Senior Structure Engineer - San Antonio, Texas

Company Profile
80 years and countless innovations later, JCB is the world’s largest privately-owned manufacturer of construction and agricultural equipment. At 23 plants spanning four continents—and countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, India and Brazil—JCB manufactures a range of more than 300 products including telescopic handlers, backhoe loaders, excavators, wheel loaders, compact excavators, skid steer loaders, compact track loaders, Access aerial work platforms, rough terrain forklifts, and tractors.

JCB people are at the heart of our business and as a family-owned business we answer to our customers, not a group of shareholders. That freedom allows us to concentrate on developing the latest technologies and incorporating them into our equipment. We focus on what our customer needs on the jobsite – a machine that holds up in the toughest environment and increases their productivity.

At JCB, we stand behind our products – and our name.

Position Purpose
The Senior Structures Engineer – JCB Access will be the technical authority for structural design, analysis, and validation of Aerial Work Platforms (AWP), ensuring robust, safe, and compliant structural systems across boom lifts, scissor lifts, chassis, platforms, and all load bearing assemblies. This role will be based at the JCB World Headquarters in the United Kingdom until Q1 2027, working closely with global engineering, analysis, and validation teams. In Q1 2027, the position will transition permanently to the new JCB San Antonio, Texas facility when the Access manufacturing and engineering centre opens.
The engineer will lead structural concept development, perform advanced FEA, define load cases, review prototype test results, and ensure compliance with global standards throughout the entire product lifecycle.

Position Type
Full Time, Exempt

Major Tasks, Responsibilities & Key Accountabilities
Structural Engineering Leadership
• Lead structural design and analysis for boom, scissor, chassis, and platform assemblies.
• Develop structural architectures aligned with performance, durability, manufacturability, and cost targets.
• Perform detailed FEA modelling, fatigue analysis, and simulation correlation.
• Ensure structural integrity across all duty cycles and extreme test conditions.

Technical Execution & Compliance
• Ensure all structural designs comply with ANSI, CSA, CE, ISO, and other global AWP regulatory requirements.
• Produce high quality structural documentation including DFMEAs, design reviews, and engineering reports.
• Collaborate with Test & Validation to define structural test plans and interpret physical test results.
• Lead root cause investigations for structural issues and implement corrective actions.

Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Support NPIP teams to ensure new products achieve structural and safety targets.
• Work with Current Product Engineering to resolve field structural issues and drive improvements.
• Partner with Operations and Manufacturing Engineering to optimise structural designs for production.
• Ensure structural-critical features are maintained throughout prototype builds and validation.

Technical Mentorship & Influence
• Serve as the structural subject matter expert for the Access division.
• Coach junior engineers in analysis methodologies, design principles, and best practices.
• Contribute to engineering standards, process improvements, and innovation initiatives.

Minimum Qualifications
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in mechanical engineering, Structural Engineering, or related field.
• Extensive Aerial Work Platform (AWP) structural design experience is mandatory.
• 7+ years of structural engineering experience, including advanced FEA and fatigue analysis.
• Strong understanding of welded structures, high-strength steels, and load bearing design.
• Experience with global regulatory standards for AWP machines.
• Proficiency in structural analysis tools such as Ansys or Altair.
• Ability to work effectively across global engineering teams.
• Background in prototype development and structural test correlation.
• Knowledge of DFM, DFA, and manufacturing processes.

Preferred Qualifications
• Experience with NX and Teamcenter.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license or equivalent.

Knowledge, Skills & Competencies
• Strong engineering judgement and decision-making
• Effective cross-functional communication
• Leadership in design reviews and technical discussions
• Problem-solving and analytical thinking
• Continuous improvement mindset

Location & Transition Timeline
• Primary location (2026–Q1 2027): JCB World Headquarte