Summary
Väderstad is looking for people who share our passion for farming. Our employees are the most important resource we have in achieving our goals. We provide great career opportunities for the right candidates in a rapidly evolving workplace with locations in ag markets across North America. Vaderstad is an equal opportunity employer, that values and respects diversity in its workforce. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications, merit and business needs.
The FEA Analyst supports Väderstad’s Product & Development team by performing advanced structural, fatigue, and durability simulations on agricultural equipment and components. This role ensures designs meet performance, safety, and reliability standards before physical testing. The analyst collaborates closely with design engineers, test engineers, and product specialists to optimize product performance and reduce development cycle time.
Education/Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline.
- Coursework or specialization in finite element methods, structural mechanics, or computational modeling is an asset.
- 2–3 years of experience performing FEA in a manufacturing environment, ideally in agricultural equipment, off-highway machinery, heavy equipment, or industrial machinery.
- Proficiency with FEA tools such as ANSYS, Abaqus, HyperMesh, OptiStruct, or similar CAE platforms.
- Experience with other virtual analysis/simulation tools is an asset (e.g., CFD, DEM, MBD)
- Experience with agricultural equipment or heavy steel structures is an asset.
- Familiarity with fatigue standards, weld analysis, and durability prediction is an asset.
- Exposure to test engineering, instrumentation, or data acquisition systems is an asset.
- Knowledge of hydraulics, pneumatics.
- Knowledge of and experience with current farming practices and equipment an asset
- Familiarity and experience with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is an asset.
- Familiarity and experience with Discrete Element Model (DEM) is an asset.
- Safety training an asset
- LEAN training an asset
Why Work with Us?
- Four-day work week, every week is a long weekend!
- Väderstad offers a competitive compensation package including competitive salary, health benefits and pension matching.
- Health, Dental, Vision and Prescription benefits are 100% paid by the Väderstad
- Flexible work environment
- Väderstad provides you the opportunity to work with an ambitious, growth-oriented team that is driven to continuously improve
Core Competencies
- Strong understanding of structural mechanics, fatigue analysis, material behavior, and load cases relevant to heavy equipment and agricultural machinery.
- Experience interpreting test data and correlating simulation results with physical testing.
- Knowledge of manufacturing processes (welded structures, machined components, castings, formed steel).
- Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, GD&T, and 3D CAD models.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to provide clear engineering recommendations.
- Effective communication skills for presenting simulation results to engineering and leadership teams.
- Ability to work cross-functionally with design, testing, and production teams.
- High attention to detail and commitment to accuracy.
- Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
Accountabilities
- Perform static, dynamic, fatigue, and modal analyses on agricultural equipment components and assemblies.
- Develop and validate finite element models using appropriate material properties, boundary conditions, and load cases.
- Provide design optimization recommendations to improve durability, reduce weight, and enhance manufacturability.
- Support the Test Engineer Manager by correlating simulation results with lab and field test data.
- Collaborate with design engineers to evaluate concept designs, identify high-risk areas, and guide design improvements early in the development cycle.
- Participate in design reviews, offering simulation-based insights.
- Assist in developing test plans based on predicted stress and fatigue hotspots.
- Prepare clear, professional technical reports summarizing analysis methods, assumptions, results, and recommendations.
- Maintain simulation files, material libraries, and analysis standards.
- Contribute to the development of CAE best practices, templates, and simulation workflows.
- Support initiatives to reduce physical testing time and cost through improved simulation accuracy.
Work Conditions
- Primarily a typical office working environment
- Shop exposure is required during the prototyping and testing phases
- Manual dexterity required to use desktop computer and peripherals
- Work is performed in a combination of environments which require the usage of Personal Protective Equipment
- This position may be exposed to elements such as noise, dust, odors, fumes and oils
- Job anxiety, tension and mental stress can occur from time to time in meeting deadlines, confrontation, interruptions, long meetings and responding to general duties
