Manager Safety Technical Investigation (all genders welcome)

Join the movement and find new inspiration

We have an exciting opportunity as:

Manager Safety Technical Investigation (all genders welcome)



at the Kia Europe Headquarters in Frankfurt/Main, Germany.

Job mission:

As the Manager Safety Technical Investigation, you will lead the European Safety Analysis team and drive quality and safety initiatives that are critical to advancing automotive functional safety. You’ll oversee and direct all quality and safety-related investigations, ensuring compliance with ISO 26262 and other essential safety protocols. This role involves managing investigation teams and stakeholders, initiating and conducting in-depth investigations that directly contribute to enhanced safety and quality across our products.

Your responsibilities:

• Lead and coordinate Kia groups focused on identifying and resolving vehicle safety issues, ensuring alignment with ISO 26262 safety lifecycle requirements.

• Develop innovative analytical methods to detect potential vehicle safety concerns and ensure systems are functionally safe.

• Monitor results and effectiveness of engineer-led examinations of consumer complaint data, field reports, legal cases, supplier information, dealer reports, plant information, safety recalls, compliance and consumer metric testing, Rapex, and other authorities' data.

• Identify possible safety defects and non-compliances in Kia production vehicles and ensure they meet ISO 26262 safety integrity levels.

• Conduct thorough, data-driven investigations to determine the severity, root cause, number of vehicles affected, consumer detection ability, and corrective actions for identified issues.

• Manage identified issues through the complete field fix cycle based on vehicle component responsibilities, integrating functional safety assessments.

• Monitor field status and coordinate vehicle and part investigations, including safety mechanism effectiveness.

• Perform field inspections of post-event vehicles or in-service vehicles at dealerships or alternate locations, as needed, to verify functional safety compliance.

• Participate in vehicle safety forums, technical conferences, meetings, panels, and disseminate safety-related knowledge internally.

• Work with Kia groups to identify field fix performance anomalies and trigger deep-dive analyses.

• Periodically review field information on component and subsystem functionality with a focus on safety, and develop required action plans that comply with ISO 26262.

• Ensure close monitoring of dealer systems, customer satisfaction surveys, warranty case documentation, and product liability cases (fire, airbag, property damage).

• Present concise issue definitions and recommendations to upper management regarding field actions, emphasizing functional safety considerations.

Your talents:

• Education: Bachelor´s or Master’s Degree in a technical discipline.

• Experience: At least 5 years in Quality or Safety within the Automotive Industry, with a focus on functional safety requirements ISO 26262 and people leading.

• General automotive technical knowledge (e.g., body, chassis, brakes, electrical, safety systems).

• Deep understanding of vehicle diagnosis and repair processes.

• Strong communication and negotiation skills.

• Interest in new vehicle technologies (EV).

• High level of accuracy and self-checking when analyzing large volumes of data.

• Ability to independently assess how various factors and trends impact business decisions.

• Proactive collaboration with peers, vehicle component experts, and organizational leadership.

• Strong presentation and stakeholder management skills.

• Willingness to travel periodically.

• Quick intellectual grasp, adaptability in a multicultural and rapidly developing environment.

• Problem-solving and results-oriented mindset.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

• Fluency in English (written and spoken); Korean fluency preferred

• Team player with a proactive and entrepreneurial approach
  

Who are we?

Kia is a global mobility brand with a vision to create sustainable mobility solutions for consumers, communities, and societies around the world. Founded in 1944, Kia has been building motorcycles, cars and trucks for more than 75 years.

Kia is now spearheading the popularization of electrified and battery electric vehicles, developing a growing range of mobility services while encouraging millions of people to explore the best ways of getting around. Our brand slogan – ‘Movement that inspires’ – reflects our commitment to inspire consumers through our products and services.

Kia Europe is the European sales and manufacturing arm of Kia Corporation. From our headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, we lead 39 markets across Europe and the Caucasus, employing more than 5,500 persons, including about 3,500 blue collar workers in our state of the art car plant in Zilina, Slovakia.

Our headquarter is home to more than 40 different nationalities and this diversity is truly inspiring! This means that every day at Kia is an opportunity to learn something new and to grow personally and professionally. The mix of ambitious and dynamic employees from all over the world is the fuel to our success. Do you have what it takes to join our team? We are looking forward to getting to know you!

You will enjoy working with us if you like these things:

• A pulsating international environment. Our workforce is composed of people from more than 40 nations

• Playing an active and important part in the development of Kia in Europe.

• Developing new frameworks and solutions

• Demanding challenges to which you can creatively contribute

• A competitive compensation package; private leasing offer; systematic off and on-the-job training, free staff restaurant, support as concerns Health Management and more

If you’re interested to become part of our Kia team, please apply via our online portal. We are looking forward to getting to know you.