Suspension Ride Engineer (Vehicle Development)

Location:

Farmington Hills, Michigan, United States

Job ID:

R0051181

Date Posted:

2024-06-14

Company Name:

HITACHI ASTEMO AMERICAS, INC.

Profession (Job Category):

Engineering & Science

Job Schedule:

Full time

Remote:

No

Job Description:

General Description:

The Ride Engineer is responsible for vehicle dynamics attributes, leading tuning events, and delivering quality products to our customers. Working with both internal and external customers to understand the requirements of the programs. This position requires experience with vehicle dynamics, shock tuning, data analysis, and test method development. The Ride Engineers are a part of the Vehicle Development team that work with cross-functional teams and customers to develop new technology, demo cars, and advanced systems. This position is responsible for delivering best-in-class ride performance utilizing optimization metrics and advanced systems/tools.

Up to 60% travel required, including international.

Most importantly, this individual must be able to contribute to a fun and productive environment, maintain a positive attitude, and develop strong working relationships with colleagues and team members.

Job Responsibilities:

• Exhibits basic knowledge and execution of damper / ride development performance metrics, both Hitachi internal processes and customer processes.

• Develop strong working relationships with customers conveying both professionalism and strong product knowledge.

• Responsible for coordinating ride work activities with customer in support of determined program milestones.

• Directs the efforts of support technicians when conducting ride work at customer locations.

• Gather/analyze objective application data from lab and vehicle testing to support testing/tuning/evaluation

• Analyze quality issues to determine root cause and present to Core Engineering team.

• Support efforts to develop/improve test and tuning processes, procedures, supporting tools, and documentation

• Building and testing shock absorbers to support customer tuning activity and lab testing.

• Run shock absorber testing using various types of shock absorber test machines.

• Operate computer controlled test equipment and data acquisition systems.

• Troubleshooting and problem solving skills required

• Lead or participate in creative brainstorming sessions to solve technical challenges

• Maintains accurate damper change logs and tuning reports during every step of the tuning process using the correct terminology. Organize information systematically and separately for each program.

• Manage >5 projects simultaneously with minimal oversight

• Review, sign off, and release documentation

• Having a flexible schedule that allows for significant travel, especially during the winter months.

This position potentially requires extensive field support and will be required to support activity at local customer locations including Dearborn, Chelsea, and Milford. Non-Local travel includes Arizona, California, Ohio, Spain, Belgium, Germany, China, and Australia.

Qualifications:

• Understanding of the relation between shock performance and vehicle dynamics

• Conceptual knowledge of shock fundamentals, concepts, and performance

• Fundamental knowledge of vehicle dynamics and objective/subjective vehicle evaluation

• Basic understanding of shock dynos and interpretation of dyno data

• Proficient in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Matlab

• Familiarity with data acquisition systems, sensors, and analysis software

• Understanding of algorithm tuning

• Knowledge of system development and advanced ride tuning tools preferred (Vector CANape, CANalyzer, CarSim, Matlab, etc.)

• Must be highly detail oriented and organized, and able to apply work methods to maximize efficiency and minimize errors.

• Must be a self-starter that can be counted on to achieve goals on time and with minimal supervision.

• CAD software experience is a plus

• Ability and desire to learn new skills quickly and apply them to daily work.

• Valid driving license and reliable transportation.

• Able to work effectively and accurately amidst distractions.

• Able to perform light physical work consistently and lift up to 75 pounds occasionally

• Excellent work ethics and teamwork skills

• Hands-on and self-motivated

• Ability to travel and work on an international basis for 2-3-week periods with little or no support.

Education: Bachelor of Science degree or equivalent in Mechanical Engineering or related field of study

Experience: 3 - 5 years of applicable experience in vehicle dynamics or chassis development with 2+ years in damper tuning

Job level determined by various factors such as organization size, responsibility, career stage, and capabilities.

Working Conditions:

Physical Demands: Required to sit or stand for long periods of time. The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 75 pounds.

Travel: Domestic and international may be required as needed (up to 60%)

Work Environment: Hybrid Working Environment

Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE)-Females/Minorities/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

If you need a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job at Hitachi, please send the nature of request and contact information to jobs@hitachi-automotive.us. Queries other than accommodation requests will not be responded to.