Lead of Strategy Execution & Insight

Overview

Role: Lead of Strategy Execution & Insight

Location: Van Buren, Michigan US - Hybrid

Role ID: 2025-3155

Our vision is to create a safe and sustainable world.

Automotive and Industrial is one of Ricardo Plc's three operating business units and is a trusted global engineering services partner for clean and efficient integrated propulsion and energy systems. Our experience and history over more than 100 years at the forefront of transport & energy innovation enables us to deliver solutions to the most complex challenges, allowing our customers across all global transport & energy sectors to achieve a sustainable zero-carbon future.

Delivering technology and engineering services across transport, energy, and industrial sectors to support clients in developing new technology and products. This includes a wide range of propulsion and energy system technologies that address key market challenges such as decarbonization, electrification and hydrogen transition. When combined with the industrialization and manufacturing capability within the Ricardo Performance Products (PP) team, this creates a unique end-to-end capability to help clients bring new solutions to market.

To build on this end-to-end capability we are seeking a strategic and entrepreneurial leader to incubate and grow a new internal capability within the A&I group focused on strategy-driven engineering consulting. This role will lead the development and delivery of strategic services that enhance A&I's technical offerings by supporting clients in developing their product and business strategies. In doing so this will strengthen our position to deliver downstream engineering and industrialization support aligned to the specific client strategy and needs.

Key Responsibilities

As the Automotive and Industrial (A&Is) landscape undergoes rapid transformation, A&I's ability to provide forward-looking, insight-driven guidance is critical. This role will lead that effort, building the internal capability to deliver strategic value at scale, supporting business growth, and positioning A&I at the forefront of technical consulting.

Initial focus will be within the Electrification & Fuel Cell (ELE/FC) Growth Solution (GS) team, where there is strong demand for Product Strategy, including but not limited to; decision support, market positioning, and front-end strategy. The role may expand to support additional Growth Solutions in alignment with business needs and market opportunities.

• Strategic Capability Building
  • Establish and lead an internal strategic services team, starting within ELE/FC and scaling across A&I based on demand and opportunity.
  • Define the function's roadmap, service offerings, operating model, and success metrics.
  • Align strategic services with A&I's growth priorities and the end-to-end capability across A&I and PP, working closely with GS and technical leaders.
• Strategic Services Development & Delivery - Supporting Clients' Product Strategy
  • Develop a portfolio of high-value technology and product focused strategic services, including:
    • Should-Cost Analysis & Relative Cost Analysis
    • Product Benchmarking
    • Technology Roadmapping
    • Market Entry and Positioning Strategy
    • Supply Chain, Cost Optimization and Operations Optimization
  • Create reusable internal tools, frameworks, and playbooks to scale delivery across teams.
  • Pilot and refine offerings within live projects, ensuring value delivery and alignment with client and business needs.
  • Integrate strategic thinking into engineering workflows, proposals, and project scoping efforts.
• Team & Talent Growth
  • Lead and mentor a cross-functional team, balancing delivery, business development, and IP creation.
  • Proactively identify talent needs, justify resourcing, and drive recruitment aligned with growth.
  • Foster a collaborative, entrepreneurial culture within the strategy team and across A&I.
• Business Development & Market Support
  • Support internal and external strategic initiatives, acting as a key partner to GS leadership.
  • Assist in proposal development and client engagement to unlock new markets and opportunities.
  • Guide clients through high-uncertainty decision-making in areas like electrification, hydrogen, and regulatory shifts.

Experience

• 10+ years in engineering consulting, product strategy, or industrial innovation.
• Strong understanding of the automotive and industrial sectors, with focus on electrification, hydrogen, or energy systems.
• Experience building teams, launching new services, or leading cross-functional initiatives.
• Proven ability to deliver market analysis, techno-economic studies, or strategic roadmaps.

Key Skills

Essential

• Very strong sense of ownership and accountability in achieving sector's pipeline and OI targets, with an entrepreneurial mindset to grow business.
• Professional approach; exudes expertise and credibility.
• Sound strategic thinker; possesses vision of what could be; ability to identify opportunities; ability to close deals efficiently; nimbleness in thinking; initiator of improvements.
• Strong but customer-aware negotiation skills; track record of building high-performing teams; ability to influence.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively multi-task.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills; ability to condense complex issues into succinct messages for both internal and external communication; astute stakeholder management, both internally and externally.
• Strong problem solving, analytical and listening skills.
• Ability to handle and maintain confidential information.
• Ability to excel in a fast-paced, matrix organization.

Working here

You will be warmly welcomed into our workplace where every voice matters. We are diverse thinkers and doers, coming together to create a culture of inclusion. We will support you to find your place.

We will encourage you to use your passion and expertise to make a positive impact through the projects you work on. Your knowledge and desire to bring about change will be invaluable in helping deliver innovative solutions that support communities across the globe in becoming safer and more sustainable.

Work life balance

We offer flexible approaches to work, whether that is working from home, being in the office, or as a hybrid worker. We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Wellbeing is at the core to our culture, allowing employees to flourish and to achieve their full potential.

Benefits

We want you to know how much you are valued. Your remuneration and benefits package will reflect that. You will receive a range of benefits which include support for your physical and mental health.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion statement

We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, creed, gender identity. sexual orientation, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, marital or parental status (IL only), height, weight, national origin, citizenship status, age, domestic violence victim status, arrest record or conviction record (MI only), genetic information, military or veteran status or disability, or any other classification protected by applicable federal, state, or municipal law. VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

Next steps

Once you have submitted your application a member of our Recruitment Team will be in touch. Please be aware that the timing can vary dependent on the volume of applications that we receive for each role and in some cases, we may start to review applications prior to the closing date.

Ricardo is a Disability confident employer please advise the recruitment team via if you require any adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment process.

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