I'd start by understanding the company's EV strategy and where we want to be in 3 to 5 years. Then I'd recruit key leads — a motor design specialist, a battery systems engineer, and a power electronics lead. I'd set up a small agile team to deliver a proof-of-concept within the first quarter. Parallel to that, I'd benchmark competitors and establish partnerships with Tier-1 suppliers for critical components.
Strengths
- Your sequencing is logical — strategy first, then talent, then execution. This shows structured thinking.
- Identifying the three critical technical leads (motor, battery, power electronics) demonstrates domain knowledge.
- The parallel workstream approach (POC + supplier partnerships) shows you understand time-to-market pressure.
Improve
- Reference your own experience building or scaling teams — how many engineers, what budget, what timeline.
- Add specific metrics: what does 'early win' look like? A working prototype? A signed development contract?
- Address stakeholder management — how do you get executive buy-in and budget approval for a new division?
When I was tasked with establishing the powertrain innovation lab at my previous company, I followed a structured 90-day plan that delivered measurable results. In the first 30 days, I mapped the company's 5-year EV roadmap against the competitive landscape — specifically benchmarking against BMW's Gen6 and Tesla's next-gen motor architecture. I identified three critical capability gaps: in-house motor design, battery thermal management, and high-voltage power electronics. By day 45, I had recruited three senior technical leads from Bosch and Continental, each bringing 15+ years of EV-specific expertise. I structured the team as a semi-autonomous unit within the engineering organization — reporting to the CTO but with its own P&L, procurement authority, and dedicated test facilities. This was critical for speed. By day 60, the team of 12 engineers had a working proof-of-concept for our 800V silicon carbide inverter, which became the centerpiece of our board presentation. I secured €25M in R&D budget for the first 18 months by presenting a clear technology roadmap tied to two confirmed OEM development contracts worth €120M over 3 years. The 90-day milestone was a signed LOI with a major European OEM for co-development of the next-generation e-axle platform.