Automotive Structures CAE Engineer — Lightweight, Durable

Ford Motor; Dearborn (MI); Hybrid; USD 74,000 - 166,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Flexible work model

Vehicle discount

Tuition assistance

Paid time off

Job summary

Ford Motor Company is seeking an Automotive Structures CAE Engineer in Dearborn, MI. You will perform linear and nonlinear FEA on body structures, support design decisions, and optimize mass and performance through topology and size optimization.

You will collaborate with design, test, and program teams to ensure durability, crashworthiness, NVH, and manufacturability while staying current with CAE practices and software capabilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or related field.
• 3 years of relevant automotive structural CAE experience.
• Experience with FEA tools (NASTRAN, ABAQUS, OptiStruct).
• DOE and statistical analysis familiarity.
• Experience supporting vehicle programs from concept to production.
• Proficiency with HyperMesh/HyperView/ANSA for modeling.
• Experience with MDO workflows.

Responsibilities

• Perform linear and nonlinear FEA on body structures to evaluate strength and stiffness.
• Apply CAE tools to support design decisions and issue identification.
• Conduct topology, topography, size, and shape optimization for mass reduction.
• Build and refine finite element models with proper boundary conditions.
• Correlate CAE predictions with test data and improve accuracy.
• Collaborate with design, test, and program teams to communicate results.
• Document methodologies and results in reports.
• Support root-cause investigations for structural issues.
• Stay current with industry CAE practices and software capabilities.

Skills

FEA tools

Structural analysis

Unibody design

DOE & stats

Topology optimization

Cross-functional collab

Education

Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering

Master's preferred

Tools

HyperMesh

HyperView

ANSA

modeFRONTIER

Python scripting

Job description

Ford Motor Company is seeking an Automotive Structures CAE Engineer in Dearborn, MI. You will perform linear and nonlinear FEA on body structures, support design decisions, and optimize mass and performance through topology and size optimization.

You will collaborate with design, test, and program teams to ensure durability, crashworthiness, NVH, and manufacturability while staying current with CAE practices and software capabilities.