Motorsports - Tire Engineering Team Lead

Overview

About Pratt Miller, an Oshkosh company

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.

The Tire Engineering Team Lead will oversee and direct the work and resources of the Motorsports Tire Engineering Team, function as the technical team leader, and participate in the tire engineering work as required. With input from team leadership and customer program representatives, the Tire Engineering Group Lead will set the vision and roadmap for the tire team projects and ensure the timely execution of the projects within the team.

The tire team projects can include, but are not limited to:

• Application and development of basic and advanced tire models that capture and quantify real world operating behaviors.
• Development and fitting of tire models from lab and track data.
• Scaling and validation of tire models and fits to achieve real world correlation.
• Reporting on tire properties and settings to enhance vehicle performance at race events.
• On-going development of the Pratt Miller Tire Plotter tool.
• Customer support of the tire models, fits, and tools to ensure proper use and accurate representation of the tire characteristics.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Typical responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Team leadership and organization
• Project roadmap development and project planning
• Technical leadership and contribution to projects such as:
• Parameterizing tire models with data available from lab tests and track tests
• Analyzing flat-track tire data, outputs from tire models, and data from track and DiL (Driver-in-the-Loop) tests to evaluate correlation and prepare analysis reports
• Attending lab, track, and DiL tire tests to collect and analyze data and perform on-site analysis
• Working with Pratt Miller and customers to tune tire models for improved correlation in desktop simulations and DiL simulations
• Development of tire data analysis methods to support more confident vehicle tuning
• On-going development of the Pratt Miller Tire Plotter tool
• Tire model development and improvements

ADDITIONAL

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

In addition to the responsibilities mentioned above, tasks relating to the following area will be assigned as required:

• Attendance at Pratt & Miller meetings
• Education / training
• Provide feedback on product needs and processes
• Support Pratt Miller initiatives, marketing events, and general development as necessary

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

Desired Education

• BS, MS, or PhD in Mechanical or Automotive Engineering
• At least 7 years professional or academic experience in automotive engineering and simulation (motorsports preferred)
• Preferred background in vehicle dynamics

Desired Specialized Knowledge and Skills

• Project organization, planning, and leadership
• Experience in tire data fitting from lab testing data
• Experience in the analysis of tire data as it applies to tire selection and optimizing car performance
• Experience with industry standard tire models
• Experience in the development of advanced tire models
• Experience in tire model integration with vehicle dynamics models (Dymola modeling preferred)
• Solid vehicle/tire dynamics background
• Proficiency with numerical analysis methods
• Proficiency with utilizing Excel and MATLAB and/or Python
• Experience in the development or application of software toolsets or utilities
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to work independently and move projects forward with little direction
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and writing skills for communicating with other Pratt & Miller Engineering team members and clients
• Attention to detail
• Drive for quality
• Strong work ethic

• Stress may occur periodically
• Long hours may be required at times
• Limited amounts of travel may be required
• Work environment can vary between group and individual assignments and tasks

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