Sr. Occupant Protection CAE Engineer
Job Summary:
Our client in Troy, MI is looking for a Sr. Occupant Protection CAE Engineer. This is a contract position.
The Sr. Occupant Protection CAE Engineer will develop CAE models for occupant protection virtual analysis. This engineer will be responsible for tuning airbags, seat belts and all relevant interior components regarding their energy absorption capabilities. This role is applicable to both frontal and side impact while the development targets are laid out in the occupant safety scorecard which covers the North American safety regulations as well as US consumer information protocols, and internal due care targets.
This Engineer will be responsible for keeping the occupant protection CAE model at the highest quality level with regards to latest CAD data and correct assumptions for component CAE model correlation. This will include the occasional attendance at test labs to ensure alignment between physical testing and CAE modeling assumptions. This Engineer will report to the Virtual Engineering Manager.
- Develop CAE occupant models in LS-Dyna for frontal and side impact.
- Collaborate with responsible DREs and associated component suppliers to ensure component CAE models are properly correlated and/or reasonable initial assumptions are being made.
- Collaborate with responsible DREs and associated component suppliers to ensure the proper integration of restraints and interior component CAE models into the systems model.
- Assess the system level occupant performance for all relevant impact configurations.
- Optimize the performance of the relevant components needed to meet occupant performance targets (airbags, seat belts, steering column, seats, instrument panel, interior trim etc.).
- Collaborate with the safety structures team in case the structural performance of the BIW does not allow meeting occupant performance targets.
- Collaborate with relevant cross-functional teams in case the performance of specific components prohibits meeting the occupant performance targets (e.g. Interior Team, Chassis Team etc.).
- Collaborate with the Testing Team to ensure that the execution of physical tests is aligned with CAE component and system level assumptions/needs.
- Support the delivery of the occupant safety attribute with high quality CAE models during all program phases all the way through Start-of-Production.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Biomechanics or equivalent.
- 8-10 years relevant experience.
- Proficiency with LS-Dyna modeling including all common pre/post-processing tools (Primer, Meta, Hyperworks, LS-PrePost etc.).
- Proficiency with the Humanetics CAE dummy model pre/post-processing.
- Excellent understanding of the automotive safety protocol landscape for North America (FMVSS-208/214, US-NCAP, IIHS).
- Excellent understanding of the functionalities, tuning, and CAE modeling approaches for components like:
- Airbags for frontal and side impact protection.
- Seat belts.
- Seats for first and second seat row including pelvis-thorax airbag integration.
- Steering columns.
- Instrument panels including knee bolsters and passenger airbag integration.
- Interior trim like carpet, pillar trim, headliner, and sun visors.
- Excellent understanding of tuning knobs and parameters that affect the occupant response required to meet regulatory and consumer information test requirements with top performance (≥20% margin for regulatory requirements, GOOD for IIHS and 5-Star for US-NCAP).