Program Lead Manager – Ambient Lighting

• Main interface between Fuerda R&D, production plant, logistics and sales in China and the customer in Germany.
• Driving and leading the team through all milestones from RFI/RFQ until SOP.
• Updating program open issues and driving the teams to close them.
• Meeting program gates through all project milestones.
• Providing internal advice on lighting development, simulations and mechanical concepts.
• Leading ambient lighting products with RGB modules for different Audi carlines: instrument panel, front/rear doors and first/second seat row products with curved light guides.

• Covering for 4 months during the current PM’s parental leave.
• Responsible for Porsche Cayenne battery system.
• Handling development tasks to achieve project milestones and goals.
• Interpreting validation tests for mechanical assembly.
• Working closely with all departments within the VW group.

In the Research & Development department:

• Managing product development for required functions (lighting design and mechanics).
• Ensuring technological and process know-how transfer as well as meeting quality, cost and deadline targets.
• Optimizing existing development processes together with lighting design.
• Contact with clients (VW, Audi, Ford, Lamborghini) and tool manufacturers.
• Identifying potential technical problems and implementing timely corrective actions to meet commitments and provide support to the technical mechanical leader and the global network.
• Ensuring worldwide support in TRW for developing lighting surfaces using OptisWorks inside SolidWorks.
• Developing lighting surfaces and light guides + selecting LEDs/materials.
• Performing single or multi-configuration simulations in OptisWorks, developing lighting components (e.g. light guides, reflectors), creating LEDs and materials in OptisWorks based on supplier data sheets, ray tracing, detector creation, light leakage and colorimetry analysis, etc.
• Projects: steering wheel switches (with or without touch pads), main light switches, sunroof switches, hazard warning lamp switches, console panel switch modules, in-car mobile phone lighting with rubber diffuse material, mirror lift switches, etc. for Audi, VW, Ford, Lamborghini.

In the Design & Development department:

• Preparing initial calculations for optical specifications and development using Helios and LucidShape optical software.
• Performing current calculations for optics evaluations and selecting the right LEDs.
• Conducting optics tolerance analyses.
• Setting and monitoring objectives with the product manager for quality, cost and schedule.
• Creating mechanical design solutions for devices, components and assemblies using CAD (Catia V5), based on client-provided designs, considering technical and economic aspects.
• Developing different automotive parts (beacons for mining, police, ambulance, construction; rear/head lamps for OEMs - VW, McLaren, Volvo, MAN, DAF; interior lamps for trucks, Daytime Running Lights, mirror signal lamps, etc.).
• Performing tolerance analyses using Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T).
• Taking part in FMEA (design-related) for whole assemblies, based on customer requirements (APIS tool).
• Developing Bill of Materials (BOM) in SAP/PDM.
• Continuous improvement by interpreting and applying technical information from internal or external sources, in agreement with superiors (marketing department, customer).
• Organizing data using SAP tools, PDM and Lotus.
• Preparing workflows for orders using e-Procurement.
• Providing technical support to sales and marketing.
• Proposing improvements and safety/environment measures.
• Engaging in design-to-cost activities in the production plant.
• Upgrading old bulb-version projects with LEDs: quotation, concept and design release phases, and follow-up for 2 months in production.