Senior Hydraulic Engineer - San Antonio, Texas

Work on the 1-million sq. ft. factory is now under way on the 400-acre site. It will be the company’s second largest plant, rivalled only by JCB’s world headquarters in Rocester, Staffordshire, England, and create 1,500 new jobs over five years. The factory will make Loadall telescopic handlers and aerial access equipment, with production scheduled to start in 2026. The factory will also have the capacity to expand and build other products in the future.

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 customers need on the job site – 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 Hydraulic Engineer – JCB Access will serve as the technical authority for hydraulic system design, integration, analysis, and validation across the entire Aerial Work Platform (AWP) product range. This role ensures JCB Access machines deliver best-in-class performance, controllability, robustness, and compliance with global safety and regulatory standards. The position will be based at the JCB World Headquarters in Rocester, UK, until Q1 2027, working closely with global cross-functional engineering teams. In Q1 2027, the role will transition permanently to the new JCB San Antonio manufacturing facility, supporting the expansion of Access engineering capability in North America. This engineer will lead hydraulic architecture creation, circuit design, simulation, component selection, system performance evaluation, and validation planning throughout the full product lifecycle.

Position Type
Full Time, Exempt

Hydraulic System Design & Leadership
• Lead the design, development, and optimisation of hydraulic circuits for boom lifts, scissor lifts, chassis functions, and auxiliary systems.
• Define hydraulic architectures that meet performance, safety, efficiency, and cost targets.
• Select appropriate hydraulic components, including pumps, valves, manifolds, cylinders, accumulators, filters, and hosing.
• Ensure all designs meet functional safety and AWP-specific stability and control requirements.

Simulation, Analysis & Technical Execution
• Create hydraulic schematics and simulation models to validate flow, pressure, load handling, thermal behaviour, and system response.
• Use modelling tools to optimise system performance and guide design decisions.
• Validate component and system behaviour through structured test plans, data analysis, and correlation with simulation.
• Ensure compliance with ANSI, CSA, CE, ISO, and other global hydraulic and AWP regulatory requirements.

Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Partner with NPIP engineering teams to ensure hydraulic systems meet new product requirements throughout concept, design, and validation phases.
• Support Current Product Engineering by resolving field issues, conducting root-cause analysis, and implementing system improvements.
• Work closely with Test & Validation to define hydraulic test requirements and interpret results.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing Engineering to optimise hydraulic routing, assembly processes, and production-quality assurance.

Prototyping & Validation
• Support prototype builds to ensure proper hydraulic system integration and functional performance.
• Review hydraulic BOMs, schematics, and commissioning procedures.
• Lead on-machine tuning and system calibration activities for new and existing products.

Technical Mentorship & Standards Development
• Serve as the senior subject matter expert for hydraulic systems within the Access division.
• Mentor engineers in hydraulic theory, analysis techniques, simulation tools, and machine safety principles.
• Contribute to engineering standards, design guidelines, simulation models, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Minimum Qualifications
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Fluid Power Engineering, or related discipline.
• Extensive Aerial Wor