Senior Software Simulation Engineer

JOB TITLE: Senior Software Simulation Engineer

LOCATION: Remote (Must be able to travel to Normal, IL for the first week of onboarding)

SCHEDULE: Standard Business Hours

DURATION: 6-Month Contract

PAY: 49-54 USD per hour

Job Responsibilities:

The Design & Simulation team is seeking a Simulation Engineer to support early manufacturing engineering and factory design for the R2 vehicle launch in Normal, IL. In this role, you'll develop and analyze Discrete Event Simulation (DES) models to optimize manufacturing throughput, validate production capacity, and identify bottlenecks before factory designs are finalized.

• Build and maintain Discrete Event Simulation (DES) models using FlexSim.
• Simulate manufacturing operations, material flow, and factory layouts to improve production efficiency.
• Analyze production throughput, capacity, buffer sizing, and bottlenecks.
• Collaborate with Body, Paint, General Assembly, Battery, Drive Unit, and Material Flow engineering teams.
• Develop simulation scenarios that support factory design decisions before production launch.
• Present simulation findings and recommendations to engineering leadership.
• Support factory design standards, documentation, and model handoffs.

Essential Duties & Job Functions:

• Build simulation models for manufacturing systems, material flow, AGV routes, buffer sizing, and automated storage systems (ASRS).
• Translate production requirements into simulation-ready models using inputs such as:
  • Production demand
  • Shift schedules
  • Product mix
  • First Pass Yield (FPY)
  • MTBF / MTTR
• Perform scenario and sensitivity analyses using FlexSim Experimenter.
• Validate:
  • Jobs Per Hour (JPH)
  • Jobs Per Shift (JPS)
  • Overall Production Rate (OPR)
  • Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE/TEE)
  • Buffer capacity requirements
• Identify production bottlenecks and recommend improvements.
• Generate reports and presentations summarizing simulation results and design trade-offs.
• Partner with Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Layout, and Material Flow teams to ensure model accuracy.
• Maintain simulation documentation following Rivian modeling standards.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Expert-level experience with Autodesk FlexSim.
• Strong understanding of Discrete Event Simulation (DES) methodologies.
• Experience modeling:
  • Manufacturing lines
  • Assembly systems
  • Material flow
  • Buffers
  • Rework loops
  • Equipment failures and repairs
• Knowledge of manufacturing KPIs including:
  • JPH
  • JPS
  • OEE / TEE
  • MTBF / MTTR
  • WIP
  • Buffer sizing
• Ability to clean, organize, and validate simulation input data.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience presenting recommendations to leadership.

Preferred Skills:

• FlexScript, Python, or C++ experience.
• Greenfield factory design or factory expansion projects.
• Automotive manufacturing experience.
• Industrial Engineering background.

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or related field preferred.
• 3+ years of experience in automotive manufacturing engineering.
• Hands-on experience leading Discrete Event Simulation (DES) projects.
• Strong experience with FlexSim is required.
• Experience supporting manufacturing launch or factory design projects is highly preferred.

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