safety hardware satisfies stringent internal structural performance criteria and global regulatory crash mandates.

Responsibilities

- Safety System Design and Release Management
- Own component lifetime management for passive body safety commodities, including bumper energy absorbers, pedestrian protection impactors, structural crush cans, seatbelt anchorages, and structural safety reinforcements.
- Manage complex vehicle Bill of Materials (BOM), create engineering change notices, and execute part releases within corporate Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) environments.
- Apply Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T;) principles, perform 3D packaging analyses, and evaluate geometry using NX or CATIA to prevent interference with surrounding body and trim components.
- Lead root cause investigations (utilizing 8D, 5-Why, and Fishbone frameworks) for safety system package, manufacturing, or physical test failures.
- Crash Validation and Compliance
- Work directly with CAE crash simulation teams to evaluate structural deformation, energy absorption rates,



occupant acceleration curves, and intrusion prevention.
- Author, execute, and approve Design Verification Plans and Reports (DVP&R;) for full vehicle crash tests (frontal, side impact, rear impact, rollover) and component level safety drop tests.
- Develop and maintain Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (DFMEA) documents, establishing critical safety characteristics linked to manufacturing control plans.
- Track compliance with general vehicle safety regulations (US NCAP, Euro NCAP, FMVSS, IIHS top safety pick requirements).
- Supplier Integration and Manufacturing Support
- Interface with Tier 1 safety and structural suppliers to evaluate manufacturing feasibility (DFM/DFA) across metallic stampings, high strength aluminum extrusions, engineered plastics, and composite crash structures.
- Oversee prototype tooling creation, physical test sample preparation, and production readiness milestones with suppliers.
- Provide on site technical support at vehicle assembly plants during prototype builds, pilot runs, and launch execution (Job 1) to resolve assembly, clearance, and safety hardware fitment issues.
- Implement Value Analysis and Value Engineering (VAVE) initiatives to optimize component weight and cost while preserving structural safety margins.

Qualifications

- Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Materials Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.




- Between 3 and 5 years of direct engineering experience as a Design and Release Engineer specifically focused on body safety systems, crash structures, bumper systems, or safety related vehicle commodities.
- Proven experience managing automotive development gates, including APQP, PPAP, DFMEA, DVP&R;, and engineering release management.
- Solid technical knowledge of high strength energy absorbing materials (AHSS, high strain rate aluminum extrusions, structural foam, crash resistant plastics), spot welding, structural bonding, and mechanical fasteners.
- Hands on experience using automotive CAD and PLM platforms (NX/Teamcenter or Enovia/CATIA) for vehicle packaging and surface reviews.
- Advanced spoken and written professional communication skills in English and Spanish.
- Willingness to travel periodically to crash testing facilities, assembly plants, and supplier manufacturing sites.

Preferred Skills

- Advanced proficiency and practical expertise using Siemens NX for 3D modeling/surfacing and Teamcenter for engineering data management and release.
- Practical knowledge of physical crash test setup, instrumentation, dummy kinematics, and teardown evaluation procedures.
- Understanding of global consumer safety ratings (IIHS, Euro NCAP, US NCAP) and crashworthiness structural mechanics.
- Familiarity with GD&T; ASME Y14.5 standards and datum scheme definition for crash modules.

Required Skills

- Hands on experience using automotive CAD and PLM platforms (NX/Teamcenter or Enovia/CATIA) for vehicle packaging and surface reviews.
- Solid technical knowledge of high strength energy absorbing materials (AHSS, high strain rate aluminum extrusions, structural foam, crash resistant plastics), spot welding, structural bonding, and mechanical fasteners.
- Advanced spoken and written professional communication skills in English and Spanish.

📌 Body Safety Design and Release Engineer (DRE) (Ciudad de México)
🏢 Segula Technologies
📍 Ciudad de México