Structures Lead

At Elroy Air, we build autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) cargo aircraft systems to change the way the world moves goods. Transporting cargo by air is faster and more efficient than by land or sea, but before recent technological and regulatory developments, it was prohibitively expensive. Today, we’re able to expand middle-mile logistics possibilities across multiple sectors. The commercial express shipping industry spends $140B annually on the middle-mile and needs faster, better solutions - while the armed forces are increasingly prioritizing unmanned aerial cargo delivery systems.

These partners and customers are already responding enthusiastically to the technologies we are pioneering. As we develop and deploy these systems, we are looking for people like you: motivated collaborators, excited by our mission and by the rare opportunity to improve how logistics works around the world. You will play an important role in establishing Elroy Air as the industry standard in this massive market.

Diverse perspectives at all levels are critical to innovation and employee development. We encourage our team to bring their whole selves to Elroy. This includes but is not limited to gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender expression, religion, age, ability, parenthood status, veteran status, educational background, citizenship status, or any combination of these characteristics.

As Structures Lead at Elroy Air, you will drive our team’s efforts to model, design, evaluate, prototype, and manufacture our aircraft’s primary structures and a broad array of mission-critical components & systems. You will be core to building and leading our aircraft structures design and analysis team from proof of concept flight articles through certification and production.

What You'll Own

• Driving the design and analysis of our cargo UAV's primary and secondary composite structures around performance, manufacturability, cost, and scalability.
• Building a high performing team of structures design engineers and analysts.
• Shaping the technical roadmap and vision, including material and process selection, testing procedures, and partner selection, for the design and manufacture of our aircraft across multiple lifecycle states and platforms.
• Standing up, fostering, and continually refining our processes and best practices for the design, analysis, and release of flight critical aircraft components.
• Continually applying your knowledge of design for manufacturability and serviceability to ensure that the airframe design is cost effective and as simple as possible to fabricate and service.
• Validating structural designs through good test plan definition and execution, and feeding test results back to iterate and optimize load paths for efficient aircraft structures.
• Sketching, whiteboarding, and sharing your subject matter expertise with teammates to foster an environment of learning, growth, and continuous improvement.

Our Ideal Candidate

• 7+ years of experience as a professional composite airframe designer and/or analyst.
• BS in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering with a focus on the design of composite aircraft structures.
• Experience designing and building large composite bonded and fastened assemblies.
• Deep experience with different composite materials and resin systems, tooling & fixturing, precision machining, and manufacturing processes for composite aircraft production.
• Strong proficiency with CAD and finite element analysis methods for both metallics and composites.
• Experience as a manager or a very strong individual contributor of high-performing engineering teams.
• Familiarity with PDM/PLM systems and developing drawings, work instructions, and dispositioning nonconformances between design and manufacturing.
• The desire to: work within a fast-paced startup environment that expects excellence and embraces diversity. Build teams and processes from the ground up. Get their hands dirty. See their aircraft go to market.

Bonus Points For

• Advanced degree (MS or Ph.D) Mechanical, Aerospace, or related engineering discipline.
• Experience with aviation certification processes and requirements.
• Experience and interest in designing for thermoplastic composite construction.
• Past experience developing parts and structures involving large structural composite vehicles/robots/etc…
• Interest in defining how we will navigate the policies and standards for aircraft structures being set forth within an evolving regulatory landscape for commercial use of large UAVs (e.g. FAA, EASA, ASTM, etc . . .)

What's In It For You

• Competitive salary + equity package
• Competitive insurance package including medical/dental/vision/long term disability/life
• 401(k) with broad access to low-cost investment funds, paid parental leave, and highly flexible vacation policy.
• You'll work with and learn from a diverse and highly skilled team.
• You'll help define a new category of aerospace / logistics / robotics, and you'll work on novel and never-before-built systems.
• As an early addition to a quickly growing team, you'll help shape and define company culture and values.
• You'll work in a hands-on office and testing facility minutes from downtown San Francisco.

We encourage you to apply even if you aren't an exact match for our open role as many of our team members come from nontraditional backgrounds.

All employees will be screened through E-Verify.

This position will require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws and regulations, including Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Please note that any offer for employment will be conditioned on any required authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export control laws and regulations necessary to perform the responsibilities of the position.

Elroy Air does not engage with external recruiting agencies/individual recruiters that we do not have a written agreement with and all employment activities are managed through our People & Places team. We reserve the right to make use of any unsolicited resumes received without being responsible for payment of any fees asserted from the use of unsolicited resumes.