Lead creative designer - exteriors

Description

Onsite Warren, MI

You’ll be part of GM’s Exterior Design organization, a highly collaborative studio that partners closely with advanced and production design teams, digital and clay sculpting, engineering, and fabrication. The team works together to translate bold ideas into feasible, beautifully executed vehicles while maintaining a strong connection to brand identity and customer needs. Designers regularly engage with leadership, cross‑functional partners, and fellow creatives in a supportive environment that values innovation, craftsmanship, and pushing the boundaries of mobility design.

In this role, you will:

Create bold, fresh, future‑focused exterior design concepts through traditional sketching and digital workflows (2D and 3D).

Develop award‑winning ideas grounded in a deep understanding of customer needs, brand identity, and emerging mobility trends.

Partner frequently with sculpting, engineering, and fabrication to refine and execute designs that meet performance, feasibility, and aesthetic goals.

Apply strong design taste, intuition, craftsmanship, and accuracy backed by an impressive portfolio across production and/or advanced projects.

Present concepts regularly to design leadership, demonstrating design courage and a willingness to challenge convention.

Mentor and support less experienced designers to help elevate their craft and design execution.

Operate effectively under general guidance and deliver high‑quality work within a deadline‑driven environment.

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications):

5+ years of experience in exterior automotive design (production, advanced, or both).

Strong sketching, ideation, and visual storytelling abilities.

Proven ability to deliver high‑quality design solutions from concept through refinement.

Experience working collaboratively with sculpting, engineering, and cross‑functional teams.

Strong presentation skills and comfort sharing ideas with leadership.

Portfolio demonstrating strong exterior design craftsmanship, creativity, and process.

What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications):

Experience with common design tools such as:

Photoshop (2D visualization)

Blender or other 3D modeling tools

Vizcom or AI‑assisted concept tools

Alias or similar automotive surfacing/visualization tools

Bachelor’s degree in Transportation Design , Fine Arts , Automotive Design , or related field.

Experience mentoring junior designers.

GM does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. Do not apply for this role if you will need GM immigration sponsorship now or in the future. This includes direct company sponsorship, entry of GM as the immigration employer of record on a government form, and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (e.g., H1-B, OPT, STEM OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc.)

This role is categorized as onsite. This means the selected candidate is expected to report to a specific location on a full-time basis.

The selected candidate will be required to travel <25% for this role.

This job may be eligible for relocation benefits.

About GM

Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.

Why Join Us

We believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one General Motors team.

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Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities (U.S.)

General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of unlawful discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that providing an inclusive workplace creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers.

All employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to sex, race, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, disability, pregnancy or maternity status, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran or protected veteran, or any other similarly protected status in accordance with federal, state and local laws.

We encourage interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications for each role and apply for any positions that match their skills and capabilities. Applicants in the recruitment process may be required, where applicable, to successfully complete a role-related assessment(s) and/or a pre-employment screening prior to beginning employment. To learn more, visit How we Hire.

Accommodations

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