FEA Engineer

Transforming the Future with Convergence of Simulation and Data

FEA Engineer

Our client in Seattle, WA is looking for an FEA Engineer. This is a Contract position. You will support the engineering simulation and product innovation teams by executing and improving preprocessing workflows for finite element analyses (FEA) used in footwear performance simulations. Your primary focus will be geometry cleanup, mesh generation, and simulation setup, while also running standardized simulations and summarizing key results to inform design and development decisions.

You'll play a key role in streamlining finite element simulation processes, with an emphasis on reducing manual workload, improving consistency, and laying the foundation for future virtual twin modeling that will support predictive performance analyses and accelerate product development. You will be working closely with engineers and designers to deliver high-fidelity, repeatable, and traceable simulations that inform material performance, design iterations, and manufacturing.

This role is essential for enabling and scaling data-driven decisions in both Innovation and Inline. It is a great opportunity for an early-career engineer with hands-on experience in FEA/simulation tools and a strong attention to detail, who enjoys structured processes and is excited to contribute to a growing simulation infrastructure in a fast-paced R&D environment.

Your Responsibilities:

• Preprocessing and simulation setup
• Prepare and clean complex footwear component geometries such as midsoles, outsoles, and assemblies, ensuring models are simulation-ready.
• Generate high-quality 2D and 3D meshes using tools such as HyperMesh, following existing meshing criteria or establishing new ones.
• Apply boundary conditions, contacts, material properties and solver settings using standardized workflows.
• Simulation execution and result summarization
• Run standardized simulations (e.g., 3-point bending tests) to evaluate performance metrics such as stiffness and stress distribution.
• Support simulation projects including elite athlete footwear development for LA28 and other innovation-lead initiatives.
• Analyze and organize simulation results using established templates and clearly communicate findings to cross-functional teams.
• Process optimization and workflow documentation
• Identify and document repetitive preprocessing tasks, and assist in refining workflows and developing tools to reduce setup time and improve consistency.
• Contribute to the organization of simulation model libraries including geometries, meshes, material models, results, and templates.
• Ensure traceability of simulation inputs and outputs by maintaining organized naming conventions, file structures, and version control practices.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Biomechanical Engineering, or a related field required.
• 1-3 years of hands-on experience with FEA tools such as Abaqus, Radioss, and Optistruct.
• Strong working knowledge of geometry cleanup and mesh generation with Hypermesh.
• Familiarity with CAD tools such as Rhino, SolidWorks, and CATIA.
• Detail-oriented and process-driven
• Ability to communicate simulation findings effectively to non-technical stakeholders
• Experience in modeling soft materials (e.g., foams, elastomers) is preferred.
• Basic scripting skills in Python or similar tools is a plus.
• Experience with 3DExperience is a plus.
• Based in Seattle is preferred

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 providing 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.

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.