Senior Automotive Occupant Safety CAE Engineer

ALTEN Technology USA

$110K — $130K *
Troy, MI 48085In-Person
Manufacturing & Automotive
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Automotive Engineering, Biomechanics, or related field.
  • 8-10 years in Occupant Safety Engineering or related roles.
  • Deep expertise in automotive occupant safety and crash simulation methodologies.
  • Proficiency in LS-Dyna for occupant protection modeling.
  • Strong understanding of North American safety regulations, including FMVSS, US-NCAP, and IIHS.

Responsibilities

  • Develop and maintain occupant protection CAE models using LS-Dyna.
  • Support vehicle development with frontal and side impact simulations.
  • Ensure CAE models align with the latest vehicle designs and CAD updates.
  • Evaluate occupant injury across various crash scenarios.
  • Optimize restraint systems for achieving compliance and high consumer ratings.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams for integrating safety components.
  • Support crash test efforts and correlate simulation results with physical data.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to work on cutting-edge occupant safety technology.
  • Collaborative environment with multiple engineering disciplines.
  • Strong emphasis on innovation and performance improvement.
  • Engagement in all stages of vehicle development and program delivery.
Full Job Description
Overview :
  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Biomechanics, or related discipline.
  • Minimum 8-10 years of experience in Occupant Safety Engineering, Crashworthiness, or Automotive CAE Safety Analysis.
  • This position is focused on the development, validation, and optimization of virtual occupant protection systems for frontal and side impact crash performance.
  • The role involves developing and maintaining high-fidelity LS-Dyna occupant safety models, evaluating occupant injury performance, and optimizing restraint systems and interior components to achieve regulatory, consumer information, and internal safety targets.
  • The engineer will collaborate closely with Safety Structures, Interior Systems, Chassis, Testing, Design Release Engineers (DREs), and suppliers to ensure occupant protection performance is achieved throughout vehicle development.
  • This position requires deep expertise in automotive occupant safety, restraint systems tuning, crash simulation methodologies, and North American safety regulations, along with the ability to drive cross-functional technical decisions throughout the product development lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities :
  • Occupant Safety CAE Development
  • Develop and maintain occupant protection CAE models using LS-Dyna
  • Support frontal and side impact simulation activities throughout vehicle development
  • Ensure CAE models accurately reflect the latest vehicle design and CAD releases
  • Maintain correlation between component-level and system-level CAE models
  • Occupant Performance Analysis
  • Assess occupant injury performance across all required crash configurations
  • Evaluate vehicle performance against internal safety targets, FMVSS requirements, US-NCAP, and IIHS protocols
  • Analyze simulation results and identify opportunities for performance improvements
  • Develop recommendations to improve occupant protection outcomes
  • Restraint System Optimization
  • Optimize airbags, seatbelts, steering columns, seats, instrument panels, and interior trim systems
  • Tune restraint systems to achieve regulatory compliance and top consumer ratings
  • Develop occupant protection strategies across multiple crash scenarios
  • Support development of occupant safety scorecards and performance targets
  • Cross-Functional Engineering Collaboration
  • Work closely with DREs and suppliers to ensure component models are properly correlated
  • Support integration of restraint and interior component models into complete vehicle simulations
  • Collaborate with Safety Structures teams when vehicle structural performance impacts occupant safety targets
  • Partner with Interior, Chassis, and other engineering organizations to resolve performance gaps
  • Physical Test Correlation & Validation
  • Support crash test planning and execution activities
  • Collaborate with testing teams to ensure simulation assumptions align with physical testing results
  • Participate in test reviews and correlation activities
  • Refine simulation models based on physical test data
  • Program Delivery & Technical Leadership
  • Support occupant safety development throughout all program phases through SOP
  • Maintain quality and accuracy of occupant protection models
  • Provide technical guidance regarding occupant safety performance and simulation methodology
  • Support resolution of complex safety and crashworthiness challenges

Profile:
  • Experienced occupant safety engineer with strong crash simulation and restraint system expertise
  • Analytical problem solver capable of translating simulation results into engineering decisions
  • Strong understanding of occupant injury mechanisms and protection strategies
  • Comfortable collaborating across multiple engineering disciplines and suppliers
  • Detail-oriented with a strong focus on model quality and simulation accuracy
  • Self-driven and capable of managing complex development activities independently
  • Effective communicator able to present technical findings and recommendations clearly

Must Have:
  • 8-10 years of experience in automotive occupant safety engineering
  • Strong LS-Dyna experience for occupant protection and crash simulation
  • Experience with occupant safety development for frontal and side impact events
  • Experience tuning and optimizing:
  • Airbags
  • Seat Belts
  • Seats
  • Steering Columns
  • Instrument Panels
  • Interior Trim Components
  • Strong knowledge of:
  • FMVSS 208
  • FMVSS 214
  • US-NCAP
  • IIHS
  • Experience developing and maintaining occupant safety CAE models
  • Experience correlating CAE and physical crash test results
  • Experience working with cross-functional engineering teams and suppliers
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities

Good to Have:
  • Humanetics CAE dummy model experience
  • Experience with Primer
  • Experience with ANSA / META
  • Experience with HyperWorks
  • Experience with LS-PrePost
  • Experience supporting vehicle launches from development through SOP
  • OEM or Tier 1 automotive experience
  • Experience working in startup or fast-paced vehicle development environments
  • Knowledge of global safety regulations beyond North America

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