Welding Engineer

About the role

The Mechanical Engineer designs and develops vehicle body floor structures in CAD, with a focus on supporting prototype builds and converting SUVs into wheelchair-accessible vehicles. This role plans and executes design, procurement, assembly, and validation activities while ensuring alignment with project timelines, quality standards, and cost targets. The engineer collaborates closely with cross-functional teams to deliver robust, manufacturable, and cost-effective body structure solutions.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop vehicle body (floor) structures using CAD tools, ensuring robust, manufacturable, and serviceable designs.
• Support all prototype, design verification, and process verification builds by providing complete and accurate CAD data and documentation.
• Generate and refine concepts and mock-ups to explore design options and optimize body structure performance.
• Plan design, procurement, assembly, and validation requirements and align them with overall project timing and deliverables, including Stage Gate and APQP processes.
• Ensure designs meet quality and cost targets and proactively propose low-cost alternatives without compromising performance or safety.
• Support design commonization efforts to standardize components and reduce complexity across product lines.
• Collaborate in the design of body structure fixtures to support manufacturing, assembly, and validation activities.
• Lead design reviews and present design intent, trade-offs, and risk assessments to stakeholders.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including Manufacturing, Quality, Sales, and Portfolio, to ensure designs meet functional, regulatory, and customer requirements.
• Incorporate joining methods, particularly welding, into body structure designs to ensure structural integrity and manufacturability.
• Apply engineering fundamentals and best practices to improve durability, safety, and performance of body structures.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives related to body structure design, processes, and standards.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a related engineering field.
• At least 5 years of work experience within design, preferably in the automotive industry.
• Proficiency in designing body structures in CAD, with the ability to create detailed models and drawings.
• Hands-on experience with sheet metal design, including forming, bending, and fabrication considerations.
• Experience with joining methods, particularly welding, and their application in body structure design.
• Strong understanding of engineering fundamentals related to structural design, load paths, and durability.
• Able to plan and execute design activities in alignment with project timelines, Stage Gate processes, and APQP deliverables.
• Experience supporting prototype, design verification, and process verification builds.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to lead design reviews and collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Able to balance quality, cost, and manufacturability when making design decisions.

Qualifications

• Previous assembly plant launch experience, especially ground-up design, is preferred.
• At least 5 years of work experience in the automotive industry is preferred.
• Experience with dimensional management and a solid understanding of GD&T is preferred.
• Experience designing fixtures to support body structure manufacturing and validation is beneficial.
• Familiarity with converting vehicles for specialized applications, such as wheelchair accessibility, is an advantage.
• Able to contribute to design commonization efforts to reduce complexity and cost across platforms.

Skills

• Proficiency in CAD software.
• Hands-on experience with sheet metal design and fabrication.
• Experience with joining methods, particularly welding.
• Understanding of engineering fundamentals related to structural design.
• Ability to plan and execute design activities in alignment with project timelines.
• Experience supporting prototype, design verification, and process verification builds.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Ability to balance quality, cost, and manufacturability.

Benefits

Pay Range: $95,000.00 - $110,000.00/yr.

Company 401(k) match up to 40%.

Annual bonus opportunity in the range of 5–10% based on company performance.

Access to 2 weeks of PTO and 6 paid holidays in the first year.

Multiple insurance and benefits options available.

Structured, project-driven environment with defined processes such as Stage Gate and APQP.

Opportunities for growth and advancement within the company, including potential for moving up to different levels of senior engineering (categories 1-7).

Workplace Type: Fully onsite position in Winamac, IN.

Application Deadline: July 24, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation, and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia, and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service. The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.