Director, Electrical Systems & Integration

About Blue Bird Corporation

Blue Bird (NASDAQ: BLBD) is recognized as a technology leader and innovator of school buses since its founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design, engineer and manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability, and durability. School buses carry the most precious cargo in the world – 25 million children twice a day – making them the most trusted mode of student transportation. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 25,000 propane, natural gas, and electric powered buses sold. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions. For more information on Blue Bird’s complete product and service portfolio, visit www.blue-bird.com.

 

JOB SUMMARY

The Director, Electrical Systems & Integration is responsible for the strategy, architecture, integration, and execution of vehicle electrical and electromechanical systems across complex vehicle platforms. This role serves as the executive technical leader responsible for high-voltage systems, low-voltage architecture, propulsion electronics, controls integration, electrical distribution, vehicle communication networks, and electromechanical subsystem integration from concept through production launch and field support. You will lead cross-functional engineering execution across internal teams, suppliers, and external engineering partners while establishing scalable engineering structures, technical standards, integration strategies, and organizational capability required to support rapidly evolving vehicle platforms. Success in this role requires strong systems thinking, technical depth, organizational leadership, and the ability to drive alignment and execution in fast-moving environments where architectures, requirements, and technologies evolve simultaneously. This is not a traditional functional engineering management role. This is a high-accountability technical leadership position for someone who wants meaningful ownership over the electrical architecture and systems integration strategy of next-generation vehicle platforms.

 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Electrical Systems Strategy & Architecture: Lead development of vehicle electrical architecture strategy across high-voltage systems, low-voltage systems, controls integration, electrical distribution, communication networks, and electromechanical subsystems.
• Vehicle Systems Integration Leadership: Drive electrical and electromechanical integration across propulsion, chassis, controls, thermal, software, manufacturing, and vehicle platform teams to ensure complete vehicle functionality and production readiness.
• Controls & Communication Architecture: Oversee development and integration of vehicle communication networks, controls systems, diagnostics, software interfaces, and functional interactions across vehicle subsystems.
• Electrification & Propulsion Systems Leadership: Lead integration strategy for electric, hybrid, and alternative propulsion systems including HV architectures, battery systems, power electronics, charging systems, and propulsion controls.
• Technical Governance & Engineering Standards: Establish engineering standards, integration frameworks, electrical design guidelines, validation methodologies, and scalable technical processes that improve execution without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Supplier & External Engineering Leadership: Lead technical direction across suppliers, engineering service providers, and external development partners while maintaining ownership of architecture strategy, technical quality, integration outcomes, and launch readiness.
• Validation & Technical Issue Resolution: Oversee validation strategy, DV/PV execution, integration troubleshooting, and root cause resolution across electrical, controls, communication, and electromechanical systems.
• Manufacturing & Launch Support: Partner with manufacturing, launch, quality, and operations teams to ensure electrical systems integrate successfully into prototype builds, pilot operations, production launch, and early field operation.
• Regulatory & Compliance Leadership: Ensure vehicle electrical systems comply with FMVSS, ISO, SAE, EMC, HV safety, cybersecurity, and applicable commercial vehicle regulatory standards.
• Organizational Capability Development: Build, mentor, and lead high-performing engineering teams capable of operating effectively in fast-paced, high-accountability development environments.
• Cross-Functional Technical Leadership: Drive alignment across engineering, manufacturing, program management, quality, supply chain, suppliers, and executi