Dynamics Quality Performance

ALTEN; Auburn Hills (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

ALTEN Technology USA is seeking a senior Vehicle Dynamics Engineer to lead development and validation of ride, steering, handling, and tire performance for Client vehicles. This role emphasizes CAE/virtual analysis leadership and collaboration with cross-functional teams.

The position requires extensive experience in chassis design and vehicle dynamics, with hands-on vehicle testing and the ability to travel as needed, including international assignments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical/Electrical Engineering from ABET-accredited university.
• Experience in chassis design/development and vehicle dynamics engineering.
• Familiar with suspension/steering/brake system kinematics and ride/handling assessments.

Responsibilities

• Develop and validate vehicle dynamics functionality related to ride, steering, handling, and tire performance.
• Lead CAE/virtual analysis for steering/suspension hard-point development and component stiffness/damping specifications.
• Conduct in-vehicle testing and support pre-production validation; travel domestically and internationally as needed.

Skills

Vehicle dynamics

Chassis design

CAE leadership

ADAMS/Car

CarSimulation tools

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Master's degree in Mechanical/Electrical Engineering

Tools

ADAMS/Car

CarSim

VI-Car realtime

NX/Teamcenter

Job description

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.

As part of the global ALTEN Group—57,000+ engineers in 30 countries—we deliver across the entire product development cycle, from consulting to full project outsourcing.

When you join ALTEN Technology USA, you’ll collaborate on some of the world’s toughest engineering challenges, supported by mentorship, career growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits. We take pride in fostering a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to grow.

Job Description:

• Deliverables :*Development, and validation, of Vehicle Dynamics functionality as it relates to Chassis quality/warranty of Client vehicles OR development, and validation, of ride, steering, handling, and tire performance to meet functional objectives of Client vehicles..
• *The overall objective is to minimize vehicle/suspension sensitivity to variation in forces induced by road surfaces, assembly build variation, vehicular architecture, and/or wear.
• *Responsible for quality testing activities throughout all Program development phases; from up-front target setting and design definition, through in-vehicle testing on prototype properties, and then pre-production (pilot) properties.
• *Ensure that critical components have appropriate targets/specifications to minimize sensitivity to brake rotor wear (judder), tire/wheel imbalance, vehicle lead/drift/pull, steering wander, torque steer, and vehicle shake (ride). This will be accomplished through a combination of simulation, objective testing, and subjective evaluation methods
• *Responsible for in-vehicle development of the critical components to meet the vehicle’s overall ride, steering, handling, and tire performance objectives.
• *This development work takes place predominantly at the Chelsea Proving Grounds in Michigan, with travel required to other test locations as both weather, and test surface conditions dictate (Significant travel occurs during the winter months, with trips lasting 2-3 weeks at a time. Travel is mostly domestic within North America, but can also be international, and is approximately 20% of the time)
• *Requires specialized driving skills for subjective ride, steering, routine handling and limit handling evaluations.
• *Responsible for the leadership of all CAE/virtual analysis activity associated with steering/suspension hard-point development; steering/suspension component stiffness /damping specification; and ride/handling
• performance optimization for all variants of a vehicle architecture, including formulation of design recommendations.
• *Analysis/optimization of suspension/steering sub-system kinematics and compliance.
• *Analytical assessments of steady state/transient handling behavior; and calculation of associated component loads for various Handling events (Emergency handling/fish-hook, Trailer Tow SAE J2807, Slowly Increasing Steer, Step Steer, Off-Road events for Trail Rating.) Simulation of ride events and associated characterization of performance (Primary Ride (Low frequency events), Secondary Ride (High frequency events), Impact harshness , Vehicle pitch under braking, Vehicle head-toss , Shimmy and Wander and Brake Judder.)
• Development/validation/ownership of all associated vehicle/sub-system simulation models (multi-body/ADAMS, parametric/CARSIM, VICarRealtime, NASTRAN/flex-body.)
• Develop models and provide on-site support for driving simulator studies.
• Formulate/execute plans for analytical support of physical mule tuning activities. Develop new CAE/simulation processes as needed.

Qualification:

• Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering or Equivalent from an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredited university. Driving vehicles on CPG, Dynamics assesment, familairchassia and Dynamics components, Validation vehicles
• Experience in chassis design/development and/or vehicle dynamics engineering experience.
• Solid understanding of system/component design/development processes.
• Experience with processes and simulation techniques associated with suspension/steering/brake system kinematics/compliance/vibration studies, vehicle ride/handling assessments, component structural analysis, and optimization.
• Experience with associated simulation tools: ADAMS/Car, Altair Motionview, Opti-struct, NASTRAN,
• AMEsim, CARsim, I-Sight, Matlab, Simulink, VI-Car realtime.
• Advanced user of ADAMS/Car, Carsim, and VI-Car realtime.
• Experience with driving simulator studies and associated preparation, validation, and loading of CAE/virtual models.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to coordinate activities with the extended team.
• Ability to develop custom routines (Visual Basic, ADAMS command files, ADAMS/Car templates, Altair Motionview templates,
• Matlab, etc.) to support process enhancement.
• Familiarity with Design Failure Mode & Effects Analysis (Design Failure Mode & Effects Analysis (DFMEA) and Design Verification Plan & Report (DVP&R) structure.
• Formal training in Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) methods.
• Ability to extract component detail from NX, Teamcenter and CoDeP
• Self-starter with demonstrated problem solving ability
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to summarize, present work to management and cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated understanding of vehicle dynamics theory and application
• Experience with Suspension and Steering system kinematics and compliance as well as full vehicle ride and handling.
• Vehicle ride, steering and handling evaluation experience
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to coordinate activities with other department / functions
• Proficient use of MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc).
• Organized, self-motivated, work as required to support projects.
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Valid driver's license is required as well as a clean driving record - will be required to drive company vehicles.
• Ability to travel to Internationally for meetings and manufacturing plant support
• Must be legally eligible to work in the USA
• Master of Science Degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering
• Demonstrated understanding of vehicle dynamics theory and application
• Experience with Suspension and Steering system kinematics and compliance as well as full vehicle ride and handling.
• Vehicle ride, steering and handling evaluation experience
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to coordinate activities with other department / functions
• Proficient use of MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc).
• Organized, self-motivated, work as required to support projects.
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Valid driver's license is required as well as a clean driving record - will be required to drive company vehicles.
• Ability to travel to Internationally for meetings and manufacturing plant support
• Must be legally eligible to work in the USA"
• High level of proficiency in English (speaking, reading, writing)

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, genetic information, or pregnancy.

Compliance Notice: Alten USA is a federal contractor subject to the requirements of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and Executive Order 11246. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Drug Screening Requirement: As a federal contractor, Alten USA maintains a drug-free workplace. All candidates selected for employment will be required to successfully complete a pre-employment drug screening as a condition of hire.