Prototype Carbon Vehicle Design Engineer

Detroit Engineered Products · United States

A prototype carbon vehicle design engineer is responsible for designing, developing, and validating prototype vehicle structures and components made from carbon fiber composite materials. This role is relevant to automotive startups, lightweight vehicle development, and advanced body engineering programs.

• Carbon Fiber / Composite Materials: CFRP, carbon fiber laminates, prepreg, resin systems, sandwich panels.
• CAD Design: CATIA V5/V6, Siemens NX, or SolidWorks.
• Prototype Vehicle Design: Body structures, BIW (Body-in-White), closures, panels, brackets, and structural components.
• Composite Manufacturing: Hand layup, vacuum bagging, autoclave curing, resin infusion, trimming, and bonding.
• Design for Manufacturing (DFM): Composite part manufacturability, tooling design, assembly, and joining.
• Prototype Build Support: Working with fabrication teams, resolving fitment issues, and modifying designs during prototype builds.
• Engineering Validation: Dimensional inspection, structural testing, design reviews, and failure analysis.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Working with CAE, materials, manufacturing, tooling, and vehicle integration teams.