Closures & Body Structures Engineer

ALTEN Technology USA•Long Beach, CA

13h•$120,000 - $140,000•Onsite

About The Position

ALTEN Technology USA is seeking a Closures & Body Structures Engineer to contribute to an automotive closures engineering team. The role is responsible for closure and body structure systems as a program advances from validation through prototype builds, pilot, and job one at the assembly plant. It spans sheet metal structures, mechanical hardware, and manufacturing, including closure inner and outer panels, reinforcements, hinge and latch mounting interfaces, and integration into the body structure. The engineer owns assigned designs hands-on in CAD, correlates test results to requirements, and supports build events by resolving issues in time to protect program timing. The position is onsite in Long Beach, California. The engineer works with suppliers and cross-functional teams to maintain styling intent, structural requirements, and program timing, and supports engineering changes and verification during launch.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Automotive, or Manufacturing Engineering, or equivalent experience.
At least 3 years of automotive engineering experience in production vehicle development, including at least one program through launch.
Hands-on CAD experience in CATIA or 3DEXPERIENCE on closures or body structures, with demonstrated ownership of personal geometry.
Demonstrated experience designing and releasing sheet metal components or closure hardware.
Strong mechanical fundamentals, including section properties and stiffness, steel and aluminum material behavior, and failure modes.
Working knowledge of GD&T, tolerance stack-up, and datum and locator strategy.
Familiarity with DVP&R, DFMEA, automotive product development milestones, and launch gates.
Experience working directly with suppliers on part quality, testing, and delivery.
Willingness to work onsite in Long Beach, California, and support plant build events.

Nice To Haves

Closures experience on side doors, liftgates, hoods, or tailgates, including hemming and sealing interfaces.
Experience with aluminum closures or mixed-material body structures.
Strong knowledge of sheet metal forming, including forming limits, springback, oil canning, and bake hardening.
Familiarity with body-side integration of hinges, latches, and window regulators.
CAE literacy to drive design decisions on stiffness, strength, and structural integrity.
Experience on EV startup or clean-sheet vehicle programs.
Hands-on approach to physical prototyping and a boots-on-the-ground mentality during build events.

Responsibilities

Design, modify, and release closure and body structure sheet metal components—including inner and outer panels, reinforcements, and hinge, latch, and check mounting interfaces—using CATIA or 3DEXPERIENCE.
Optimize designs for stamping, hemming, and joining processes, including spot welding, adhesive bonding, and mixed-material joints.
Package and integrate closure hardware into the body structure, ensuring appropriate kinematics, clearance, and load paths for hinges, latches, checks, and seals.
Support DVP&R execution, review test reports, and correlate physical test results with CAE for strength, durability, stiffness, and slam and cycle performance.
Support regulatory and rating compliance for closures and body structure, including FMVSS 206 and 214 and IIHS side impact requirements.
Work with suppliers on part quality, test failures, retests, and design or process changes, driving issues to closure with clear ownership and timing.
Support prototype, pilot, and launch builds; resolve dimensional, fit and finish, gap and flush, and structural findings on the floor, including next-day fix concepts during launch.
Own CAD, BOM, and GD&T documentation for assigned components, and manage tolerance stack-up and datum strategy at closure-to-body interfaces.
Drive root cause analysis and corrective action on build and validation issues, including oil canning, panel distortion, water leaks, and closing effort findings.
Collaborate with closures mechanisms, studio design, manufacturing engineering, quality, and purchasing to maintain styling intent, structural requirements, and program timing.
Support engineering change execution during launch, verify implementation in the plant, and confirm effectiveness on subsequent builds.