Technical Advisory Field Manager (Western Region Territory, CA, OR, WA area)

Subaru•Los Angeles, CA

11d•$118,800 - $150,000

About The Position

SUMMARY Acts as the lead service and quality advisor for the Legal and Customer Advocacy Departments to help mitigate Subaru of America's (SOA's) exposure to lemon law and breach of warranty claims and to achieve resolutions that promote customer retention and brand loyalty. Manages the supporting Technical Field Manager role. Takes lead in collaboration with Customer Advocacy representatives and internal and external legal counsel to assist in the prevention and defense of SOA in legal actions brought by consumers and/or their representatives, including appearing at inspections and repairs, arbitrations, mediations, depositions, trials and other types of legal proceedings. Duties are accomplished through research, documentation, investigation, and testimony. Plans and participates in training of SOA Field personnel as part of lemon law prevention and mitigation efforts.

Requirements

Strong teambuilding, motivation, leadership, business, and management skills.
Strong knowledge of all Service department functional areas as well as other departments.
Master-level understanding of vehicle systems, including mechanical and electronic systems for electric (high voltage), hybrid, and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, including major systems such as advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and controller area network (CAN), particularly those of Subaru.
Strong persuasive, business, and management skills.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to multi-task while working in a fast-paced environment, either as part of a team or as a sole-contributor.
Strong listening, problem resolution, analytical, negotiation, presentation, and computer skills (particularly in Microsoft Office products and Dynamics).
Strong knowledge of all corporate and retailer functional areas.
Strong technical product knowledge and knowledge of retailer operations.
Ability to understand the scope of data necessary to effectively communicate potential quality issues to responsible parties who can affect current production and future product targets.
Ability to manage and prioritize caseload to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.
Skilled in working with cross-culture populations and across management levels as well as across diverse job responsibilities
ASE Master Technician (A1-A8) designation, Required.
ASE Advanced Engine Performance Specialist (L1) certification, Required.
ASE Light Duty Hybrid/Electric Vehicle Specialist (L3) certification, Required.
ASE Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Specialist (L4) certification, Required.
Subaru Senior Master Technician designation, Required.
Bachelor's Degree required or High School Diploma and at least twelve (12) to fifteen (15) years of relevant experience in lieu of degree required.
At least 8-10 years of relevant experience with Bachelor's degree required
Or at least 12-15 years of relevant experience without Bachelor's degree required

Nice To Haves

Strong knowledge of relevant legislation and policies such as lemon law.
Ability to effectively serve as a corporate witness in litigation and testifying.
Master-level knowledge of Quality Improvement disciplines such as Deming, Juran, etc. Preferred
Fire Investigation Certification with Motor Vehicle Fire Endorsement, Preferred.

Responsibilities

Manages the activities of the Field Technical Manager, ensuring on-going development and participation in all aspects of the roles and responsibilities.
Takes lead on distribution of workload between self and direct report.
Works one-on-one with Field Technical Manager to develop and maintain necessary skills and abilities both technical and administrative.
Develops, maintains, and provides statistics on all activities of the team.
Works directly with Subaru of America (SOA) in-house Legal department as an expert witness in lemon law/breach of warranty cases, including drafting expert reports, testifying as a designated expert witness in various legal proceedings, and conducting vehicle inspections in preparation of expert defense.
Serves as the most experienced technical advisor and is involved in the most difficult or sensitive cases.
Serves as a corporate representative in litigation, in addition to expert and fact designation.
Assists Customer Advocacy Department (CAD) in preventing and resolving pre-litigation claims related to vehicle quality including review of not a matter for warranty and 2/10 cases.
Assists internal and external legal counsel with review of lemon law/warranty claims and associated lawsuits; contributes to decisions to achieve the best strategy to proceed through expert analysis, and often assists in reducing litigation expense.
Identifies and reviews all relevant materials in preparation for deposition and other testimony, including but not limited to, repair orders, Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Inquiries, CARFAX reports, Techline cases, CAD case files, social media posts, videos, and weather and location data, in addition to any documentation from legal counsel.
Best Practices and Process Improvement Documentation.
Takes final ownership and oversight of creation, development, and dissemination of documented processes, training materials, and plans.
Collaborates with District Parts/Service Managers (DPSMs), District Service Quality Managers (DSQMs), and Zone staff to develop and document technical action plans and improvements in the field to reduce lemon law/breach of warranty exposure.
Provides training on best practices for retailer processes to Field personnel.
Assists DSQMs who are involved in lemon law, Better Business Bureau (BBB) arbitrations, breach of warranty, and other types of pre-litigation proceedings by researching and reviewing the details of the operational facts and failures.
Provides expert and corporate representative testimony at depositions, hearings, and trials.
Following testimony, decision rendered or not, generates and distributes reports to internal stakeholders for the purpose of communication and documentation.
Communicates with manufacturing, quality, and engineering groups who are responsible for service-related and product quality matters and provides frequent updates to various groups internally at headquarters and in the field about the current status and projected completion targets for open product issues and field service quality matters.
Works effectively with retailers and customers on matters related to service and quality issues that may impact lemon law and other similar legal actions.
Collaborates with CAD on consumer claims filed through the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and provides advice on defensibility of lemon law/warranty claims based on the technical components of the claim, as well as service quality recommendations for Service personnel to defend such claims, as necessary while working to improve customer retention and loyalty.
Manages and testifies at depositions, arbitrations, Small Claims Court, and other hearings and trials.
Assists in other vehicle inspections/legal matters pertaining to product liability at the request of SOA in-house legal counsel.
Acts as a technical resource to third-party expert vendors and outside counsel on product issues/analysis in litigation.
Assists in periodic review of technical Policies & Procedures Manual and drafts revisions/recommendations to same based on legal interpretations and knowledge and provides input on mitigating risk.
Takes final ownership and oversight of creation, development, and dissemination of a documented processes and training materials and plans.
Determines best practices based on subject matter knowledge and experience.
Conducts vehicle inspection and preparation as part of function, performance, and quality evaluation with Quality Monitoring Team (QMT) to ensure positive outcomes for newly released vehicle models/designs prior to media evaluation.
Supports QMT for duration of activity as supplemental staff.