Staff Engineer, Landing Gear Systems
Staff Engineer responsible for the full mechanical design lifecycle of electro-mechanical and hydro-mechanical landing gear systems for autonomous UAVs, including concept development, CAD, analysis, prototyping, testing, and cross-functional collaboration with avionics and structures teams.
About the job
What you'll do
- Design electro-mechanical or hydro-mechanical landing gear for autonomous aircraft
- Own the full design process: concept, CAD design, analysis, tolerance stackups, material selection, and drawing release
- Perform structural and kinematic calculations and preliminary FEA
- Prototype, test, and iterate mechanism designs for functionality and reliability
- Collaborate with electrical, avionics, hydraulics, and structures teams
- Support pre-production builds, prototype integration, and ground/flight testing
Required qualifications
- B.S. in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering
- 7+ years in mechanical or mechanism design
- Strong CAD skills (NX preferred)
- Experience with UAVs, aircraft, rotorcraft, or other landable air systems
- Kinematic analysis and optimization of retractable landing gear systems
- Knowledge of tire, wheel, and brake selection along with brake control systems
- Familiarity with nose wheel steering systems
- Structural analysis utilizing hand calculations and finite element methods
- FEA analysis: Modal, non-linear and linear, buckling, fatigue
- GD&T and tolerance stack-ups for mechanical systems
- Materials selection inclusive of alloys, heat treatments, allowables, and finishes
- Ability to work independently in fast-paced, cross-functional teams
Preferred qualifications
- Familiarity with electro-mechanical actuators
- Proficiency in FMEA, DOE, and root cause analysis
- Hands-on machine shop or mechanic experience (professional or hobby)
- RTCA DO-160, MIL-STD-810, structural, actuated mechanism, or AS6053 drop testing experience
- Ability to thrive in startup, R&D, or defense innovation environments
Skills
CAD, Nx, FEA, GD&T, Kinematic Analysis, Structural Analysis, Mechanical Design, Mechanism Design, Materials Selection, Uav Design, Aircraft Systems
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