Principal Aerostructures Design Engineer (R4721)
Leads design and development of structural components for next-gen autonomous UAVs, owning full lifecycle from CAD modeling to validation testing. Requires 10+ years in aircraft structures, expertise in CAD/FEA tools, and composites/metallics knowledge.
About the job
Responsibilities
- Lead the design and development of structural components and assemblies for Shield AI’s next-gen UAV platform, focusing on primary and secondary aircraft structures.
- Own the structural design lifecycle including concept generation, CAD modeling, detail design, and drawing release.
- Use FEA tools to perform linear and nonlinear structural analysis, stress analysis, and margin assessment.
- Collaborate with aerodynamics, propulsion, avionics, payload, and manufacturing teams for system integration.
- Support material selection for composites, aluminum alloys, and advanced manufacturing.
- Participate in and lead design reviews, architecture discussions, and technical decision-making.
- Oversee structural validation testing from coupon-level to full-system.
- Guide development of design documentation, analysis reports, and verification plans per MIL-STD, FAA, and internal standards.
- Mentor junior engineers and review team work.
- Collaborate with manufacturing and flight test teams for production transition.
- Identify process improvements for design, configuration management, and workflows.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline.
- 10+ years of experience in aircraft structural design with ownership of components or systems.
- Deep understanding of composite and metallic structures, material behavior, joints, and thermal/environmental effects.
- Expertise in CAD tools (NX, CATIA, or SolidWorks) and FEA tools (ANSYS, Abaqus, NASTRAN, or similar).
- Experience in stress analysis, fatigue analysis, and design optimization.
- Strong knowledge of DFMA, GD&T, tolerance stackups, and structural layout principles.
- Clear technical communication and cross-functional leadership.
Preferred Qualifications
- M.S. degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering.
- Strong NX CAD skills.
- Experience with Group 3–5 UAV, DoD aircraft, or high-performance aerospace programs.
- Knowledge of aerospace standards (MIL-STD, ASME Y14.5, FAA FARS).
- Experience in flight vehicle integration, manufacturing liaison, or production support.
- Familiarity with model-based engineering, digital twin, or configuration management tools.
- Experience in failure analysis, design iteration, and test correlation.
- Work in startup, R&D, or high-growth defense environments.
Skills
Nx, CATIA, Solidworks, Ansys, Abaqus, Nastran, FEA, CAD, GD&T, Dfma
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