Interior Design Engineer at Battle Motors
FULL-TIME
Non-Disclosure Agreement: I will only disclose non-proprietary information regarding my work at Battle Motors. All information and images are public knowledge.
About Battle Motors
Battle Motors is the leader in the vocational truck industry, providing work-ready diesel, clean natural gas (CNG), and now EV chassis designed and manufactured in North America for the refuse and recycling markets. Battle Motors’ durable, dependable trucks are built to excel in many applications that include middle- and last-mile delivery. Battle Motors acquired commercial vehicle Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Crane Carrier Company, LLC (CCC) in 2021. CCC manufactured commercial vehicles for 76 years.
I joined Battle Motors as an early team member of their new EV program.
As an Interior Design Engineer at Battle Motors, I led the design and development of multiple interior commodities—spanning both hard trim and soft trim—for a cutting-edge Class 6–8 vocational truck. Using PTC Creo, I managed, developed, and refined our Industrial Design team’s CAS, ensuring components were aligned with the original design intent while meeting rigorous manufacturing and assembly requirements.
To enable robust and efficient 3D model development, I created 20+ Master Sections, incorporating critical clearances, fastening/datum strategies, and DFMA principles. This foundational work allowed early validation of design feasibility and provided a clear framework for downstream part development. To further guide the program, my manager and I executed a full interior cab teardown, meticulously analyzing material thicknesses, mass distribution, and interface conditions. These insights, combined with extensive benchmarking across 15 competitive cabs, directly influenced our design strategy.
In addition to my design responsibilities, I played a key role in commodity quotation and supplier evaluation. I developed RFQ packages for five major commodities, clearly defining requirements to streamline supplier quotation. I evaluated bids from 10 vendors, ultimately presenting data-driven recommendations to leadership. To maintain alignment with program milestones, I also managed subsystem BOMs and built other project tracking resources to ensure strict adherence to tight project timelines.
My contributions at Battle Motors not only advanced the quality and manufacturability of the truck’s interior, but also delivered meaningful gains in cost efficiency, ergonomic performance, and overall program execution.
Impactful Advancements in a Full-Time Role
Manager Feedback
Wade Chapline - Managed Me Directly “ Elliot is an exceptional engineer who has knowledge, skills, organization, and responsibility that extend far beyond his years of experience. He willingly takes on a large workload and efficiently handles all of his responsibilities with minimal supervision.
On the technical side, Elliot has significant knowledge as it relates to all things plastic injection molding part design. Additionally, Elliot took on multiple new parts for our team with unfamiliar manufacturing processes to him, like soft trim compression molding, and demonstrated a high technical aptitude by quickly becoming a subject matter expert for our team.
From a management perspective, Elliot does an amazing job managing suppliers by consistently following up on open items and pushing them for results.
Elliot is a self-starter and an amazing employee to have work for you. ”
Source: LinkedIn Recommendations
Davis Blaylock - Did Not Manage Me Directly “ Over the past six months, I have worked weekly with Elliott on a variety of projects integrating the cab-in-white and interior components. I enjoyed working with him and believe he would be a tremendous asset to any organization.
Elliott has been a creative designer and problem solver when it comes to automotive interior design. He has a strong understanding of the design constraints and considerations that need to be addressed during new product development. Additionally, he understands injection molding and thermoforming manufacturing processes in detail.
Elliott is a skilled CAD operator and would often train other team members on master sections and Creo best practices. I knew I could rely on Elliott to help me out whenever I had CAD questions.
Elliott also holds himself to a high standard and consistently produces high-quality work. An example of this is when he owned the positioning and packaging of the shark fin antenna within the vehicle headliner and roof. During a packaging study, he identified that the antenna's minimum bend radius was not accounted for in our design. He then immediately brought the issue to the team’s attention, created a design matrix and accompanying master sections, scheduled and led a design review, and ultimately resolved the issue ahead of schedule.
Please consider Elliott for any of your open positions. Given his ability to learn I believe he would be able to transition to any industry. ”
Source: LinkedIn Recommendations