Adding Exceptional Talent to the Xos Engineering Team: Introducing Justin Yee & Mathew Freiheit

As the Chief Technology Officer at Xos, I’m thrilled to introduce two new senior engineering leaders to the team: Justin Yee, the Director of Advanced Vehicle Engineering, and Mathew Freiheit, the Chief Engineer.

Working for high-growth tech companies like Tesla and Virgin Hyperloop One provided me with a deep understanding of the importance of putting together the best engineering department possible. Justin and Mathew will both be assets to Xos and offer a dynamic mix of engineering knowledge, enthusiasm, and experience.

Meet Justin Yee — Director of Advanced Vehicle Engineering at Xos Trucks

Justin Yee, Director of Advanced Vehicle Engineering

Justin Yee brings over 20 years of engineering experience in the trucking and electric battery fields. And you might even say engineering is in his DNA, as he comes from a long line of engineers: his grandfather was a civil engineer, and his father was an aeronautical engineer.

Justin began his career working on lithium-ion batteries and fiber-optic technology in the mid-90s to early 2000s. In 2003, Justin started his long, multi-faceted tenure as an engineering leader in multiple roles at Daimler Trucks North America, under the Freightliner brand.

There, he was involved in the first design of the Cascadia on-highway truck and served as the Manager of Vehicle Concepts, Advanced Engineering. In this role, he developed concept trucks, a new initiative that Freightliner had never attempted before. His conceptual focus centered on designing Class 8 commercial vehicles that were more aerodynamic and fuel-efficient than past iterations.

Justin was the Program Manager for multiple Freightliner Concept Vehicles, including the Innovation Truck in 2009 and Revolution Truck in 2012. In 2015, he supported the launch of the SuperTruck 1 program and was the Principal Investigator for the SuperTruck 2 program, prior to moving to a new role as the Manager of eMobility Cab and Chassis Systems.

His most recent role before stepping into the Director of Advanced Vehicle Engineering position at Xos was managing the Battery Systems team for eMobility at Daimler.

Justin holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Portland State University.

Justin’s background is an ideal complement to the team and I look forward to seeing his impact.

Mathew Freiheit, Chief Engineer

Meet Mathew Freiheit — Chief Engineer at Xos Trucks

Mathew Freiheit brings vast experience as a hands-on engineering manager focused on improving the quality and manufacturability of products by applying new technologies. His background includes the automotive industry, start-ups, and large multinational organizations. In his own words, he is a “wandering engineer and problem-solver.”

Mathew began his career at Kenworth Truck Company. He spent a decade there as an engineer in multiple roles — from Design Engineer/Project Manager to his final position at the company as a Senior Design Engineer in Dimensional Management. After Kenworth, Mathew moved to Tesla to lead the development of the Tesla Motor Dimensional Engineering & Metrology department for 4.5 years, even working alongside our current Xos VP of Manufacturing, Dag Reckhorn.

Following Tesla, he grew the Advanced Manufacturing team at BYTON and managed global teams. After a year, he left for Apple to serve as the Manufacturing Engineering Manager and supported the launch of high-value, high-visibility product lines. His two-year tenure at Apple helped him hone his problem-solving skills and ability to communicate his engineering ideas.

Most recently, Mathew was the Director of Manufacturing at Cover Technology, where he applied his automotive engineering knowledge to the home-building process. He came aboard Xos out of a desire to stay in the manufacturing world and to return to focusing on his passions: cars, trucks, and the automotive industry.

Mathew holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Central Washington University.

I’m proud to welcome Justin and Mathew as our newest senior engineering hires. Their experience blends together the worlds of traditional trucking, manufacturing, and electric vehicles, making them the perfect leaders to move Xos forward.