Principal Designer

Forvia, a sustainable mobility technology leader

Principal Studio Designer

FORVIA is a global leader in sustainable mobility technology. We design and deliver experiences that matter-at scale, with impact, and in close partnership with our OEM customers.
We are seeking a Principal Studio Designer to be a senior leader within our automotive design studio environment. This role is ideal for a designer who combines strong studio design leadership, technical credibility, and a customer-facing, business-development mindset.

Your mission, roles and responsibilities

Your Role
As a Principal Studio Designer, you will act as a senior design authority and ambassador for FORVIA Design, leading studio projects from early-phase concepts through customer engagement, RFQs, and execution. You will operate with a high degree of autonomy, represent the studio directly with OEM customers, and help position FORVIA's technologies and innovations to win new business.
This is a visible, outward-facing studio role with strong influence across design, engineering, and commercial teams.

What You'll Do
Studio Design Leadership
Lead automotive studio design projects involving internal design teams and external partners
Balance hands-on design contribution with hands-off leadership and direction
Provide senior-level expertise in product definition, design development, and execution
Lead and participate in studio design critiques, reviews, and workshops
Support and strengthen design studio practices and methodologies
Customer Interface & Business Development

Serve as a primary design representative with OEM customers and internal stakeholders
Build, maintain, and actively develop customer relationships
Leverage your customer and ecosystem network to support early-phase concepts, RFQs, and new business acquisition
Confidently present, defend, and evolve design proposals directly with customers
Promote FORVIA technologies and innovations through strong studio storytelling and design vision
Product, Process & Technical Alignment

Translate OEM and FORVIA requirements into clear, actionable design specifications
Analyze and clarify customer requirement documents and functional specifications
Ensure studio concepts are grounded in technical feasibility, ergonomics, and system integration
Apply strong understanding of automotive interior systems, including:
Displays and interaction systems (HMI / UX)

Seating comfort and kinematics
Instrument panels, center consoles, and door panels
People & Studio Collaboration

Lead project-based design contributors across local and global FORVIA design studios
Mentor designers and provide input on studio capability development
Collaborate across FORVIA's global design studio network
Support broader management and innovation initiatives as a senior studio leader
Willingness to travel frequently to customers and studio locations
Your profile and competencies to succeed

Experience & Education

Bachelor's degree in Design
5+ years of experience in Automotive or Product Design
Minimum 5 years within an automotive design studio environment
International experience a plus
Design & Technical Skills

Strong background in studio-based, system-level automotive design
Understanding of user-centered design (UX/UI, design thinking)
Experience with product and service concept creation (use-case driven, architecture-aware)
Strong visualization and communication skills
Proficiency in tools such as Alias, Maya, Blender, Gravity, Substance, Adobe Creative Suite, Vizcom, and AI-enabled design tools
Behavioral Profile

Extroverted, customer-oriented, and commercially minded
Comfortable networking, influencing, and negotiating at a senior level
Existing OEM relationships strongly preferred
Entrepreneurial mindset with high accountability and ownership
Decisive, proactive, and comfortable making tough calls
Global mindset with the ability to operate across cultures
What we can do for you

At Forvia, you will find an engaging and dynamic environment where you can contribute to the development of sustainable mobility leading technologies.
We are the seventh-largest global automotive supplier, employing more than 157,000 people in more than 40 countries which makes a lot of opportunity for career development.
We welcome energetic and agile people who can thrive in a fast-changing environment. People who share our strong values. Team players with a collaborative mindset and a passion to deliver high standards for our clients. Lifelong learners. High performers. Globally minded people who aspire to work in a transforming industry, where excellence, speed, and quality count.
We cultivate a learning environment, dedicating tools and resources to ensure we remain at the forefront of mobility. Our people enjoy an average of more than 22 hours of online and in-person training within FORVIA University (five campuses around the world)
We offer a multicultural environment that values diversity and international collaboration. We believe that diversity is a strength. To create an inclusive culture where all forms of diversity create real value for the company, we have adopted gender diversity targets and inclusion action plans.
Achieving CO2 Net Zero as a pioneer of the automotive industry is a priority: In June 2022, Forvia became the first global automotive group to be certified with the new SBTI Net-Zero Standard (the most ambitious standard of SBTi), aligned with the ambition of the 2015 Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Three principles guide our action: use less, use better and use longer, with a focus on recyclability and circular economy.

Why join us

FORVIA is an automotive technology group at the heart of smarter and more sustainable mobility. We bring together expertise in electronics, clean mobility, lighting, interiors, seating, and lifecycle solutions to drive change in the automotive industry.

With a history stretching back more than a century, we are the 7th largest global automotive supplier, employing more than 157,000 people in 43 countries. You'll find our technology in around 1 out of 2 vehicles produced anywhere in the world.

In June 2022, we became the 1st global automotive group to be certified with the SBTI Net-Zero Standard. We have committed to reach CO2 Net Zero by no later than 2045.

As technological innovation and the need for sustainability transform the automotive industry, we are ideally positioned to deliver solutions that will enhance the lives of road-users everywhere.