Sr Engineer Systems - Thermal/CFD (Wauwatosa, WI, US)

Job Summary

The Senior Systems Engineer – Thermal/CFD is a full-time onsite position reporting to the System/Component Simulation Engineering Manager. This individual is expected to provide 3-D CFD simulation and analysis to support vehicle aerodynamics, thermal comfort and powertrain (ICE/EV) development to ensure the delivery of world class Harley-Davidson motorcycles. This work must align with cross-functional stakeholders and strategies within product development. The role must collaborate with motorcycle project teams, design studio, test labs, and other internal and external partners to develop innovative solutions for all future product plan projects as well as current production issues.

Job Responsibilities

The Senior Systems Engineer is responsible for the followin

• Retrieving, preparing and cleanup of CAD parts for CFD volume meshing
• Work with internal customers to ensure proper boundary conditions are applied 
• Work with Powertrain, Electrical, Mechanical, and Reliability engineers to develop simulation cases and physical tests in parallel to validate and refine 3-D/1-D models
• Develop 3-D/1-D CFD/CAE models to analyze problems related to thermodynamics, fluid flow and heat transfer (lubrication, cooling, air and other means). 
• Develop 3-D/1-D thermal models of heat conduction, convection and radiation to enable thermal design decisions and their impact on vehicle components (rider/passenger). Examples include power train
• components, battery cases, motors, components including metals, non-metals, gap fillers, conduction interfaces, coatings, battery cells (jelly roll), etc. 
• Develop 3-D/1-D thermal models for power electronics and motor cooling, including motor windings, and rotor interior.
• Develop 3-D/1-D thermal convection models for understanding ICE/EV energy balance
• The ability to analyze 3-D/1-D models to identify incremental opportunities for overall vehicle / system improvements via reduction in engineering scalars (pressure loss, heat transfer, energy balance, flow and drag)
• The ability to communicate across multiple software tools to quantify or optimize performance of vehicle/sub-systems (Star-CCM+, GT-Power, Sculptor, ModeFrontier, Simulink)
• Interpret analysis results with respect to results obtained by lab testing procedures, and converting these results into practical design suggestions
• Proactively validate/correlate results with real world data and make model improvements to drive methods development and continuous model improvement
• Generates high level engineering reports and presents CFD/CAE results/conclusions to the motorcycle project teams

Education Requirements

Education Specifications

Position requires a bachelor’s degree in one of the following disciplines:

• Mechanical Engineering (Fluids, Heat transfer, or Combustion emphasis), Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering or Applied Physics. Master of Science or PhD degree with specialization in CFD preferred.

Experience Requirements

The successful candidate will have a minimum of 5 years or more of demonstrated performance related to the followin

• Demonstrated history of 3D CFD simulations in battery enclosure heat transfer, ICE heat transfer, powertrain applications, vehicle aerodynamics, and thermal comfort
• Strong understanding of fundamental physics – thermodynamics, fluid flow, heat transfer and combustion
• Demonstrated use with engineering analysis tools for CFD Modeling and simulation (e.g., Star-CCM+, Converge, GT-Power, modeFrontier, Sculptor, TaiTherm, Simulink, Optistruct, etc.)
• Experience with data sets and CFD correlation (Powertrain, Dyno, Vehicle, Wind tunnel)
• Experience in parallel computations, parametric modeling, and design optimization
• Proficient at programming with commercial software (Matlab, EES, Java, Python)
• Demonstrated familiarity with Creo and CFD mesh repair techniques
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written 
• Outstanding interpersonal and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated technical problem solving