Position Title:   Senior Designer for Components, Lighting & Exterior Experience

Duration:  Contract

Location:   Gothenburg, Sweden

Role Purpose

• Our customer is looking for a highly experienced consultant to provide Snr Exterior Components & Lighting Designer support to the Exterior Experience Design team
• The assignment is focused on the creative development, design maturation and delivery of exterior components and automotive lighting solutions, with particular emphasis on lighting as a key element of vehicle identity, technology expression and brand differentiation.
• The role requires a senior automotive designer combining strong creative judgement with proven experience in component design, lighting design, 3D development and production feasibility.
• The consultant must be able to work independently, contribute immediately to active vehicle programmes and develop design solutions from early ideation through detailed digital development and production oriented execution.
• Automotive lighting is evolving rapidly from a primarily functional component into an increasingly important part of brand identity, vehicle communication, user experience and digital expression.
• The assignment therefore requires a designer with a strong awareness of current and emerging lighting
• technologies and the ability to translate technological opportunities into distinctive, sophisticated and feasible exterior design solutions.

Exterior Components & Lighting Design Development

• The consultant will support the Exterior Design team in the development and maturation of exterior components and lighting design proposals.
• create and develop high-quality exterior component and lighting design proposals for advanced and production vehicle programmes;
• develop front and rear lighting concepts, including DRL signatures, position lamps, rear lamp graphics and other illuminated exterior elements;
• create distinctive day and night identities that support the Lynk & Co design language and individual vehicle character;
• develop exterior components including lighting assemblies, technology bands, grilles, decorative elements, trims and other integrated exterior details where required;
• explore component architecture, graphics, proportion, depth, layering, transparency, materiality and perceived quality;
• develop multiple clearly differentiated creative directions when required;
• translate early 2D concepts into convincing and accurately resolved 3D design solutions;
• refine component designs through successive design reviews and project maturity phases;
• ensure consistency between component design, whole-vehicle design intent and overall brand identity;
• prepare and deliver clear visual and verbal design presentations for senior design management and project stakeholders.

Lighting Technology, Innovation and Feasibility Integration

• The consultant must combine strong creative capability with an up-to-date understanding of automotive lighting technology and its impact on exterior design.
• remain informed about state-of-the-art and emerging automotive lighting technologies and identify relevant opportunities for future vehicle programmes;
• explore applications of technologies such as advanced LED systems, micro-LED, pixel lighting, matrix lighting, projection systems, illuminated surfaces, transparent and semi-transparent materials and dynamic light graphics;
• investigate opportunities for increasingly integrated and digitally controlled lighting solutions;
• understand the interaction between optical architecture, packaging, thermal requirements, component depth, electronics, materials and exterior surface design;
• collaborate closely with lighting engineering and suppliers to understand technological opportunities and limitations;
• contribute to the development of lighting concepts combining strong visual identity with technical feasibility and production readiness;
• understand relevant homologation, functional and regulatory constraints influencing exterior lighting design;
• evaluate proposals against manufacturing feasibility, cost, packaging and component integration requirements;
• support the resolution of technical constraints without unnecessarily compromising the original design intent;   
• contribute to discussions involving sensors, cameras, ADAS hardware and other technologies increasingly integrated into exterior components and lighting systems.
• The objective is not only to respond to existing technical solutions, but also to identify new creative opportunities enabled by technological development.

Digital Design Development and Production Integration

• The consultant must be able to work efficiently from early concept development through detailed digital and production-oriented design phases.
• work closely with CAS, Alias, Blender, visualisation and physical modelling teams;
• guide and evaluate 3D development of exterior components and lighting systems;
• provide clear design direction regarding surfaces, graphics, sections, depth, radii, interfaces and component relationships;
• support translation of design intent into technically accurate 3D data;
• review component development regularly and identify design-quality issues at an early stage;
• work with Studio Engineering and project engineering teams to resolve package, feasibility and manufacturing constraints;
• understand component split lines, interfaces, tolerances, attachment principles and other design-relevant production requirements;
• assess physical and digital prototypes for proportions, surface quality, graphics, optical
• appearance and perceived quality;
• contribute to design maturation through prototype, model and production-development phases;
• help ensure that design intent remains strong throughout engineering development and supplier implementation;
• support design releases and final design-quality assessments when required. 

Cross-Functional and Cross-Cultural Project Support

• The consultant will operate in an international development environment involving close collaboration between Sweden, China, suppliers and other global engineering partners.
• participate actively in project and design reviews with Sweden- and China-based stakeholders;
• prepare structured design material for internal, project and executive reviews;
• communicate design intent clearly across design, engineering, programme and supplier organisations;
• work effectively with lighting engineering, Studio Engineering, Product, Vehicle Architecture, digital modelling and manufacturing functions;
• support alignment between creative ambition, technical requirements and programme objectives;
• collaborate directly with component and lighting suppliers when required;
• contribute to efficient decision-making between design and engineering teams;
• communicate effectively across different cultures, functions and seniority levels;

Qualifications and Skills Required

Required:

• minimum 5 years of professional experience in automotive exterior design;
• proven experience specifically related to automotive exterior components and/or automotive lighting design;
• strong background in exterior design development within an automotive OEM, advanced design studio or recognised automotive design consultancy;
• experience working on production and/or advanced vehicle programmes;
• proven ability to develop design proposals from early ideation through detailed 3D and production-oriented development;
• strong portfolio demonstrating high-level exterior component design capability and design maturity;
• demonstrable understanding of automotive lighting design and its contribution to vehicle identity;
• experience collaborating with automotive engineers, digital modellers, lighting specialists and suppliers;
• experience working within multidisciplinary automotive development organisations;
• ability to become operational quickly and contribute to active programmes with limited onboarding.

Design and Technical Skills

Required:

• excellent automotive exterior design judgement
• strong sensitivity to lighting graphics, illuminated signatures and day/night vehicle identity;
• strong understanding of the automotive exterior design process from concept through production feasibility;
• ability to develop sophisticated component concepts within complex packaging and engineering constraints;
• ability to guide CAS, Alias, Blender and other digital-model development;
• strong understanding of automotive exterior components, interfaces, materials and manufacturing principles;
• ability to translate 2D creative intent into high-quality and technically resolved 3D execution;
• good understanding of lighting architecture and optical/package constraints relevant to automotive design;
• awareness of current and emerging automotive lighting technologies;
• understanding of exterior integration involving sensors, cameras, ADAS hardware and other technology components;
• ability to balance creative ambition with engineering, homologation, cost and production constraints;
• ability to create or direct high-quality visual material for design and executive decision-making.

IT / Software Requirements

• Alias;
• Photoshop / Illustrator;
• Blender;
• VRED / KeyShot;
• Vizcom and other relevant AI-assisted design and visualisation tools
• Experience with additional automotive design, rendering, animation or lighting-development tools is an advantage.
• Hands-on digital capability is important for this assignment.
• The consultant is expected not only to evaluate design work, but also to be capable of personally generating, developing and communicating high-quality design proposals at Senior level.

The assignment includes travel to China.