Glazing & Closures Validation Engineer

Workplace: On-site, 5 days per week
Travel: As needed to suppliers in Michigan and Modesto, CA
Location: Foster City, CA
Salary: $110-130k

Our client is building an autonomous vehicle from the ground up, and its glazing and closures — glass, doors, latches, actuators, and seals — have to open, close, and seal reliably across the life of the vehicle. We're looking for an experienced mechanical engineer to own the validation of these systems, with deep focus on mechanism reliability and durability: developing test plans, running the tests, analyzing failures, and verifying that every component meets durability, environmental, and regulatory requirements before production.  The emphasis will be on finding a candidate with closures experience.

Responsibilities
  • Own validation of glazing and closures systems — glass/glazing, doors, latches, actuators, and seals.
  • Drive reliability and durability validation of closure mechanisms through their full operating life.
  • Develop test plans, defining methods and acceptance criteria tied to program and regulatory requirements.
  • Plan and oversee durability, environmental, and performance testing, and interpret the results.
  • Lead DFMEA and failure analysis, driving root cause and corrective actions to resolution.
  • Support test design and instrumentation, including sensors and measurement setups.
  • Work with suppliers through build and validation — some travel to supplier and test sites (Michigan, Modesto CA).
  • Partner cross-functionally with design, manufacturing, suppliers, and quality to reach production readiness.

Required Qualifications
  • B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (required).
  • Mid- to senior-level experience in automotive closures, body, or glazing validation.
  • Strong, demonstrated experience with closure mechanisms — latches, doors, seals, and actuators.
  • Proven reliability and durability validation experience, with data-driven failure analysis.
  • Working knowledge of glass/glazing, bonding and sealing, and related manufacturing processes.
  • Understanding of relevant FMVSS and regulatory requirements (including glazing).
  • Grounding in manufacturing processes, materials, and environmental failure modes.
  • Proficiency with CAD (CATIA and/or SolidWorks).

Preferred Qualifications
  • Component design experience in closures, glazing, or sealing systems.
  • Familiarity with Polarion and Jira for requirements and issue tracking.
  • Hands-on test experience, metrology exposure.
  • Experience in a new-program or new-product-introduction environment.

Salary Range
  • $110,000 - 130,000
  • 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