Staff Structural Simulation Engineer

Rivian•Irvine, CA

39d•Onsite

About The Position

As a Staff Structural Simulation Engineer, you will lead structural and thermo-mechanical risk management for advanced vehicle electronics through high-fidelity numerical simulations. You will define critical design requirements for integrated PCB layouts, enclosures, and cooling architectures to ensure aggressive hardware reliability targets are met. Your role involves establishing material characterization protocols and sophisticated model correlation to maintain world-class simulation fidelity. You will serve as a technical authority, driving strategic cross-functional decisions and leading complex root-cause analysis for pioneering electrical hardware to guide multidisciplinary teams toward engineering excellence.

Requirements

Master's Degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering or equivalent; Ph.D. preferred.
3-5 years (Ph.D) / 5-7 years (M.S.) of relevant industry experience working on problems in Structural Mechanics for electronics assemblies.
Solid understanding of theoretical and experimental structural mechanics with excellent domain knowledge in Non-Linear analysis, Explicit Analysis, Linear Dynamics and Vibrations, and Coupled Thermal-Structural analysis.
Demonstrated expertise in IC package (electronics package) design, materials, and common Chip-Package Interaction (CPI) failure modes across diverse applications, including high-power semiconductors and high-performance compute (e.g., AI and ADAS chips).
Expertise in material testing, tensile testing, designing customized test fixtures, and calibrating FEA models for versatile material types (adhesives, foams, elastomers, plastics, metals, brittles, etc.).
Broad understanding of structural composition and manufacturing of diverse package types, including Ball Grid Arrays (BGAs), System-on-Chip (SoC), and System-in-Package (SiP).
Strong foundation in FEA solvers, particularly Ansys, Abaqus, Optistruct, and SimLab/SimSolid, with proven ability to independently set up, execute, and troubleshoot analysis convergence issues.
Proficient in pre/post-processing tools such as Hypermesh, ANSA/Meta, SimLab, etc.
Excellent understanding of constitutive models and failure modes in metals, plastics, and elastomers.
Proficient with using Python/Matlab for running analysis and post-analysis data processing.
Experience developing and leading other multidisciplinary engineers.
Excellent communication skills across all functions and levels.
Excellent documentation practices.
Fluent written and spoken English.

Responsibilities

Spearhead structural and thermo-mechanical design risk management for low-voltage electronics assemblies within pioneering vehicle electrical hardware.
Execute multi-scale numerical simulations (e.g., random vibrations, shock, thermal-cycling) for electronics assemblies to establish and meet aggressive functional performance and reliability targets.
Conduct structural stiffness assessments and actuation mechanics simulations for haptic switches and touch surfaces to define baseline tactile feel, deformation limits, and long-term switch response.
Perform non-linear structural evaluations under human comfort loading and aggressive abuse scenarios (such as localized over-actuation, high-impact press forces, and mishandling) to prevent plastic deformation or fatigue failure.
Direct multi-physics simulations for critical low-voltage electronic modules and sensing hardware (e.g., radar, ultrasonic, optical, and positional sensors) to minimize thermal/mechanical distortion and structural deflection under operational and environmental stress.
Define structural risk margins, dictate component selection, and optimize component layout on heterogeneously integrated printed circuit boards, driving significant performance gains.
Deliver comprehensive design guidance, including setting enclosure stiffness requirements, defining thermal stack-up, optimizing cooling architecture, and specifying material systems to electronics assembly design teams.
Establish material characterization protocols and manage the centralized simulation material database for critical electronics components, polymers, and elastomers, ensuring simulation fidelity.
Direct, manage, and validate structural benchmarking activities, including sophisticated model correlation through advanced techniques like sine-sweep testing and high-fidelity strain gauge measurements.
Provide simulation expertise and strategic support to reliability engineering teams for complex root-cause analysis during rigorous testing and validation cycles.
Drive critical, cross-functional program decisions and consensus across multidisciplinary engineering teams, serving as a technical authority to ensure unparalleled product and engineering excellence.