Directed Energy Deposition is mainly adopted for the construction of large parts and structures or the reparation of worn and damaged components, but also in Hybrid Manufacturing systems, to combine features of different technologies. An additional emerging application is the Remanufacturing of existing components by integrating further features and materials to enhance products’ functionality. Nevertheless, residual stress and strain are among the most relevant drawbacks since thermal gradients and cooling rates are more intensive compared to other Metal Additive Manufacturing processes. With the aim to define the build strategies (e.g.: tool paths and scanning patterns) for multiple depositions on actual existing components and mitigate the substrate deformation, this work is focused on the laser-based Direct Metal Deposition process design and optimization. To find the best trade-off between process efficiency and product quality, the goal is achieved identifying the build strategies (i) to guarantee the expected product requirements and (ii) to provide functional and assembly requirements. The case study is the Additive Remanufacturing of an automotive component, requiring a functional tolerance control, which implies to contain process-induced distortion. The build process is assessed through Finite Element thermo-mechanical simulations of 316L deposition, cooling, and unclamping steps. The effects of factors as the deposition strategy, orientation, direction, and sequence, are studied through a Design of Experiments approach. The model maximum displacement is the primary response, and the build time is the secondary one. The output is a process design strategy capable of mitigating process flaws, to effectively sustain the remanufacturing of components to produce high-performance functional design variants.