Range and Performance Test Engineer

Ford Motor Company; Long Beach (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Parental leave & family care

Vehicle discount program

Tuition assistance

Paid time off

Public holidays & vacation flexibility

Employee resource groups

Job summary

Ford Motor Company in California seeks a dedicated test engineer to own hub and chassis dynamometer testing, translating road-load and drivetrain performance into real-world insights. You will collaborate with powertrain, controls, and vehicle dynamics teams to meet ambitious performance and range targets.

You’ll plan and execute vehicle testing across temperatures and loading, design test cells, create ISO/IEC 17025 compliant SOPs, lead validation in lab and on-road environments, and help

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Automotive Engineering or equivalent.
• Minimum 5 years of vehicle performance or range testing experience (EV preferred).
• Hands-on experience operating hub and chassis dynamometers with ISO/IEC 17025 and WLTP knowledge.
• Strong EV powertrain knowledge and data-driven analysis skills.
• Experience with testing across temperature, loads, and SOC.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute vehicle testing for acceleration, power delivery, and gradeability.
• Contribute to design and commissioning of test cells and establish internal standards.
• Create SOPs for lab operations per ISO/IEC 17025 and help with dyno calibrations.
• Lead validation across chassis/hub dynos and on-road environments.
• Support global range and energy-efficiency development and regulatory testing.
• Own test procedures for dynos, including simulations and torque capacity.
• Install instrumentation for high-fidelity data acquisition.
• Analyze large datasets to map powertrain efficiency and reconcile models.
• Collaborate with teams to provide test-driven feedback on calibration and aero trade studies.

Skills

Python

MATLAB

Data analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Automotive Engineering or equivalent

Tools

Hub/Chassis dynamometer

ISO/IEC 17025

Data acquisition systems

Job description

In this position…

In this role, you will take deep ownership of hub and chassis dynamometer testing, serving as a technical authority on road load characterization, drivetrain efficiency, and real-world performance translation.

You will partner closely with powertrain, controls, thermal, and vehicle dynamics teams to ensure our vehicles meet ambitious performance and range targets.

What you’ll do…

• Plan and execute vehicle testing for acceleration, power delivery, gradeability, and towing across various temperatures, SOC, and loading conditions
• Contribute to the final design and commissioning of best-in-class test cells (chassis dyno, hub dynos, climatic chambers) and develop internal standards for EV range & performance testing
• Create SOPs for lab operations in accordance to ISO/IEC 17025 for dyno calibrations/ maintenance and vehicle operations
• Lead validation across chassis/hub dynos and on-road environments
• Support global range and energy efficiency development & certification testing for regulatory labeling across international markets
• Own test procedures for hub and chassis dynos, including grade simulations, towing mass/drag modeling. Specify dyno requirements for torque capacity, inertia simulation, and cooling
• Direct precise instrumentation of test vehicles, including the installation of torque transducers, thermocouples, voltage/current measurements, & other instrumentation to ensure high-fidelity data acquisition for integrity and traceability
• Analyze large datasets to extract powertrain efficiency maps and provide correlation studies on physics-based models to diagnose discrepancies between simulation and real-world results
• Drive collaboration with powertrain, controls, and thermal teams to provide test-driven feedback on motor/inverter calibration, torque limits, thermal derating, and aero trade studies

You’ll have…

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Automotive Engineering or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
• 5 years of experience in vehicle performance or range testing (EV experience highly preferred)
• Deep hands‑on experience operating and managing Hub and Chassis dynamometers including direct experience with ISO/IEC 17025 and understanding of 40CFR1066 and UNECE R154 (WLTP)
• Strong technical understanding of EV powertrain physics, torque/efficiency characterization, and road load modeling (coastdown testing)
• Proven experience executing gradeability and towing performance testing
• Proficiency in data analysis tools such as Python or MATLAB for processing complex vehicle datasets

Even better, you may have…

• Master’s degree in Engineering or a related field
• Expertise in regulatory range certification procedures (EPA, WLTP, GTR)
• Experience with thermal derating, protection strategies, and high‑voltage EV safety practices
• Familiarity with vehicle simulation tools (CarSim, GT‑Suite, AVL) and data acquisition systems (Vector, ATI, DEWESoft)
• Prior involvement in test lab build‑out or dyno hardware specification

As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:

• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp‑up programs, subsidized back‑up child care and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

Visa sponsorship is available for this position.

Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.

This position is hybrid. Candidates who are in commuting distance to a Ford hub location may be required to be onsite four or more days per week.

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