About the Role

At Tata Motors, our Design team is responsible for creating vehicles that delight customers through exceptional craftsmanship, visual harmony, material excellence, and world-class perceived quality.

We are seeking an experienced Senior Manager - Design Perceived Quality (AAR & Colour Mastering) to join our India Design Studio in Pune. This role will play a critical part in ensuring that our Passenger Vehicle and Electric Vehicle programmes achieve global standards of design quality, colour, material execution, and appearance approval.

The incumbent will work closely with Design, Engineering, Advanced Quality, Manufacturing, and Suppliers to translate design intent into production-ready vehicles that deliver superior customer perception and premium quality standards. This position supports multiple vehicle programmes while driving alignment with global design quality benchmarks and Tata Motors' international design studios.

Key Responsibilities

Design Perceived Quality Leadership

- Lead Appearance Approval Reviews (AAR) and vehicle-level design quality assessments throughout the product development cycle.
- Drive evaluation and approval of plaques, trims, components, and complete vehicle assemblies to ensure design intent is realised in production.
- Establish and uphold world-class Design Perceived Quality (D-PQ) standards across vehicle programmes.

Colour, Material & Finish (CMF) Mastering

- Lead Colour, Material & Finish (CMF) realization activities from concept through production.
- Drive development and approval of colour harmony, materials, textures, and surface finishes.
- Manage quality sign-off for plastics, leather, fabric, decorative trims, painted surfaces, and interior/exterior appearance features.
- Ensure consistency of design intent across all visible customer touchpoints.

Benchmarking & Competitive Assessment

- Conduct vehicle benchmarking studies against leading automotive brands.
- Evaluate perceived quality, craftsmanship, fit & finish, visual harmony, and customer-facing attributes.
- Generate actionable insights to support future product improvements and enhance customer perception.

Cross-Functional Programme Delivery

- Collaborate closely with Design, Studio Engineering, Advanced Quality, Manufacturing,



and Supplier partners during vehicle development.
- Support CMF Matrix creation, AAR approval processes, Engineering Gateway Reviews, Moldflow assessments, and New Product Introduction (NPI) milestones.
- Drive design feasibility reviews to ensure production readiness while safeguarding styling intent.

Quality, Cost & Value Optimization

- Lead value improvement and VAVE initiatives without compromising customer-perceived quality.
- Support manufacturing process development and supplier quality improvement activities.
- Participate in plant evaluations and supplier visits as required to ensure successful programme execution.
- Contribute towards quality, cost, timing, and customer experience targets across vehicle programmes.

What We're Looking For

Education

- Degree in Design, Automotive Design, Mechanical Engineering, Product Engineering, or a related discipline.

Experience

- Design Perceived Quality (D-PQ)
- Appearance Approval Reviews (AAR)
- Colour, Material & Finish (CMF)
- Vehicle Craftsmanship & Quality Assessment
- Automotive Product Development

Preferred Skills

- Solid understanding of Design Perceived Quality principles
- Expertise in Appearance Approval Reviews (AAR)
- Colour, Material & Finish (CMF) development and evaluation
- Vehicle craftsmanship, fit & finish assessment
- Surface quality and visual harmony evaluation
- Supplier and manufacturing quality collaboration
- Automotive benchmarking and competitor analysis
- Cross-functional stakeholder management
- Problem-solving and decision-making capability
- Excellent visual judgement and colour perception

Why Tata Motors?

Join one of India's leading automotive organisations and contribute to the creation of globally competitive vehicles that set new benchmarks in design, quality, and customer experience.



You'll have the opportunity to work on cutting-edge Passenger Vehicle and Electric Vehicle programmes while collaborating with world-class design and engineering teams across Tata Motors' global network.

Tata Motors is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a fair and transparent hiring process. All recruitment decisions are based strictly on Merit, Role alignment, and Business requirements. It does not solicit or accept any form of payment or gratuity from candidates at any stage of the recruitment process. Any such request received should be considered fraudulent and reported immediately.

About Tata Motors:

Part of the USD 180 billion Tata group, Tata Motors Limited (BSE: 500570; NSE: TATAMOTORS), a USD 52 billion organization, is a leading global automobile manufacturer of cars, utility vehicles, pick-ups, trucks, and buses, offering an extensive range of integrated, smart, and e-mobility solutions. With ‘Connecting Aspirations’ at the core of its brand promise, Tata Motors is India’s market leader in commercial vehicles and ranks among the top three in the passenger vehicles market.

Tata Motors strives to bring new products that captivate the imagination of GenNext customers, fuelled by state-of-the-art design and R&D; centres located in India, the UK, the US, Italy, and South Korea. By focusing on engineering and tech- enabled automotive solutions catering to the future of mobility, the company’s innovation efforts are focused on developing pioneering technologies that are both sustainable and suited to the evolving market and customer aspirations. The company is pioneering India's Electric Vehicle (EV) transition and driving the shift towards sustainable mobility solutions by developing a tailored product strategy, leveraging the synergy between Group companies and playing an active role in liaising with the Government of India in developing the policy framework.

With operations in India, UK, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia, Tata Motors markets its vehicles in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the SAARC countries. As of March 31, 2025, Tata Motors’ operations include 93 consolidated subsidiaries, two joint operations, four joint ventures, and numerous equity-accounted associates, including their subsidiaries, over which the company exercises significant influence.

📌 Senior Manager - Design Perceived Quality (Pune)
🏢 TataMotors
📍 Pune