Test Fleet Engineer - DLCM

Volkswagen - Allendale, NJ

Full-time - Mid Level

Allendale, NJ

Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers

About the position

The Test Fleet Engineer for Digital LifeCycle Management (DLCM) at Volkswagen Group of America plays a crucial role in ensuring the seamless operation and testing of vehicles. This position is centered around the holistic approach to updating customer vehicles, either over the air or through dealer campaigns. The engineer will be responsible for conducting effective testing, reporting, and supporting the repair and updating of DLCM test vehicles in a timely manner, ensuring that there are no delays for Start of Production (SOP) and no unexpected field complaints. This role requires a deep understanding of vehicle backend configuration and communication across various integration levels, as well as the ability to perform on-site technical analysis on reported issues with VW, Audi, and other VW Group test vehicles, parts, and components. The engineer will validate customer complaints and provide a comprehensive technical understanding to support the development of countermeasures. Effective communication with different stakeholders is essential, as the engineer will need to align with the DLCM campaign coordinator to ensure the online readiness of test vehicles. The role also involves root cause analysis of connected service issues, ensuring the quality of analysis on DLCM-related test results, and documenting all findings within a ticket system. The engineer will work closely with technicians and station coordinators to ensure that vehicle updates are performed correctly and in a timely manner, including both hardware and software changes. In addition to the primary responsibilities, the engineer will participate in test trips across the U.S. and Canada to expand the testing area and maximize testing synergies with the engineering team. This position requires flexibility, as business trips to various locations, including Germany, may be necessary, and longer days or weekend work may be required on occasion.

Responsibilities

• Align with DLCM campaign coordinator to ensure online readiness of test vehicles.
• Conduct root cause analysis of connected service issues between vehicle and backend structures in both EU & NAR (Pre-Prod & Prod).
• Ensure online readiness of test vehicles prior to DLCM campaign rollout.
• Ensure analysis quality on DLCM related test results.
• Investigate and report issues on test vehicles and request additional tracing equipment if necessary.
• Document all findings within the ticket system and present findings to stakeholders in a clear, structured way.
• Align with station coordinators to ensure vehicle updates are performed properly and in a timely manner.
• Provide instructions for vehicle preparation and updates, including hands-on support within workshop activities for DLCM vehicles.
• Support ongoing troubleshooting when updates fail, including creation and distribution of update procedures.
• Align with Data Acquisition/IT Team to ensure appropriate data recording and quality, and support Data Logger installation in test vehicles.
• Participate in test trips to different locations across the US and Canada to enlarge testing area.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in Engineering, Development & Testing.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering.
• Familiarity with Electric/Electronic applications and vehicle development.
• Knowledge of basic vehicle connectivity.
• In-depth system knowledge of Audi/Volkswagen vehicles with a focus on Infotainment and connectivity.
• Ability to operate effectively and efficiently in a team.
• Multitasking, self-organized, and problem-solving oriented.
• Analytical and conceptual thinking skills.
• Strong communication skills, including interpersonal, presentation, and written communication.
• Experience in infotainment analysis, updates, and diagnosis.
• Experience in vehicle BUS systems and analysis.

Nice-to-haves

• Familiarity with vehicle connectivity backend setup and structure.
• Familiarity with development tools and diagnostics equipment used by Volkswagen Group Engineering.
• Project coordination experience.
• Knowledge about Vehicle Backend structure within Volkswagen Group.
• Experience in automotive test data collection.