Technical Specialist – Chassis Systems Reliability Verification, Validation

Jobtailor; Dearborn (MO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Ford is seeking a senior Suspension Durability engineer responsible for leading reliability verification across vehicle programs and aligning with system-level targets. You will connect design inputs to CAE methods, drive test methods, and ensure early issue identification with cross-functional teams.

The role requires hands-on development, data analysis, and frequent collaboration with global teams, including travel to plants and engineering centers to support process development and launches.

Qualifications

• BS-Engineering required.
• 10 years of experience.
• 6+ years in suspension components and related systems.
• Experience with DFMEA/PFMEA, control plans and GD&T.
• Experience analyzing CAE and physical tests.

Responsibilities

• Lead durability verification methods for suspension systems across vehicle programs.
• Sign off on system/subsystem/component with senior leadership involvement.
• Coach and mentor engineers across global regions.
• Travel to plants and engineering centers as needed; on-site collaboration 4 days/week.

Skills

Durability validation

Problem solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

BS-Engineering

Tools

DFMEA/PFMEA

Control Plans

GD&T

Job description

• Ensure best in world quality from initial vehicle quality through high time in service.
• Ensure aligned cascade of Reliability and Confidence statistical objectives for the 90th percentile use case with classification of end items aspects as Durable Core or Replaceable.
• Ensure aligned cascade of targets for reliability of suspension end items – vehicle to system to end item to end item functions.
• Ensure proper accounting of suspension function and performance within customer operating conditions and environments / noise factors using the system RCL and aligning with end item RCL’s.
• Expert in creating and executing vehicle, system, and lab testing that exercise applicable noise factors and potential failure modes to demonstrate targeted Reliability and Confidence.
• Hands on development, test, and data acquisition skills with ability to reduce and analyze data to support Test Method development and root cause analysis.
• Use of warranty analysis, management fleet information, government inspection data, supplier part sales, social media, etc to confirm coverage of our design verification test methods.
• Ensure connection of our physical test methods to our design inputs and CAE verification methods.
• Drive key stress factors into specifications and test methods to eliminate HTIS failures collaborating with TE/SME Specification owners.
• Champion change point analysis for re-used or modified end items and ensure correct level of requirements and checks are planned as part of the program.
• Work with customer correlation and system technical specialists to align system durability verification methods for each application including a formalized engagement of connected vehicle data, vehicle platform engineering and Ford Business divisions like Ford Pro.
• Lead on suspension diagnostics and prognostics.
• Integral to Signoff of System/Subsystem/Component with specific signoff responsibility BEFORE Chief Signoff.
• Coach, Mentor, & Train Suspension D&R engineers across all the global regions.
• Go-To for System Problem Solving – Launch, Recall, Quality / Field Issues, DV/PV Issues.

Requirements

• BS-Engineering required
• 10 years of experience
• 6+ years in suspension related components and commodities.
• Extensive system and component engineering design & release experience, knowledge of various chassis architecture performance characteristics, and experience with vehicle, system, and component durability validation methods, architecture creation, and vehicle manufacturing.
• Extensive experience creating and managing DFMEA/PFMEA/SCCAF/Control Plans/ drawings-GD&T
• Experience with problem solving tools – 8D, 5 why, Six Sigma, etc.
• Experience analyzing output from CAE and physical test methods – vehicle, system, and component.
• Position requires occasional travel to assembly plants and other global chassis engineering centers to support process development, issue identification/resolution, and launch/ongoing production.
• Travel may be significant at times as needed
• On-site support for collaboration required targeting 4 days per week minimum.