How to Become an Automotive BIW Design Engineer - Roadmap

In recent years, the term Electric Vehicle (EV) has gained significant popularity in the market and is projected to maintain its presence for the foreseeable decades. The automotive industry has been undergoing substantial advancements due to the emergence of EVs. This progress has led to a heightened demand for automotive design engineers, particularly in the Plastic and BIW (Body-in-white) domains. As a result of these developments, the opportunities for design engineers within the automotive sector have expanded.

2023-09-01

An Automotive Design Engineer in the BIW Domain has a good scope with several job opportunities in the market offering a good package. As a mechanical engineer, either fresher or working professional, if you are looking for a design job, you can start with the Automotive BIW Product Design Domain.
We are going to discuss a roadmap for how to become an automotive design engineer with expertise in the BIW domain, and this contains 5-steps.

Step-1: Have a look at step-1 of building a strong foundation, We have to act on CAD software, mostly Catia or Unigraphics, used in the automotive industry as both are good at surfacing. Here, we have to get to know in detail of various workbenchs present in both software which are highly recommended to be learned. The workbenches like sketcher, part design, surface design, assembly, drafting, kinematic simulation, etc. We should be able to go through all these workbenchs while doing the industry-level assignments. Also, we have to learn advanced levels of surfacing and CAD methodology.

Step-2: look at step-2 of Gaining Strong Knowledge, Where we have to learn about. BIW Material Properties and Selection, Knowledge of Car Body type & BIW Parts, Sheet metal Product Design Guidelines, A surface and Hemming Creation, BIW feature Creation with Application, Digital mock-up (DMU Study), Automotive Safety Regulations, BIW Fasteners & its Applications, DFMA – Design for Manufacturing and Assembly, Master Section Creation, Re-mastering (DUMP to PARA, Different Welding type and Design Guidelines, Joining methods – BIW Parts, Bench marking of BIW parts, etc.

Step-3: Use all fundamental information and knowledge on the actual industrial projects like tail gate, hood design, side door, back door, etc. We have to follow the real workflow of a project like getting input data. Getting the benchmarking and design guidelines, understanding packaging study, how to check the A surface feasibility or its issues, how to resolve them, how to move further to the complete the development of a part.

Step-4: Practice more on the industry level of the CAD test to learn how to tackle tricky CAD tests and how to solve them within a limited time.

Step-5: Prepare for the technical round of interviews to showcase what we have learned during the projects and by telling them how we can help with your capabilities to the organization.

This is a roadmap through which, you can successfully reach the destination of becoming an automotive design engineer in the BIW domain. With this, our efforts towards the learning also matters. Certainly! In the pursuit of becoming an automotive design engineer in the BIW domain, a strong educational foundation, CAD proficiency, practical experience, and a commitment to ongoing learning are essential. ISOPARA Help you to start or switch career in Design.

Author

Ganesh Verma ( Design Engineer)

Total 7 Blogs view

Design Engineer in BIW domain and working in Mahindra world city, Chennai.

Author’s journey so far:

Back in my mechanical engineering days, I used to believe that getting a job as a mechanical engineer would be a walk in the park. After all, it's a field that's always in demand, right? But reality hit hard when I started hunting for jobs in mechanical engineering.I found a few gigs, but they didn't pay much, and the work atmosphere was far from pleasant. I even tried looking for jobs near my village, around the MIDC area, but it didn't seem like a promising career path.Then, I stumbled upon the idea that design engineering, especially in the automotive sector, could be the way to go. I scoured the internet for ways to learn how to design automotive parts. That's when a friend of mine, who was already working in design, told me about Isopara.Without wasting much time, I made up my mind, said goodbye to my village, and moved to Pune, close to the Isopara office. I attended classes every day, giving it my all. But, despite my efforts, cracking interviews seemed impossible, partly due to personal issues.That's when I decided to have a heart-to-heart with Prashant, one of the instructors at Isopara. We sorted out the problems I was facing during interviews. Soon enough, I received three interview calls and aced them all, landing job offers.This success story owes a lot to Isopara and Prashant, who guided and supported me through every step of my learning journey.