Vehicle Dynamics CAE (Ford Performance)

Ford • Allen Park, MI

1d • $72,480 - $141,360 • Hybrid

About The Position

If good is just never good enough for you, Ford Performance shares your passion for striving for perfection. We’re responsible for creating and developing high performance products and services which are best-in-class on road and off road. Help us drive excellence in capability, performance, and customer experiences on the track, in the dunes, on the rocks, and on road driving by architecting vehicle chassis capabilities that are first in the industry.
Ford Motor Company continues to grow and modernize production and motorsports vehicles for our customers seeking the ultimate capability and performance. In support of this effort, the Ford Performance team is looking for a Vehicle Dynamics CAE Engineer.

Requirements

• 5+ years of automotive CAE experience, with an emphasis on performance or racing vehicle design and modeling
• 5+ years of experience using multi-body dynamics tools like ADAMS, ADAMS Car or similar software
• 2+ years of experience using full vehicle parametric models like CarSim
• Proficiency in programming languages for data processing and tool automation (MATLAB, C+, VisualBasic, Python).

Nice To Haves

• Master’s or PhD in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Vehicle Dynamics or Control Systems.
• Deep understanding of tire force and moment generation, including experience with Pacejka or MF-Tyre models.
• Participation in Formula SAE, Baja SAE, or professional motorsports engineering experience modeling active suspension systems, semi-active damping, or torque vectoring systems.
• Hands-on experience developing vehicle models specifically for real-time DIL simulators (e.g., rFpro, Cruden, Vi-Grade).
• A personal passion for track driving or off-roading, with an ability to subjectively evaluate vehicle handling limits.

Responsibilities

• Utilize CAE tools and test results to support the delivery of the company’s high-performance cars and trucks with full vehicle and suspension system modeling
• Utilize the CAE tools to support and direct efficient vehicle development and design processes – the CAE Group is a part of the Advanced Systems Engineering Group, defining new product suspension and chassis designs
• Implement and refine existing CAE modeling tools, and, where necessary, develop new tools to improve performance, steering, handling, ride, and load predictions
• Inform planned vehicle tests and interpret test results as part of the Vehicle Dynamics and Simulations team
• Analyze full vehicle test data to create specific attribute targets and ensure hardware choices support those targets
• Support the Full Vehicle Simulation Modeling work and simulator tool development at the FPTC full vehicle simulator and other off-site test locations 3-5 days per month

Benefits

• Immediate medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized backup 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level