Vehicle Test Engineer at Altair

Transforming the Future with Convergence of Simulation and Data

Vehicle Test Engineer

Job Summary:

Our client in Irvine, CA is looking for a Vehicle Test Engineer. This is a contract position.

What You Will Do:

Top required daily responsibilities and skills:

• Benchmark competitor vehicles for environmental durability performance.
• Develop, own and lead test plans at test labs and proving grounds.

Key Responsibilities:

• Translate customer and regulatory requirements into system and component level test requirements.
• Benchmark competitor vehicles for environmental durability performance.
• Develop, own and lead test plans for stone impact and chipping resistance of painted and coated vehicle surfaces at test labs and proving grounds.
• Ensure delivery of water tight vehicle bodies through cross functional collaboration with water management, launch quality and design teams.
• Coordinate with design, quality and materials teams to optimize coatings, shields, and sealing strategies.
• Analyze test data, write technical reports, and lead root cause investigations of failures.
• Support vehicle launch readiness through  validating and address field-related issues.

What You Will Need:

Basics:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering Materials Science, or related field.
• 2-3 years of experience in automotive durability, chassis design, body sealing, or vehicle testing.
• Hands-on experience with stone impact, durability, water or dynamics testing, fluid dynamics simulations.
• Strong understanding of underbody and vehicle exterior systems, sealing architectures, structures design.
• Familiarity with test standards (e.g., SAE J400, ISO 20653, ASTM D3170, OEM-specific test plans).
• Experience interpreting test results, identifying failure modes, and recommending design changes.
• Excellent communication skills to collaborate across engineering, design, and quality teams.
• Salary range: 63k - 89k annual.

How You Will Be Successful:

• Envision the Future
• Communicate Honestly and Broadly
• Seek Technology and Business “First”
• Embrace Diversity and Take Risks

What We Offer:

• Competitive Salary
• Comprehensive Benefit Package
• 401(k) with matching contributions
• Paid Time Off
• Employee Discounts
• Free training on all Altair products

Why Work with Us:

Altair is a global technology company that provides software and cloud solutions in the area of data analytics, product development, and high-performance computing (HPC). Altair enables organizations in nearly every industry to compete more effectively in a connected world, while creating a more sustainable future. With more than 3,000 engineers, scientists, and creative thinkers in 25 countries, we help solve our customer’s toughest challenges and deliver unparalleled service, helping the innovators innovate, drive better decisions, and turn today’s problems into tomorrow’s opportunities.

Our vision is to transform customer decision making with data analytics, simulation, and high-performance computing.

For more than 30 years, we have been helping our customers integrate electronics and controls with mechanical design to expand product value, develop AI, simulation and data-driven digital twins to drive better decisions, and deliver advanced HPC and cloud solutions to support unlimited idea exploration. To learn more, please visit altair.com

Ready to go? #ONLYFORWARD   

At our core we are explorers; adventures; pioneers. We are the brains behind some of the world’s most revolutionary innovations and are not only comfortable in new and unchartered waters, we dive headfirst. We are the original trailblazers that make the impossible possible, discovering new solutions to our customer’s toughest challenges.

Altair is an equal opportunity employer. Our backgrounds are diverse, and every member of our global team is critical to our success. Altair’s history demonstrations a belief that empowering each individual authentic voice reinforces a culture that thrives because of the uniqueness among our team.