Footwear FEA Engineer – Simulation & Automation

Brooks Running; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 104,000 - 156,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life & AD&D

Disability Insurance

HSA/FSA

401K Savings Plan and match

Paid Time Off

Bonus potential

Product discounts

Fitness discounts

Volunteer and donation benefits

Employee Assistance Program

Transportation assistance

Job summary

Brooks Running in Seattle seeks an experienced FEA Engineer II to develop and apply finite element analyses, nonlinear material models, and automation to support footwear development and data-driven decision making.

You will work across Modeling & Simulation, Footwear Engineering Applications, and AI-enabled simulation, applying implicit and explicit methods to optimize sockliners, midsoles, outsoles, and plates.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mechanics, or a related engineering discipline.
• 5+ years of professional experience developing finite element models using Abaqus, Altair OptiStruct, Radioss, or comparable FEA solvers.
• Experience independently developing and executing nonlinear FEA to footwear, sporting goods, soft materials, consumer products, or similarly complex products.
• Experience developing nonlinear material models for foams, elastomers, composites, or other nonlinear material systems.
• Strong understanding of solid mechanics, nonlinear material behavior, contact mechanics, boundary conditions, and interpretation of simulation results.
• Experience connecting material-level behavior to component- and system-level product performance.
• Experience with both implicit and explicit finite-element methods.
• Experience with design optimization, design of experiments, parameter studies, or automated design exploration.
• Experience with material calibration, experimental data interpretation, and simulation-to-test correlation.
• Programming or scripting experience, preferably Python, for engineering automation, data processing, simulation workflow development, or user-defined subroutines.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, documentation, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Ability to translate physical engineering problems into appropriate computational models and clearly communicate results and limitations.

Responsibilities

• Apply established modeling practices and develop or improve material models and simulation methods for assigned footwear engineering applications.
• Develop, calibrate, and validate nonlinear material models for footwear materials, including foams, elastomers, polymers, and composite systems using established modeling approaches and validation practices.
• Implement and maintain validated material models across appropriate simulation platforms and solvers such as Abaqus, OptiStruct, and Radioss.
• Define appropriate model assumptions, contacts, boundary conditions, load cases, and solution methods for well-defined nonlinear footwear simulations using established modeling practices.
• Contribute to the development and improvement of digital test methods that reproduce relevant physical tests and enable quantitative simulation-to-test correlation.
• Use experimental data to assess simulation accuracy and identify opportunities to improve material models, boundary conditions, and existing modeling methodology.
• Document modeling assumptions, calibration methods, validation results, applicability, and limitations to enable consistent application and reuse of simulation methods.
• Apply appropriate implicit and explicit finite element methods based on the engineering problem and loading conditions.
• Apply established geometry preparation, meshing, and model-build workflows to efficiently create high-quality finite element models.
• Consult with senior engineers or technical leaders when simulation problems require significant changes to established methods or involve unusually high technical uncertainty.
• Own assigned simulation studies and translate engineering questions into actionable product-development recommendations.
• Execute FEA and engineering analyses to support footwear development, innovation, and athlete-related engineering projects.
• Translate well-defined design and performance questions into appropriate simulation studies, engineering metrics, and measurable engineering outputs.
• Evaluate material, geometry, and structural design alternatives across footwear components, including sockliners, midsoles, outsoles, and plates, using established simulation methods to understand engineering and performance trade-offs and inform design decisions.
• Integrate physical testing and experimental data into assigned simulation studies to assess model accuracy and support engineering conclusions.
• Collaborate with Design, Materials, Testing, Run Research, and engineering teams to execute simulation studies and support footwear performance decisions.
• Clearly communicate actionable findings, engineering implications, assumptions, uncertainty, and model limitations to technical and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Manage assigned simulation activities to deliver technically sound results within agreed project scope and timing.

Skills

FEA modeling

Abaqus

OptiStruct

Radioss

Python scripting

Documentation

Cross-functional collaboration

Design optimization

Material calibration

Manual interpretation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

HyperMesh

Abaqus

OptiStruct

Radioss

Job description

Brooks Running in Seattle seeks an experienced FEA Engineer II to develop and apply finite element analyses, nonlinear material models, and automation to support footwear development and data-driven decision making.

You will work across Modeling & Simulation, Footwear Engineering Applications, and AI-enabled simulation, applying implicit and explicit methods to optimize sockliners, midsoles, outsoles, and plates.