Principal Structures Engineer

Anduril’s Composites Design and Manufacturing team is seeking a Principal Structures Engineer to join us. The Composites Design and Manufacturing team is responsible for executing all aspects of design and manufacturing a composite part, assembly, and/or an aircraft from a structures point of view - including tooling, part, and assembly design and manufacturing using various composite manufacturing techniques.
The ideal candidate has extensive experience in aircraft development for structural design, composite and metallic, throughout the full spectrum of the design cycle (conceptual/clean sheet, revisions, etc). You must be comfortable representing the perspective of airframe design in the negotiation of requirements with other disciplines (loads, stress, M&P, mechanical systems, etc.). You must be able to layout efficient structure by the application of a deep understanding of load path and the driving load cases to impact decisions on materials, configurations, and joints. The ideal candidate is experienced in various aerospace composites, aluminum, and steel materials and processes. The right structures engineer has a comfortable familiarity with the strength, stiffness, toughness, damage tolerance, and fatigue properties of a wide range of composite and metallic materials, and experience in selecting materials for aerospace structures applications to play to their strengths. This position requires deep experience in detailed part, joint, and assembly design standards and practices for aerospace composites and metallics.
The ideal candidate must also have understanding in typical aircraft loads development iterations as it relates to structures design and maturation: practical understanding of how to properly apply loads, how loads translate from V-N diagrams, maneuver or ground loads discretized to the airframe. The ideal candidate is practiced in hand calculation analysis to rapidly size and substantiate their own designs (or simplified FEM analysis). Additionally, the candidate must be conversant in FEM model building techniques, boundary conditions, load application methods, and results interpretation to be able to rapidly iterate designs in collaboration with stress analysts.
This position requires strong on the floor collaboration with technicians and manufacturing to oversee fabrication to design requirements and dispositioning of non-conformances. As a senior position, the ideal candidate will help grow the organization through mentoring of early-career engineers and lead efforts to develop training and design standards. The right candidate will also have deep experience in working with multi-disciplinary engineering teams in a fast paced environment. If you meet these qualities, then we want to hear from you!
WHAT YOU’LL DO::

• Own development of primary and secondary aircraft structural parts and assemblies (metallic and composite) from preliminary design through prototype manufacturing
• Collaborate hands-on with technicians and engineers in the manufacturing environment to communicate designs, plan work, guide requirements, and disposition problems
• Accelerate aircraft build by applying Design for Manufacture concepts to part and assembly designs
• Conduct trade studies and perform design and analysis research of complex engineering concepts to determine an optimal solution for weight, performance, manufacturability, cost, and/or schedule
• Institutionalize design standards, assist in developing training, and mentor early-career engineers
• Collaborate in a multidisciplinary environment to solve complex, open-ended problems with an emphasis on schedule and cost objectives
• Coordinate work with mechanical systems, systems integration, aerodynamics, manufacturing, project engineering, and other team members

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or other related Engineering field
• 10+ years of engineering experience in design, analysis, fabrication, and assembly of composite based airframes, for both prototypes and production, overseeing them through structural testing and into flight testing
• Strong proficiency in Siemens NX for composite and metallic airframe part design
• Strong technical knowledge in core engineering principles, fundamental mechanics of composite and metallic materials, design, analysis, testing, and fabrication
• Deep understanding of load paths, design practices, joint and assembly methods, and hand calculations to design and fabricate robust structurally efficient assemblies
• Experience in composites materials and processes (thermosets, thermoplastics, bismaleimides, cyanate esters, prepreg, filament winding, wet layup, secondary bonding, drilling and fastening, etc.)
• Experience with common aerospace steel and aluminum materials, heat treatments, and manufacturing methods
• Proven ability to design high performance structures and execute their fabrication from hands-on experience
• Self-directed, results and detail oriented, and capable of working in a dynamic environment
• Excellent time management, organizational, and communication skills
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. DoD Secret Clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• 15+ years of experience in aerospace or related industry
• Experience with fast paced prototype design and manufacture of uncrewed aircraft
• Experience leading engineers and technicians
• Experience in collaborating with technicians and other engineering disciplines for dispositions of non-conformances in manufacturing by analytically substantiating use-as-is or repair decisions
• Strong hands on technical skills - both professional and hobby
• Practical aircraft knowledge (pilots license, A&P, etc.)