Tire & Simulation Engineer

Pratt Miller is a product development company in motorsports, defense, and mobility industries providing clients with product engineering and low-volume production solutions. Our range of research & development, engineering, prototype manufacturing, test & validation, and low-rate production capability help our customers bring their high-quality products to market faster.

OVERVIEW: Pratt Miller is seeking a Tire & Simulation Engineer to participate in the application and development of basic and advanced tire model that capture and quantify real world operating behaviors. Work will include generating test plans and execution of test in the lab/track, generation of tire model from lab/track data, validation of fits, and report generation. This position will also include supporting Pratt & Miller clients with the execution and analysis of tire characteristics across real world operating conditions to effectively optimize the tire use.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS & SKILLS:

Candidate will be assigned to one or more projects focusing on tire testing, tire & vehicle modeling, and analysis for road racing and oval application. Typical responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Represent Pratt Miller or their customers as a tire test representative
  • Perform Tire Model Fitting and evaluate fit quality
  • Improve model correlation through improved fitting methods and improved model representation of physical system
  • Attend lab and track tire tests to collect data and perform on-site analysis
  • Analyze flat-track tire data, WFT data, and output from tire models to evaluate correlation and prepare analysis reports
  • Assist in the development of tire data analysis methods to support vehicle/tire tuning
  • Work with team engineers to tune tire models for improved correlation in desktop simulations and Driver-in-the-Loop simulations
  • Integration of models into in-house tire model evaluation code
  • 3 years any type CAD experience minimum, preferred 5 (Solidworks, Unigraphics, Catia, or Pro/E)
  • 3 years any type Finite Element Analysis experience, preferred 5 (Structural, Aerodynamic, Explicit etc.)

EDUCATION/CERTIFICATION/YEARS OF EXPERIENCE:

  • BS or MS in Mechanical or Automotive Engineering or other related field
  • At least 3 years professional or academic experience in automotive engineering and simulation (motorsports preferred)

DESIRED SPECIALIZED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE:

  • Tire Model Fitting experience
  • Tire Model Correlation experience
  • Vehicle/tire dynamics background
  • Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
  • Proficiency with numerical analysis methods utilizing – Matlab, VBA, Python, R, C, C++
  • MATLAB programming/GUI writing experience
  • Experience in the development or application of vehicle simulation toolsets
  • Pi Toolbox, Motec i2 experience for data analysis

EXPECTED HOURS OF WORK:

  • Long hours may be required
  • Stress may occur periodically
  • Limited amounts of travel may be required
  • Minimum of 40 hours a week
  • Telecommuting or virtual test support may be required

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: In addition to the responsibilities mentioned above, the ideal candidate must possess but not limited to all the following:

  • Work well alone and in a team environment
  • Have great attention to detail
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills
  • Strong work ethic
  • Ability to work independently and move projects forward with little direction

Pratt Miller is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.