Mechanical or Structural Automotive Accessory Engineer

About the role

Future Product Development of Body Exteriors.

Become part of an iconic brand that is set to revolutionize the all-electric pick-up truck & rugged SUV marketplace by achieving the following:

The responsibilities of this role require attendance at in-person meetings and events regularly. This role will be based out of a Customer location in the Detroit, MI vicinity in office 4 days a week. Applicants should expect that the role may require the ability to travel to participate in events on behalf of the company from time to time.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a product development engineer for tow hitches, front and rear bumper/impact beams, crash-management structures, and rugged exterior accessories from early concept through production launch and continuous improvement.
• Develop tow hitch and towing-related structures, including receiver systems, crossmembers, brackets, reinforcements, attachments, safety-chain provisions, and structural interfaces to the vehicle body/frame.
• Develop front and rear impact-management structures, including metal bumper beams, crash boxes, brackets, reinforcements, mounting systems, and interfaces with fascia, skid plates, underbody protection, sensors, and surrounding vehicle systems.
• Support the development of vehicle crash-energy management solutions, balancing structural performance, controlled deformation, package space, vehicle mass, manufacturability, repairability, and integration with surrounding structures.
• Develop on-road and off-road exterior accessories such as heavy-duty bumpers, skid plates, rock rails, running boards/side steps, recovery points, winch systems, brush/bull bars, roof-mounted accessories, and other utility-focused systems.
• Engineer structural components using steel, aluminum, castings, extrusions, stampings, fabricated assemblies, and welded structures, selecting appropriate materials and manufacturing processes based on load, durability, corrosion, mass, cost, packaging, and manufacturing requirements.
• Develop robust load paths, attachment strategies, joint designs, welds, bolted connections, fasteners, brackets, and body/frame interfaces for highly loaded vehicle systems.
• Translate towing, recovery, impact, off-road, customer misuse, durability, and real-world loading conditions into component and system engineering requirements and validation criteria.
• Develop and maintain component and subsystem requirements, engineering specifications, interface requirements, design criteria, DFMEAs, DVP&Rs, drawings, GD&T, and technical documentation for assigned systems.
• Work closely with CAE teams to evaluate strength, stiffness, fatigue, durability, crash performance, load paths, deformation, and failure modes, and correlate analytical results with component, system, and vehicle testing.
• Perform structured technical problem solving using first-principles engineering, hand calculations, CAE/FEA results, physical testing, root-cause analysis, and engineering data.
• Support CAD development and packaging of structural systems, including section sizing, gauge selection, attachment locations, weld access, fastener access, tolerance management, assembly sequence, and surrounding component clearances.
• Execute component, subsystem, and vehicle-level validation for structural strength, durability, towing loads, impact performance, corrosion, environmental exposure, off-road loading, misuse, and vehicle integration.
• Drive assigned components toward technical maturity through design reviews, CAE, tolerance analysis, prototype fabrication, physical testing, vehicle builds, tooling development, validation, and production launch.
• Work directly with suppliers on metal stampings, weldments, structural assemblies, castings, extrusions, coatings, fasteners, and accessory systems from RFQ through design maturation, tooling, validation, production readiness, and launch.
• Support manufacturing and supplier teams in developing robust fabrication and assembly processes, including stamping, forming, welding, joining, fastening, coating, dimensional control, and assembly.
• Develop technical recommendations and resolve tradeoffs involving structural performance, crash compatibility, towing capability, durability, package, styling, manufacturing, corrosion protection, mass, cost, serviceability, and timing.
• Support prototype and vehicle builds by resolving fit, dimensional, assembly, structural, manufacturing, installation, and functional issues.
• Apply Robust Engineering, GD&T, dimensional management, Design for Manufacturing, Design for Assembly, and Design for Serviceability throughout product development.
• Benchmark competitive truck and SUV solutions for towing systems, bumper structures, crash structures, off-road protection, recovery systems, and exterior accessories to identify opportunities for improved capability and customer value.

Requirements

We expect all Customer to have integrity, curiosity, resourcefulness, and strive to exhibit a positive attitude, as well as a growth mindset. You will be comfortable with change and flexible in a fast-paced, high-growth environment. You will take a collaborative approach to achieving ambitious goals.

Here is what else you will bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, automotive engineering, structural engineering, or a related engineering field.
• 5+ years of relevant automotive product-development experience, preferably involving structural body exterior, towing, bumper, impact-management, or exterior accessory systems.
• Hands-on engineering experience with one or more of the following:
  • Tow hitches, receivers, towing structures, or frame/body attachments
  • Front or rear bumper/impact beams
  • Crash boxes, crush structures, or crash-energy management systems
  • Metal structural assemblies and weldments
  • Heavy-duty or off-road exterior accessories
• Strong understanding of metal component and structural design, including stampings, formed components, welded assemblies, brackets, reinforcements, castings, extrusions, and mechanically fastened structures.
• Understanding of vehicle load paths, structural strength, stiffness, fatigue, crash-energy management, durability, and failure modes.
• Experience developing highly loaded attachment systems using welded joints, bolted joints, fasteners, studs, brackets, reinforcements, and structural interfaces.
• Understanding of automotive manufacturing processes including stamping, forming, welding, joining, casting, extrusion, machining, coating, and assembly.
• Experience developing or evaluating structural load cases and validation requirements for towing, impact, durability, off-road use, recovery, customer misuse, or similar demanding vehicle applications.
• Working knowledge of CAE/FEA, including the ability to interpret structural analysis results and work with CAE engineers to improve design performance.
• Strong CAD and vehicle packaging knowledge; CATIA V5/V6 experience is highly recommended.
• Working knowledge of GD&T, tolerance analysis, dimensional management, DFMEA, DVP&R, DFM/DFA, APQP/PPAP, and Design for Serviceability.
• Experience supporting prototype fabrication, structural testing, vehicle builds, supplier development, tooling maturation, validation, and production launch.
• Ability to balance structural performance, crash requirements, towing capability, durability, mass, corrosion protection, manufacturing feasibility, package, cost, and serviceability.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with Body Engineering, Crash/CAE, Design Studio, Vehicle Integration, Manufacturing, Quality, Purchasing, Service, and suppliers.
• Ability to communicate technical issues, structural tradeoffs, risks, test results, and engineering recommendations clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• An engineering mindset grounded in first-principles problem solving, hands-on vehicle development, technical curiosity, and practical decision making.
• Passion for trucks, SUVs, towing, off-road capability, vehicle customization, and accessories that improve vehicle utility and durability.