CAE Durability Engineer

Overview

We’re ALTEN Technology USA, an engineering company helping clients bring groundbreaking ideas to life—from advancing space exploration and life-saving medical devices to building autonomous electric vehicles. With 3,000+ experts across North America, we partner with leading companies in aerospace, medical devices, robotics, automotive, commercial vehicles, EVs, rail, and more.

Key Responsibilities

• FE Model Development & Quality
• Construct high-quality finite element meshes and models for body, chassis, and vehicle subsystems
• Develop complex vehicle-level CAE models supporting durability and structural performance evaluations
• Ensure model quality, accuracy, and correlation with engineering requirements
• Utilize ANSA, HyperWorks, and other pre-processing tools for model construction and preparation
• Durability & Structural Analysis
• Perform nonlinear finite element analyses using Abaqus to evaluate component and system durability
• Conduct strength and fatigue assessments on structural vehicle systems
• Analyze simulation results and identify potential performance concerns
• Provide engineering recommendations to improve component durability and robustness
• Fatigue Life Assessment
• Perform fatigue life evaluations using nCode post-processing tools
• Interpret fatigue and durability results to predict product life performance
• Identify critical fatigue locations and potential failure risks
• Engineering Validation & Testing
• Support support test validation activities to improve simulation accuracy and correlation
• Participate in investigations related to physical testing and durability requirements
• Compare test and CAE results to improve model quality and predictive capabilities
• Collaborate with validation teams to ensure alignment between simulation and testing objectives
• Research & Method Development
• Lead research efforts focused on enhancing CAE durability methodologies
• Develop and implement improvements to existing simulation processes and workflows
• Investigate new tools, techniques, and best practices for durability analysis
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives across CAE processes and standards
• Problem Resolution & Countermeasure Development
• Investigate durability concerns identified through simulation activities
• Develop effective countermeasure plans to address structural performance issues
• Partner closely with design engineering teams to implement design improvements
• Support issue resolution throughout the product development cycle
• Technical Communication & Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Prepare and deliver clear technical reports, presentations, and engineering recommendations
• Communicate simulation findings to engineering leadership and project teams
• Work closely with design, testing, and validation organizations
• Provide technical leadership and support for durability-related engineering activities

Profile

• Strong analytical engineer with deep interest in vehicle durability and structural performance
• Passionate about solving complex engineering challenges using CAE methodologies
• Comfortable working on highly technical vehicle development programs
• Strong ownership mindset with the ability to independently drive analysis activities
• Excellent problem-solving and root cause investigation capabilities
• Effective communicator capable of presenting complex technical findings to diverse audiences
• Collaborative team player who works well across engineering functions
• Continuous improvement mindset with interest in advancing CAE methods and processes

Must Have

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering
• 6+ years of CAE analysis experience within automotive or related industries
• Minimum 4 years of experience with ANSA, META, HyperWorks, Abaqus, or similar CAE software
• Strong finite element modeling and meshing experience
• Experience conducting nonlinear finite element analysis using Abaqus
• Experience performing fatigue and durability assessments
• Working knowledge of nCode fatigue post-processing tools
• Strong understanding of vehicle structures, body systems, and chassis components
• Experience creating and presenting technical reports and engineering recommendations
• Ability to work cross-functionally with design, testing, and validation teams

Good to Have

• Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field
• Automotive OEM or Tier 1 supplier experience
• Vehicle durability development experience
• Test correlation and CAE validation experience
• Advanced fatigue and fracture mechanics knowledge
• Experience developing or improving CAE methodologies and best practices
• Exposure to full vehicle durability simulation activities
• Leadership experience supporting technical projects or research initiatives