Research Manager - Vehicle Software Products, Core & Occupant at General Motors in Warren, MI

Job description

Job Description Hybrid. This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the successful candidate is expected to report to Warren, Michigan three times per week, at minimum or other frequency dictated by the business. The Role General Motors is seeking a Customer Research Manager to lead a team of researchers and/or analysts within Global Customer Research (GCR) Product Research. The team supports the Core Experience and Occupant Experience software product teams within Vehicle Product Management, bringing the voice of the customer to the decisions that shape key in-vehicle experiences. The role partners closely with product teams and their cross-functional stakeholders from early requirements development through launch and in-market performance. The supported portfolio includes comfort controls, displays, infotainment, connectivity, entertainment, user-interface generations and releases, AI assistants, user profiles, and related digital vehicle experiences. The successful candidate is a customer-centered people leader who combines strong research execution, strategic judgment, and consultative partnership. They will guide a portfolio of bespoke research, develop team capability, and translate complex customer learning into timely, clear product direction. What You’ll Do Partner with product teams and stakeholders Serve as a trusted, consultative research partner to Core Experience and Occupant Experience product teams and their key cross-functional stakeholders. Proactively learn stakeholders’ business priorities, product plans, decision timelines, and customer-learning needs. Translate business priorities into persuasive research plans and proposals that align to product-development milestones and the GCR research roadmap. Facilitate research framing that defines the business decision, target customer, learning objectives, scope, timing, resource needs, and intended use of findings. Collaborate with stakeholders to develop research stimuli that create a clear connection between product intent and customer feedback. Represent the customer perspective in cross-functional forums through clear, persuasive, evidence-based storytelling. Lead customer research that informs product decisions Plan, design, and execute fit-for-purpose qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method research that provides timely, actionable insight for Core Experience and Occupant Experience product teams. Synthesize findings into concise, decision-ready deliverables that communicate customer needs, implications, opportunities, and recommended actions. Identify opportunities to connect learning across studies, customer themes, product areas, and technology domains, and ensure relevant read-across is communicated to stakeholders. Lead people, projects, and resources Directly lead, coach, and develop researchers and/or analysts; set clear goals and expectations, provide timely feedback, and support professional growth. Build a high-performance, customer-centered culture characterized by intellectual curiosity, collaboration, accountability, constructive challenge, and continuous improvement. Manage an assigned portfolio, including priorities, work plans, milestones, budget, supplier support, and stakeholder expectations. Direct study materials, suppliers, logistics, fieldwork, analysis, reporting, and stakeholder follow-through to meet agreed scope, timing, quality, and budget expectations. Provide clear status communication to leadership and stakeholders; surface risks and negotiate scope, timing, and resource trade-offs early. Manage research suppliers, budgets, schedules, tools, and facilities in accordance with GM processes and policies. Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications) Bachelor’s degree. 7+ years of relevant experience. Working knowledge of vehicle or product-development processes and the role of customer research in product decision-making. Experience leading or using primary research to inform product decisions. Demonstrated people-lead