Tire Testing and Modeling Technical Lead

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 applications. Typical responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Developing prototype or new tire models to meet customer and internal engineering needs

  • Maintain and lead others to maintain PMETire libraries for Motorsports in conjunction with internal end users

  • Lead customer engagements, marketing activities, and technical development of Pratt Miller’s internally developed PM-FlexTire FE-based tire model product

  • Direct others in building and using tire modeling tools such as optimizers, pre and post processing tools, and interpreters

  • Interpret and identify issues with test data, wheel force transducer data, DIL data, and lap sim data

  • Direct others in the development of tire models and processing tire data

  • Work with the Business Development and Program Management team to oversee the technical aspects of external customer projects

  • Instruct others in the tuning and scaling of thermal and non-thermal tire models

  • Quote tire related customer projects, ROM costing and resourcing, Statements of Work generation

  • Interface with Tire Testing suppliers to coordinate external testing and approve development testing plans

EDUCATION/CERTIFICATION/YEARS OF EXPERIENCE:

  • BS or MS in Mechanical or Automotive Engineering or other related field

  • At least 8 years professional or academic experience in automotive engineering and simulation

  • 5 years in professional motorsports or high-performance vehicle development

DESIRED SPECIALIZED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE:

  • Tire Model Fitting experience

  • Tire Model Correlation experience

  • Strong 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

  • Dymola Programming Experience

WORK ENVIRONMENT/PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

  • Medium work that includes moving objects up to 50 pounds on occasion

  • Basic mechanical proficiency

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 minimal 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.?