Lead Brand Architect Car Audio

Introduction: A Career at HARMAN Automotive

Were a global multi-disciplinary team thats putting the innovative power of technology to work and transforming tomorrow. At HARMAN Automotive we give you the keys to fast-track your career.

• Engineer audio systems and integrated technology platforms that augment the driving experience

• Combine ingenuity in-depth research and a spirit of collaboration with design and engineering excellence

• Advance in-vehicle infotainment safety efficiency and enjoyment

About the Role

As the Lead Systems Architect for one of our premium brands in Car Audio you will translate brand and customer experience vision into scalable production-ready technical solutions.

Youll define system architecture technical strategy and feature pipelines that power both demo vehicles and production programs with a strong focus on reuse performance and feasibility.

This role serves as the primary technical authority across hardware software and system integrationpartnering closely with brand product and OEM stakeholders.

Your Team

• Reports to the Brand Owner

• Individual contributor with high cross-functional influence

What You Will Do

Technical Strategy & Architecture

• Translate experience vision into technical architecture feature concepts and implementation strategy

• Define system architecture NFRs and technical enablers across audio and infotainment systems

• Establish scalable designs supporting 80% reuse into production programs

• Lead feasibility risk assessment and go/no-go decisions

• Define and maintain the architectural roadmap and runway

Product & Innovation Leadership

• Evaluate emerging audio UI/UX and infotainment technologies

• Drive innovation in system design audio performance and user experience

• Convert customer and user needs into detailed engineering requirements

• Identify and define enablers required to deliver experiences

• Leverage Enterprise AI tools to support all aspects of the product lifecycle

Customer & Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as primary technical interface with OEM customers and partners

• Align long-term architecture and integration strategies with customer roadmaps

• Collaborate across internal engineering product and innovation teams

Delivery & Execution

• Enable teams to deliver high-quality features with speed and reliability

• Support demo vehicle builds and feature integration

• Ensure compliance with NFRs system performance and stability

• Contribute to PI Planning and Agile delivery within SAFe frameworks

What You Need to Be Successful

Core Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering Acoustics or related field

• 15 years in automotive audio or technology systems

• 5 years in technical leadership or customer-facing roles

• Deep expertise in automotive audio and infotainment system architecture

• Strong understanding of hardware/software integration and system design

• Proven ability to influence OEMs partners and internal stakeholders

Technical Expertise

• Audio systems acoustics and sound tuning

• Infotainment architectures and in-vehicle systems

• Software/hardware tradeoffs and system-level design

• Feature definition and technical requirement synthesis

Leadership & Soft Skills

• Strategic thinker with strong problem-solving skills

• Excellent communication across technical and executive audiences

• Ability to operate in fast-paced cross-functional environments

Bonus Points if You Have

• Masters or PhD degree in Electrical Engineering Acoustics or related field

• Experience in Luxury Audio or Premium Automotive Brands

• Specific experience in three or more of the following fields: signal flow design UI/UX design electronics engineering transducer engineering acoustic engineering digital signal processing psychoacoustics and recording arts.

Success Metrics (KPIs)

• Feature and enabler delivery throughput

• System performance and NFR compliance

• Asset reuse across programs

• Integration stability and quality

• PI predictability and delivery accuracy

What Makes You Eligible

• Be willing to travel up to 25% domestic and international travel

• Be willing to work in a hybrid office environment in our Novi MI location

• Successfully complete a background investigation and drug screen as a condition of employment

What We Offer

• Flexible work environment allowing for full-time remote work globally for positions that can be performed outside a HARMAN or customer location

• Access to employee discounts on world-class Harman and Samsung products (JBL HARMAN Kardon AKG etc.)

• Extensive training opportunities through our own HARMAN University

• Competitive wellness benefits

• Tuition reimbursement

• Be Brilliant employee recognition and rewards program

• An inclusive and diverse work environment that fosters and encourages professional and personal development

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HARMAN is proud to be an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard torace religion color national origin gender (including pregnancy childbirth or related medical conditions) sexual orientation gender identity gender expression age status as a protected veteran status as an individual with a disability or other applicable legally protected characteristics.