CAE Engineer

Location: San Jose, CA

Employment Type: Full-Time

About the company:

A stealth-mode battery startup developing cutting-edge battery technology. Our mission is to revolutionize battery technology to accelerate the global transition to clean energy. By leveraging innovative materials, advanced manufacturing techniques, and next-generation energy storage architectures, we are building the future of sustainable energy.

About the Role:

We are seeking a CAE Mechanical Engineer to lead and execute high-fidelity structural simulations for lithium-ion battery systems across the cell, module, and pack levels. This role is integral to bridging design concepts into manufacturable, reliable hardware by modeling how complex electro-mechanical systems behave under real-world conditions. You will work closely with mechanical design, test, and manufacturing teams to inform design architecture through simulation-driven insights and best practices.

Key CAE Responsibilities:

Simulation & Analysis

• Perform mechanical FEA under diverse loading conditions including crush, vibration, drop, thermal expansion, swelling, crash and underbody impact.

• Build and refine detailed simulation models using CAD and empirical inputs, with rigorous attention to mesh quality, materials, contacts, and boundary conditions.

• Conduct simulations using Abaqus, ANSYS, LS-DYNA, or similar tools; analyze results to assess deformation, failure risk, and design sensitivity.

• Correlate simulation outputs with physical test data (e.g., strain gauges, displacements, fracture behavior) to validate and improve model fidelity.

• Rapidly iterate on design alternatives and provide clear, actionable simulation feedback to design teams.

Lead CAE Domains

Own analysis workflows for:

• First Mode and Modal Analysis

• Shock and Vibration Evaluation

• Underbody Impact Scenarios

• Side Pole Impact

CAE Development & Infrastructure

• Contribute to the selection and integration of solver tools, pre/post-processors, and overall CAE infrastructure.

• Define, document, and continuously improve best practices and workflows to ensure robust, repeatable analysis pipelines.

• Develop and validate material models for CAE use-ideally by designing and executing custom test programs to generate material cards.

Fatigue & Advanced Simulations (Bonus)

• Support the development of fatigue analysis methodologies, particularly for polymers or adhesive joints.

• Lay the foundation for in-house battery crash and impact simulation capabilities:

• Model mechanical behavior of cells during impact.

• Collaborate with OEMs on vehicle-level integration and crash safety strategy.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Product Design

Component Design

• Partner with Product Development on mechanical hardware, especially:

• Underbody protective elements

• Structural enclosures

• Pack framing and load-bearing components

Compression System Innovation

• Contribute to the design and optimization of next-generation battery compression systems, including advanced "quilted" or pre-formed plate concepts.

Qualifications & Experience

• B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mechanics, or related discipline.

• 5+ years of experience in mechanical FEA, ideally within battery systems or similar dense electro-mechanical assemblies.

• Proven proficiency in FEA tools such as Abaqus, ANSYS, or LS-DYNA; deep understanding of crash, vibration, and non-linear analyses preferred.

• Strong skills in model setup (meshing, contact definition, material property assignment, boundary condition management).

• Demonstrated ability to correlate simulation to test data and validate model accuracy.

• Excellent communicator-capable of presenting simulation results, limitations, and trade-offs to multidisciplinary teams.

• Comfortable working in fast-paced, iterative environments with evolving product requirements.