Materials Design Engineer

​Position Description:

• Materials Engineering and Product Sustainability are a multi-discipline department providing a specialist technical leadership and consultancy service to the whole business.

• Teams within the department comprise of Metals and Corrosion, Paints and Adhesives, Product Sustainability, Plastics and Coatings, VIAQ, Analytical and Hazardous Materials, Soft Trim, CAE Core Structural Mechanics, Fastener Engineering, Perceived Quality-Materials and Materials Characterisation.

• This role will be within the Metals and Corrosion Team with an emphasis on laboratory metallurgical analysis of sheet steel, sheet aluminium, cast, extruded and forged metals.

• The engineer will support all aspects of the materials engineering metallurgy section, including investigation of quality technical issues, materials characterisation, validation and analysis.

Key Performance Indicators

• New Material and Technology Introductions

• Material Standards & Requirements Publication

• Material Databases Material FMEAs

Skills Required:

• Knowledge of metallurgy and metallic components

• Experience of laboratory work (ideally with managing a facility)

• Experience of writing reports and sharing data with customers

Key Accountabilities and Responsibilities

• Support all aspects relating to material and technology selection, validation & approval for new programmes. Support technical coordination of materials management for the business.

• Support technical activities with regard to materials input to CAD, EBERs and RMDV2 requirements.

• Write and publish technical reports, specifications, requirements, test methods and design rules.

• Support research & innovation projects from a materials perspective.

• Initiate and support key transformational process improvement opportunities.

• Contribute to laboratory failure investigation projects and test requests.

• Provide a materials technical consultancy service for all commodity teams.

• Undertake any other work as directed by their line manager in connection with their job as may be requested.

Key Interactions

• All relevant commodity engineering teams

• Product Engineering

• Joining Manufacturing Engineering

• Joining Stampings Group Purchase/STA Body CAE Integration Material Suppliers

• Manufacturing Engineering

Experience Required:

• Degree in materials/mechanical engineering or similar.

Essential:

• Degree qualified or equivalent experience preferred.

• Extensive technical knowledge/experience of metallic materials and technologies.

• Technical understanding of fatigue testing/analysis, manufacturing processes and CAE/FEA tools and techniques.

• Experience of a materials related technical role within a recognised industry equivalent to automotive.

• Experience in working in cross-functional teams in a materials engineering capacity.

• Experience in laboratory failure investigation tools, techniques and practices.

• An ability to analyse problems / generate solutions and achieve results, making effective use of all resources available within the company and supplier base.

• Excellent organisational, communication and project management skills.

• A motivated self-starter capable of taking decisions with minimal need for guidance and initiating/leading process improvement projects.

Experience Preferred:

• Experience of automotive industry or similar high tech industry

Desirable:

• Working knowledge of 6-Sigma tools and techniques (particularly process development and statistical methods).

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with strong influencing and engagement skills.

• Working knowledge of agile methodologies.