Anisotropic rotor configurations influenced by the presence of a large number of geometrical parameters in a permanent magnet assisted synchronous reluctance (PMASR) motor pose design challenges in obtaining a robust geometry satisfying the requirements of reduced torque ripple and high torque density. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to perform detailed geometrical sensitivity analysis of a 36 slot/4 pole permanent magnet assisted synchronous reluctance (PMASR) motor using h-indexing and level sensitivity analysis in order to specify a guideline for designers to prioritize the design variables for optimization. Systematic multi-level design optimization for multiple objectives is implemented by an NSGA-II algorithm aided by the finite element analysis tool, hardware prototyping and experimental validation. The optimized designs also exhibit better structural and thermal characteristics.