Design & Validation Engineer

Design & Validation Engineer – R&D

Position Summary:

Skyjack is seeking a Design and Validation Engineer to join our Design Development and Validation Group which operates at the core of advanced mobile machinery innovation and high-impact engineering where complex theoretical design meets the physics of heavy equipment. In this role, you will be instrumental in ensuring the safety, reliability, and performance of our world-class mobile elevating work platforms and material handling equipment. Your contribution will help with the structural, functional, and environmental evolution of next-generation mobile equipment.

Performance Expectations:

• Comprehensive Design Validation Plans (DVP): You will lead and be responsible for executing DVP’s, applying rigorous validation across structural, mechanical, hydraulic and electrical domains and oversee a wide array of critical verifications. 

• Structural & Mechanical Evaluation: Evaluate static and dynamic stability envelopes, structural load distribution, stress concentrations, weight distributions, and fatigue life using advanced calculations, finite element analysis (FEA), and high-fidelity physical strain-gauge instrumentation.

• Performance & Kinematic Characterization: Design and execute complex performance evaluations.

• Hydraulic & Electrical Subsystem Verification: Investigate and optimize intricate hydraulic circuits, proportional valve responses, pressure mappings, electrical bus voltage/current transients, control interlocks, and power discharge profiles.

• Custom Validation Fixture & Data Acquisition Engineering: Design specialized evaluation fixtures and hardware setups. Leverage advanced data acquisition tools and software (such as LabVIEW and Somat) to capture, filter, and interpret transient physical phenomena.

• Root-Cause Failure Analysis & Design Evolution: Investigate prototype and field anomalies with a forensic engineering mindset. Perform root-cause failure analysis on mechanical, structural, or electronic subsystems and drive immediate, creative design improvements back into the engineering core.

• Environmental & Ingress Assessment: Validate equipment performance under diverse operational environments, including temperature extremes, duty-cycle stress, and ingress protection evaluation.

• Failure Analysis & Reliability Improvement: Investigate prototype and field equipment anomalies. Perform root-cause analysis on structural, mechanical, or electrical failures and provide actionable engineering recommendations to enhance product reliability.