Role Overview
You will serve as a recognized technical authority, driving durability decisions early in development and enabling confident program execution before physical prototypes are built. You will work at the intersection of virtual proving ground simulation, road load cascading, closure systems, and structural fatigue, collaborating closely with design, testing, and vehicle integration teams.
Key Responsibilities
Structural Durability & Virtual Sign-off
Lead structural durability and fatigue sign-off for body structures, frames, closures (doors, hood, liftgate, tailgate), and EV battery enclosures prior to physical builds.
Drive correlation between CAE predictions and physical test data from proving grounds, durability rigs, and closure test labs to ensure predictive accuracy.
Diagnose durability failures using nonlinear FEA and fatigue analysis; provide clear, physics-based design recommendations to improve robustness and reduce program risk.
Closures Performance & Durability Simulation
Own durability assessment of closure systems, including:
Door and liftgate slam durability and abuse events
Hinge, latch, striker, and check-link load durability
Sag resistance and long-term stiffness retention
Hood flutter, over-slam, and misuse load cases
Sealing load optimization versus customer closing effort
Fatigue of welds, adhesives, hems, and bonded joints
Multi-Body Dynamics & Load Generation
Conduct full-vehicle and suspension-level loads cascade analysis; convert measured wheel-center time-series into joint, bushing, and mount load outputs for downstream CAE consumers.
Use 3D digitized road surfaces and high-fidelity tire models (F-Tire, CD-Tire, MF-Swift) to simulate diverse driving conditions cornering, braking, rough road, pothole events.
Integrate FEA flexible bodies into MBD models to capture high-frequency vibrations and non-linear component behavior.
Optimize chassis, suspension, and steering kinematics to balance ride comfort with structural durability and weight targets.
Advanced CAE & Dynamic Simulation
Lead complex implicit and explicit simulations including ground strikes, curb impacts, cyclic road loading, and closure slam events to evaluate structural resilience and load paths.
Translate road load data into representative durability load cases; define damage metrics, fatigue slopes, and event weighting strategies aligned with real-world customer usage.
Model Correlation & Validation
Validate MBD simulation models by correlating virtual results with physical Road Load Data Acquisition (RLDA) from test tracks and physical durability rigs.
Develop and maintain correlation metrics and confidence levels across simulation domains.
Technical Leadership & CollaborationServe as a subject matter expert across durability CAE and vehicle dynamics simulation; mentor engineers and advance simulation methodologies and best practices.
Partner with design, closures, body, chassis, manufacturing, and road load teams to define durability targets, align test intent, and embed lessons learned into future vehicle platforms.
Required Qualifications
Experience
8–12+ years of experience in automotive structural durability CAE, multi-body dynamics simulation, or a combination of both.
Demonstrated expertise in closures durability, system-level structures simulation, and full-vehicle load generation.
Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a related field required.
Simulation Tools
Structural FEA: Advanced proficiency in Nastran and Abaqus (implicit and explicit solvers).
Fatigue solvers: Strong experience with nCode DesignLife or FEMFAT.
MBD tools: Expertise in MSC Adams (Adams/Car, Adams/View); MotionSolve experience is a plus.
Tire modeling: Deep knowledge of F-Tire, CD-Tire, or MF-Swift for high-fidelity load prediction.
Structures & Closures Expertise
Modeling of hinge-latch systems, contacts, and nonlinear events.
Weld, adhesive, and bonded joint fatigue assessment.
Experience with mixed-material structures (HSLA steel, aluminum castings, bonded assemblies).
Pre/Post Processing & Automation
Proficiency with ANSA and Meta/Post for pre/post processing.
Proficiency in Python or MATLAB/Simulink for automation, co-simulation, and complex data post-processing.
Materials & Failure Mechanics
Strong understanding of fatigue (HCF/LCF), plasticity, ductile failure, and joint durability.
Solid foundation in rigid and flexible body kinematics, vehicle dynamics principles, and vibration theory.
Communication
Ability to translate complex multi-domain CAE results into clear technical recommendations and executive-level summaries.
Preferred / Nice to Have
Experience applying AI and machine learning to CAE workflows, including:
Reduced Order Models (ROM)
Physics-informed neural networks
AI-driven solvers (e.g., PhysicsAI, SimAI)
Familiarity with generative design or topology optimization for durability and mass reduction.
Experience with co-simulation frameworks linking MBD and FEA environments.
Background spanning both structural CAE and vehicle dynamics disciplines is strongly preferred.
Why This Role
This position sits at the convergence of two historically siloed disciplines structural durability simulation and multi-body dynamics within a division undergoing strategic consolidation. As part of a combined Simulation and Testing capability, you will have end-to-end ownership of the load-to-failure story: from generating physics-accurate vehicle loads through virtual proving ground analysis, to assessing fatigue life and signing off structural designs. This is a high-visibility, high-impact role with direct influence over vehicle program decisions.
We are seeking a highly experienced Senior CAE Technical Specialist to lead virtual durability sign-off, structural fatigue analysis, and multi-body dynamics load generation for vehicle structures, closures, and chassis systems. This combined role bridges two critical capabilities physics-based structural simulation and full-vehicle dynamic load analysis enabling end-to-end load-to-failure coverage within a unified engineering team.
