So that's pretty much a yes then - cool. Your description sounds pretty much identical to my last job.
I never knew the Ford or GM engineers didn't follow things all the way from conception to manufacture - handling the design only up until the drawings are released is a crap way of doing things, I couldn't believe any real companies work that way. My experience has always been from initial conception, testing, development, all the way through all the necessaries right up to production.. and then some too if needed...
Anyway, got a bit of reading to do...