The Role
Leads a mechanical engineering team responsible for interceptor airframes, structures, mechanisms, launcher interfaces, CAD assemblies, and structural analysis. Owns designs from concept through ground testing and live flight, coordinating with propulsion, aerodynamics, controls, and electrical teams. Manages materials, vendors, manufacturing quality, structural and environmental testing, technical risks, schedules, and engineering standards. Hands-on shop and test work is expected.
Summary Generated by Built In
Overview
What You Will Do
Required Qualifications
Nice to Haves
Compensation
You will own every structural and mechanical system on the interceptor: the airframe, internal structure, mechanisms, and the interface to the launcher. You will lead a team of ~5 mechanical engineers.
The vehicle has to survive extreme launch, aerodynamic, vibration, and thermal loads. It also has to fit hard volume and interface limits set by existing launchers. You’ll work directly with the founders and with the propulsion, aerodynamics, controls, and electrical engineers. You’ll take hardware from first concept through ground test to live flight.
Lead the Mechanical Team
- Lead, mentor, and grow the mechanical engineering team, including hiring, setting priorities, and reviewing designs.
- Set the team’s engineering standards: CAD and drawing practices, GD&T, design reviews, analysis documentation, and configuration control.
- Own the mechanical schedule and technical risks, and give clear tradeoffs to founders and other teams.
Design our Interceptors
- Size the airframe and structures for launch, flight, and maneuver loads.
- Lead structural, vibration, shock, and aeroelastic analysis across every phase of flight.
- Own the outer mold line (OML) together with the aerodynamics team, balancing aerodynamic performance, kinematics, and internal volume.
- Design primary and secondary structures, hardpoints, brackets, and mechanisms, including [fin actuation, separation, and canister/launcher interfaces].
- Own the master vehicle CAD assembly and mass properties.
Integrate with other teams
- Work with propulsion and aerodynamics to handle thermal loads, structural margins, and drag.
- Work with electrical and controls to package, route, and mount avionics, harnesses, and actuators.
Build and test
- Choose materials for high-performance applications, such as composites, high-strength alloys, and high-temperature materials.
- Manage vendors and machine shops, and hold them to quality and tolerance requirements.
- Design and run structural, vibration, and environmental tests, and build the fixtures and rigs to support them.
- Get hands-on in our in-house shop when speed matters.
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
- 7+ years of experience designing flight or high-load hardware.
- Experience leading engineers or owning a major subsystem from design through test.
- Expert in CAD, including large, complex vehicle assemblies.
- Expert in structural analysis, including FEA for static, dynamic, and vibration loads.
- Strong material selection experience for high-stress aerospace applications.
- Comfortable working hands-on with hardware in a shop and test environment.
- Must be a U.S. person as defined by ITAR (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual).
- Hardware experience on missiles, rockets, UAVs, or other high-speed aerospace vehicles.
- Manual or CNC mill and lathe proficiency.
- Experience with MIL-STD environmental testing (e.g., MIL-STD-810: thermal, vibration, shock).
- Experience designing and building your own structural test rigs.
- Prior early-stage startup experience.
The base pay range for this role is $180,000 – $240,000 per year.
Skills Required
- Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field
- 7+ years of experience designing flight or high-load hardware
- Experience leading engineers or owning a major subsystem from design through test
- Expertise in CAD, including large and complex vehicle assemblies
- Expertise in structural analysis, including FEA for static, dynamic, and vibration loads
- Strong material selection experience for high-stress aerospace applications
- Comfort working hands-on with hardware in a shop and test environment
- U.S. person status as defined by ITAR, including U.S. citizenship, lawful permanent residence, or protected individual status
- Hardware experience on missiles, rockets, UAVs, or other high-speed aerospace vehicles
- Manual or CNC mill and lathe proficiency
- Experience with MIL-STD environmental testing, including thermal, vibration, and shock testing
- Experience designing and building structural test rigs
- Prior early-stage startup experience
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The Company
What We Do
Wardstone develops modular, mass-producible interceptor platforms for air and missile defense. Its systems are designed to match interceptor performance to mission requirements, reduce costs, and support scalable production. The company is developing surface- and space-based interceptors, including satellites intended to kinetically defeat air-breathing, ballistic, and hypersonic missile threats while complementing existing defense systems. Its architecture uses interchangeable components that can be upgraded and manufactured at scale.
