Chief Design Architect

About the job


Are you passionate about imagining and influencing the future through groundbreaking design? Do you want to bring Volvo Group and our truck brands as well as Volvo Construction Equipment and Volvo Penta into the future? Do you enjoy working at the exact crossroad of Design and Vehicle Platform Engineering? Would you want to be in the forefront of truly innovative, circular, modular, zero emission, autonomous and effortless vehicles, and experiences? Do you have an innovative, efficient, and first principles mindset?


At Volvo Group Design within Group Trucks Technology (GTT), we are now looking for a Chief Design Architect to join our dynamic and ambitious Advanced Design Team. You will play a crucial role in defining our future products by bringing Designs point of view when governing the future product architectures in tight collaboration with Vehicle Platform Engineering.


Your new colleagues


In this position, you will be part of an Advanced Design Team within a larger global design organization spanning sites in Sweden, US, and France. Your team is dedicated contributors of future product architectures, technologies, experiences, and larger eco-systems. The objectives of this team are to create the most user-friendly, safe, and efficient transport solution products. We're a team of skilled designers focused on creating innovative physical and digital products that meet future customer usage, transportation, and business needs.


The Advanced Design Teams role is to bring Designs insights, intentions, and requirements into the cooperation with Vehicle Engineering, CAST (Common Architecture & Shared Technologies) and Platform Development. We also identify, propose, and drive key Design initiatives.


You will be working in a small and dedicated team, networking with all our Design studios and the entire GTT. We take on exciting challenges within a positive atmosphere where team cooperation, different perspectives and doing your best are highly valued.


What will you do?


As Chief Design Architect, you will have the responsibility for both bridging Design and Engineering strategies as well as creatively provide the Design space for designers while also securing the most efficient, versatile, and futureproof platform engineering. You will bring forward Design intentions to platform development in various activities within GTT and across Business Areas within Volvo Group. You will lead, guide, and support highly skilled and motivated colleagues and work cross-functionally with relevant internal and external stakeholders and partners.


The position has three principal areas of responsibility
Architecture development: Work closely with GTT Vehicle Architecture Engineers to fully understand tomorrow’s business challenges, opportunities, and prerequisites in terms of future product portfolio, modularity, safety, features, technology, streams roadmaps, manufacturing, cost, and industry trajectories. This will secure that the Advanced Design Team works within the right design space and push the limit where relevant and possible.
Design Concept development: Lead deeper technical studies of concepts towards Innovations, great User Experiences, Ergonomics, Brand distinction, Personalization, Modularity, Sustainability, and other aspects where Design brings value to the table.
Design communication: Provide Design related input to platform engineering and architectural governance by constant dialogue and deep relationships through preparation of analysis, concepts, strategies, and decision material for various decision foras. Also make sure the Advanced Design team always are working on the latest set of information and decisions.



Within this role, you'll be responsible for representing the Advanced Design Teams in presentations to the Design Management Team, various GTT workshops, and decision forums. You'll collaborate closely with cross-truck Brand Design Directors to pinpoint upcoming product needs and explore fresh avenues for differentiation.


Ensuring a Designs input on a stable, lasting and versatile vehicle architecture for Volvo Group's truck brands will be a priority, achieved through your influential role in R&D activities, particularly emphasizing modular solutions and layout interfaces. Expect the closest cooperation with Advanced Engineering groups across diverse studies and projects.


Who are you?


You're an experienced Design Architect/Studio Engineer, driven by a passion to explore and innovate user-centric concepts. With a Bachelor’s degree in relevant Engineering or Design education, you bring ten years of experience in Design Architecture/Studio Engineering within the automotive product design realms. Any additional experience in pure platform and architecture engineering is a definite plus.


Your proficiency extends to Engineering and Design Software Tools such as CATIA, enabling you to deeply engage in analyzing and crafting architectural solutions hands-on. Your persona is characterized by a positive mindset and a determined "we-can-do-it" attitude, empowering you to drive initiatives both within and outside your organization confidently. Your strength lies in a profound technical and design acumen, understanding the intricate interplay of proportions, ergonomics, user experience, legal requirements, and engineering constraints.


Your profile encompasses a business-oriented visionary and problem solver, showcasing robust analytical and strategic skills. Excellent communication and presentation abilities complement your passion for influencing and inspiring others through factual reasoning, engaging, and influencing individuals at all levels. Naturally innovative, you possess creative leadership qualities that drive informal change, keeping ahead of the curve in a dynamic landscape.


What is our offer to you?


Volvo Group Design is the key function within Volvo Group to imagine future products, connect the dots between user/customer needs, tech streams and business objectives by forming future product experiences virtually and physically far into the future. Design of what to come products is a powerful tool to align stakeholders on all levels in the company on same scenarios to analyze and create common visions.