Tribology CAE Engineer

Jobtailor; Missouri; On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor is seeking a senior CAE tribology engineer to lead virtual analyses of lubrication and wear phenomena in propulsion and electrified systems. You will evaluate bearing components, oil flow, and thermal effects, using physics-based CAE tools to guide architecture and calibration decisions.

The role requires strong communication and cross-functional collaboration across design, test, and manufacturing teams, with a focus on delivering actionable, data-driven recommendations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of CAE/tribology experience in propulsion or electrified propulsion systems.
• Hands-on CAE experience in at least one lubricated-contact or fluid-system domain.
• Strong understanding of lubrication, tribology, and thermal effects.

Responsibilities

• Lead virtual analysis of tribological interfaces across propulsion and electrified systems.
• Analyze lubrication regimes, oil flow, pressure distribution, and temperature.
• Correlate simulations with rig, engine, vehicle, and warranty evidence.
• Develop, validate, and document analysis methods and reusable workflows.
• Interface with design, test, manufacturing, materials, and supplier teams.

Skills

Lubrication and tribology fundamentals

CFD and thermofluids analysis

Technical communication skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering

Master’s or Ph.D. preferred

Tools

FLARE

AVL Excite

GT-Power

Star-CCM+

ANSYS Fluent/CFX

Siemens Simcenter

Pumplinx

Abaqus

MATLAB

Python

Job description

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute virtual analysis of tribological interfaces across propulsion and electrified systems
• Analyze lubrication regimes, oil flow and supply, pressure distribution, aeration/cavitation, temperature, and lubricant transport
• Evaluate bearings, bushings, piston components, gears, pumps, turbochargers, seals, and e-drive components
• Assess friction, wear, scuffing, seizure, durability, efficiency, thermal performance, and NVH mechanisms
• Apply physics-based CAE and reduced-order/system models to support architecture, sizing, calibration, and program decisions
• Define modeling approaches, assumptions, boundary conditions, material and lubricant inputs, and analysis fidelity
• Develop coupled CFD-to-tribology and system-to-component workflows
• Support hardware release, validation, and issue resolution by correlating predictions with rig, engine, vehicle, e-drive, teardown, field, and warranty evidence
• Translate analysis into engineering recommendations, risk assessments, design actions, and acceptance criteria
• Interface with design, test, manufacturing, materials, lubrication-system, controls, supplier, and program teams
• Develop, validate, document, and deploy analysis methods, standard work, templates, checklists, and reusable workflows
• Contribute to automation, scripting, parametric studies, DOE, data reduction, visualization, and cycle-time improvements
• Provide technical guidance, peer review, and informal mentoring
• Communicate complex physics, uncertainty, and engineering judgment to technical and non-technical stakeholders

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline
• 5+ years of relevant experience in CAE, engineering analysis, product development, or validation involving lubrication, tribology, thermofluids, powertrain, or electrified propulsion systems
• Hands‑on CAE experience in at least one lubricated‑contact or fluid‑system domain
• Strong understanding of lubrication and tribology fundamentals, fluid‑film behavior, friction, wear, contact mechanics, oil properties, heat generation, and thermal effects
• Experience with commercial, internally developed, or open‑source CAE tools for lubrication, tribology, CFD, thermofluids, multibody dynamics, or related analysis
• Ability to select model fidelity, establish assumptions and boundary conditions, assess uncertainty, and interpret results in relation to hardware behavior
• Experience correlating simulations with test, teardown, field, or warranty data
• Ability to independently lead complex analysis tasks and deliver technically sound recommendations on schedule
• Strong written, verbal, and visual communication skills
• Experience in cross‑functional, global, and matrixed engineering organizations
• U.S. Person status required: U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, asylee, or refugee
• Preferred: Master’s or Ph.D. in a related engineering or tribology field
• Preferred: FLARE or equivalent hydrodynamic/tribology CAE tool experience
• Preferred: Experience with AVL Excite, GT‑Power, Star‑CCM+, ANSYS Fluent/CFX, Siemens Simcenter, Pumplinx, Abaqus, MATLAB, Python, or comparable tools
• Preferred: Experience with lubrication‑system models, CFD‑to‑tribology coupling, EHL/contact mechanics, relevant powertrain components, CAE method development, workflow automation, scripting, HPC, DOE, optimization, surrogate modeling, data visualization, late‑program issues, GM‑like product‑development processes, and technical leadership

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in lubrication and tribology analysis, applying physics‑based CAE methods to optimize propulsion and electrified systems. Capable of leading complex engineering tasks, correlating simulations with real‑world data, and providing actionable recommendations.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Mechanical Engineering Degree
• 5+ Years CAE Experience
• Lubrication and Tribology Fundamentals
• CFD and Thermofluids Analysis
• Technical Communication Skills

Hard Skills

• CAE Analysis
• Lubrication Regimes
• Friction and Wear Analysis
• CFD Modeling
• Thermal Performance Assessment
• Data Visualization
• Model Fidelity Selection
• Simulation Correlation
• Workflow Automation
• Scripting

Soft Skills

• Technical Guidance
• Peer Review
• Mentoring
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration
• Communication Skills

Industry Keywords

• Tribology
• Powertrain Systems
• Electrified Propulsion
• Fluid‑Systems
• EHL/Contact Mechanics
• HPC
• DOE
• Optimization
• Surrogate Modeling
• GM‑Like Product‑Development Processes

Tools & Technologies

• FLARE
• AVL Excite
• GT‑Power
• Star‑CCM+
• ANSYS Fluent/CFX
• Siemens Simcenter
• Pumplinx
• Abaqus
• MATLAB
• Python