Senior Automotive Occupant Safety CAE Engineer

We’re ALTEN Technology USA, an engineering company helping clients bring groundbreaking ideas to life—from advancing space exploration and life-saving medical devices to building autonomous electric vehicles. With 3,000+ experts across North America, we partner with leading companies in aerospace, medical devices, robotics, automotive, commercial vehicles, EVs, rail, and more.

As part of the global ALTEN Group—57,000+ engineers in 30 countries—we deliver across the entire product development cycle, from consulting to full project outsourcing.

When you join ALTEN Technology USA, you’ll collaborate on some of the world’s toughest engineering challenges, supported by mentorship, career growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits. We take pride in fostering a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to grow.

Overview :

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Biomechanics, or related discipline.

Minimum 8-10 years of experience in Occupant Safety Engineering, Crashworthiness, or Automotive CAE Safety Analysis.

This position is focused on the development, validation, and optimization of virtual occupant protection systems for frontal and side impact crash performance.

The role involves developing and maintaining high-fidelity LS-Dyna occupant safety models, evaluating occupant injury performance, and optimizing restraint systems and interior components to achieve regulatory, consumer information, and internal safety targets.

The engineer will collaborate closely with Safety Structures, Interior Systems, Chassis, Testing, Design Release Engineers (DREs), and suppliers to ensure occupant protection performance is achieved throughout vehicle development.

This position requires deep expertise in automotive occupant safety, restraint systems tuning, crash simulation methodologies, and North American safety regulations, along with the ability to drive cross-functional technical decisions throughout the product development lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities :

Occupant Safety CAE Development

Develop and maintain occupant protection CAE models using LS-Dyna

Support frontal and side impact simulation activities throughout vehicle development

Ensure CAE models accurately reflect the latest vehicle design and CAD releases

Maintain correlation between component-level and system-level CAE models

Occupant Performance Analysis

Assess occupant injury performance across all required crash configurations

Evaluate vehicle performance against internal safety targets, FMVSS requirements, US-NCAP, and IIHS protocols

Analyze simulation results and identify opportunities for performance improvements

Develop recommendations to improve occupant protection outcomes

Restraint System Optimization

Optimize airbags, seatbelts, steering columns, seats, instrument panels, and interior trim systems

Tune restraint systems to achieve regulatory compliance and top consumer ratings

Develop occupant protection strategies across multiple crash scenarios

Support development of occupant safety scorecards and performance targets

Cross-Functional Engineering Collaboration

Work closely with DREs and suppliers to ensure component models are properly correlated

Support integration of restraint and interior component models into complete vehicle simulations

Collaborate with Safety Structures teams when vehicle structural performance impacts occupant safety targets

Partner with Interior, Chassis, and other engineering organizations to resolve performance gaps

Physical Test Correlation & Validation

Support crash test planning and execution activities

Collaborate with testing teams to ensure simulation assumptions align with physical testing results

Participate in test reviews and correlation activities

Refine simulation models based on physical test data

Program Delivery & Technical Leadership

Support occupant safety development throughout all program phases through SOP

Maintain quality and accuracy of occupant protection models

Provide technical guidance regarding occupant safety performance and simulation methodology

Support resolution of complex safety and crashworthiness challenges

Profile:

Experienced occupant safety engineer with strong crash simulation and restraint system expertise

Analytical problem solver capable of translating simulation results into engineering decisions

Strong understanding of occupant injury mechanisms and protection strategies

Comfortable collaborating across multiple engineering disciplines and suppliers

Detail-oriented with a strong focus on model quality and simulation accuracy

Self-driven and capable of managing complex development activities independently

Effective communicator able to present technical findings and recommendations clearly

Must Have:

8-10 years of experience in automotive occupant safety engineering

Strong LS-Dyna experience for occupant protection and crash simulation

Experience with occupant safety development for frontal and side impact events

Experience tuning and optimizing:

Airbags

Seat Belts

Seats

Steering Columns

Instrument Panels

Interior Trim Components

Strong knowledge of:

FMVSS 208

FMVSS 214

US-NCAP

IIHS

Experience developing and maintaining occupant safety CAE models

Experience correlating CAE and physical crash test results

Experience working with cross-functional engineering teams and suppliers

Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities

Good to Have:

Humanetics CAE dummy model experience

Experience with Primer

Experience with ANSA / META

Experience with HyperWorks

Experience with LS-PrePost

Experience supporting vehicle launches from development through SOP

OEM or Tier 1 automotive experience

Experience working in startup or fast-paced vehicle development environments

Knowledge of global safety regulations beyond North America

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, genetic information, or pregnancy.

Please beware of job seeker scams and see this important notice on our careers page for more information about our recruiting process.

Compliance Notice: Alten USA is a federal contractor subject to the requirements of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and Executive Order 11246. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Drug Screening Requirement: As a federal contractor, Alten USA maintains a drug-free workplace. All candidates selected for employment will be required to successfully complete a pre-employment drug screening as a condition of hire.