Closures & Body Structures Engineer

Closures & Body Structures Engineer 

ONSITE in Long Beach, CA 

Role Overview

You will be a key contributor within a world class automotive closures engineering team, responsible for closure and body structure systems as the program moves from validation through prototype builds, pilot, and job one at the assembly plant. This role sits at the intersection of sheet metal structures, mechanical hardware, and manufacturing, and covers closure inner and outer panels, reinforcements, hinge and latch mounting interfaces, and their integration into the body structure. You will own your designs hands on in CAD, correlate test results to requirements, and be on the ground during build events, closing issues fast enough to protect program timing.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, modify, and release closure and body structure sheet metal components, including inner and outer panels, reinforcements, and hinge, latch, and check mounting interfaces using CATIA or 3DEXPERIENCE
• Ensure designs are optimized for stamping, hemming, and joining processes, including spot welding, adhesive bonding, and mixed material joints
• Package and integrate closure hardware into the body structure, ensuring proper kinematics, clearance, and load path for hinges, latches, checks, and seals
• Support DVP&R execution, review test reports, and correlate physical results with CAE for strength, durability, stiffness, and slam and cycle performance
• Support regulatory and rating compliance for closures and body structure, including FMVSS 206 and 214 and IIHS side impact requirements
• Work directly with suppliers on part quality, test failures, retests, and design or process changes, driving issues to closure with clear ownership and timing
• Support prototype, pilot, and launch builds, resolving dimensional, fit and finish, gap and flush, and structural findings on the floor, including next day fix concepts during launch
• Own CAD, BOM, and GD&T documentation for assigned components, and manage tolerance stack up and datum strategy at closure to body interfaces
• Drive root cause and corrective action on issues discovered during build and validation, including oil canning, panel distortion, water leak, and closing effort findings
• Collaborate with closures mechanisms, studio design, manufacturing engineering, quality, and purchasing to maintain styling intent, structural requirements, and program timing
• Support engineering change execution during launch, verifying change implementation in the plant and confirming effectiveness on subsequent builds

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Automotive, or Manufacturing Engineering, or equivalent experience
• 3+ years of automotive engineering experience in production vehicle development, with at least one program through launch
• Hands on CAD experience in CATIA or 3DEXPERIENCE on closures or body structures, with demonstrated ownership of your own geometry
• Demonstrated experience in the design and release of sheet metal components or closure hardware
• Strong mechanical fundamentals, including section properties and stiffness, material behavior of steel and aluminum grades, and failure modes
• Working knowledge of GD&T, tolerance stack up, and datum and locator strategy
• Familiarity with DVP&R, DFMEA, and automotive product development milestones and launch gates
• Experience working directly with suppliers on part quality, testing, and delivery
• Willingness to work onsite in Long Beach, CA and support build events at the plant

Preferred Skills

• Closures experience on side doors, liftgates, hoods, or tailgates, including hemming and sealing interfaces
• Experience with aluminum closures or mixed material body structures
• Strong knowledge of sheet metal forming, including forming limits, springback, oil canning, and bake hardening
• Familiarity with hinge, latch, and window regulator integration from the body side
• CAE literacy to drive design decisions on stiffness, strength, and structural integrity
• Experience on EV startup or clean sheet vehicle programs
• Hands on approach to physical prototyping and a boots on the ground mentality during build events

Salary Range: $120,000-$140,000/K

The actual salary offered is dependent on various factors including, but not limited to, location, the candidate’s combination of job-related knowledge, qualifications, skills, education, training, and experience