Motorsports Competition – Race Strategy Lead

Job Description

Hybrid: This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the successful candidate is expected to report to Concord, NC three times per week, at minimum. Given the need to support live race events during weekends, this role will require the ability to work a flexible schedule.

The Role

The GM Motorsports Program is seeking a Race Strategy Lead dedicated to maximizing competition performance through successful use of data obtained during live events.  This individual will provide direction to those groups across all GM Motorsports Series – NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA/WEC, Formula 1 – engaged in supporting live sessions, and directly manage the team developing and configuring GM Motorsport’s race strategy tools.  Given the wide variety of decisions required throughout events, this role will touch on many different aspects of event execution and the tools necessary to derive actionable insights from information obtained during live race events.

A primary responsibility of this position is to conceptualize optimized event execution workflows and guide GM Motorsports development groups to build or enhance toolsets to support these processes.  These projects will require significant cross-group collaboration, including both Motorsports engineering groups and the IT organization.  Since effective utilization is dependent on efficient data delivery in addition to user-facing content, solutions are likely to be heavily dependent on feed ingestion, data processing in addition to strategy engine computation and display; thus, successfully leveraging the resources within GM Motorsports to establish a universal platform will be essential.

As a lead of the race strategy group, this individual will set strategic direction and manage day-to-day operations of the team developing strategy tool enhancements, training strategy models, performing reporting, and supporting race-weekend operations. This group also plays a key role in defining the scope of race support operations housed at the Charlotte Tech Center Command Center. In this role, the candidate would help coordinate team-specific strategy support efforts and organize/manage/delegate Command Center operations.

Given significant user-facing aspects of race operation support and dependencies on IT organization engagement, developing collaborative working relationships with internal and external parties will be essential in effectively partnering with GM Motorsports customer race teams to understand needs, implement process initiatives, and coordinate GM Motorsports group internal efforts to support live race events.

What You’ll Do

Collaborate across Motorsports and Software groups to develop and refine in-race tools, facilitating efficient, split-second extraction of critical information.

• Conceptualize new methods of extracting strategy insight from telemetry, timing data, and both audio and image intelligence collected during race events. Derive solutions with wholistic vision ensuring that that GM Motorsports toolchain is consistent across Series and Motorsports departments.

• Translate these ideas into component specifications to be developed internally or in collaboration with other GM Motorsports groups or outside vendors.  Work with IT software product owners to prioritize initiatives and co-develop solutions with IT organization groups.

• Transfer learning and approaches between the series in which GM Motorsports teams compete.

Manage race strategy group and organize in-race support from the GM Motorsports Command Center.

• Establish priorities for strategy tool development and manage projects to effectively deliver improved accuracy and greater insight in an easy to consume format, focusing on areas which generate value across the range of supported motorsports series.

• Manage weekly tool configuration, coordinating work between Data Analysts to ensure real-time tools are effectively configured and properly supported during each on-track session.

• Coordinate strategy reporting efforts and define content/analysis which best prepare customer race teams and GM strategy analysts for upcoming races.

• Train GM personnel in the details of strategy tool calculations, providing guidance to those supporting race events and using tools, and mentor developing strategy engineers.

• Establish objectives for GM in-race support and effectively coordinate team supporting GM competitors to provide innovative insights which translate into race wins.

• Solicit feedback from supported Race Teams, integrate requests into development vision, and formulate improved operational strategies.

• Coordinate race strategy approaches between GM supported race teams to maximize performance of the GM group.

Additional Job Description

What You’ll Need (Required Qualifications)

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Physics, or related subject.

• 7+ years of experience in a top-level motorsports series including NASCAR, IMSA, F1, IndyCar, WEC, or similar.

• Intimate of motorsports race strategy tools and experience using models and performing analysis to drive strategy decisions during live race events.

• Working knowledge of simulation workflows professional motorsports organization.  Experience using simulation tools to optimize vehicle performance.

• Proficient programing in Python, MATLAB, or similar language.

• Extensive experience analyzing on-track performance through both application vehicle dynamics principles and statistical methods.

• Strong organization skills, forward thinking mentality, and a superb attention to detail.

• Well-developed interpersonal abilities with experience developing relationships and navigating politics across teams and sanctioning bodies.  Patient and considerate with a strong desire to mentor developing engineers.

• Ability to multi-task in a dynamic, constantly evolving environment, with exceptional work ethic and integrity.

• Ability to travel 5-6 times per year domestically and 5-6 times per year internationally.

• This job may be eligible for relocation benefits.

What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications)

• Race Engineering experience with intimate knowledge of race car setup, event preparation, technical inspection, race procedures and race strategy.

• Experience in multiple Motorsports series.

• Proficiency in Motorsports data analysis software including Pi Toolbox, Atlas, Motec or similar.

• Familiarity with AI/ML modeling techniques and methods being developed and applied across industry (e.g. TensorFlow, Scikit-Learn, Spark ML, or equivalent).

• Experience with big data tools (e.g. Hadoop, Spark, SQL, NoSQL and Elasticsearch Database experience)

• Knowledge and experience in tire modeling, construction, testing, and validation.

• Familiarity with vehicle testing methods and data reduction from both on-track and lab testing sessions.

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 aspire to be the most inclusive company in the world. 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. Our Work Appropriately philosophy supports our foundation of inclusion and provides employees the flexibility to work where they can have the greatest impact on achieving our goals, dependent on role needs. Every day, we want every employee, no matter their background, ethnicity, preferences, or location, to feel they belong to one General Motors team.

Benefits Overview

The goal of the General Motors total rewards program is to support the health and well-being of you and your family. Our comprehensive compensation plan incudes, the following benefits, in addition to many others:
• Paid time off including vacation days, holidays, and parental leave for mothers, fathers and adoptive parents;
• Healthcare (including a triple tax advantaged health savings account and wellness incentive), dental, vision and life insurance plans to cover you and your family;
• Company and matching contributions to 401K savings plan to help you save for retirement;
• Global recognition program for peers and leaders to recognize and be recognized for results and behaviors that reflect our company values; 
• Tuition assistance and student loan refinancing;
• Discount on GM vehicles for you, your family and friends.

Diversity Information

General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that workforce diversity creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers.   We understand and embrace the variety through which people gain experiences whether through professional, personal, educational, or volunteer opportunities. GM is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

We encourage interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications and apply for any positions that match your skills and capabilities.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statements

GM is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. GM is committed to providing a work environment free from unlawful discrimination and advancing equal employment opportunities for all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, all practices and decisions relating to terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, training, promotion, discipline, compensation, benefits, and termination of employment are made without regard to an individual’s protected characteristics. For purposes of this policy, “protected characteristics” include an individual’s actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, weight, height, marital status, military service and veteran status, physical or mental disability, protected medical condition as defined by applicable state or local law, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws and ordinances.  If you need a reasonable accommodation to assist with your job search or application for employment, email us at [email protected] or call us at 800-865-7580. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.​