Mechanical Engineer, Missile Defense (Senior - Staff)

The role

You will design and develop flight hardware for defense aerospace programs. This includes engineering mechanical systems for hypersonic and missile defense environments.

What you will do

• Serve as technical authority and subject matter expert in mechanical design
• Drive design, analysis, and optimization of structures and assemblies
• Own the full mechanical architecture of flight vehicle structures and systems
• Define structural design philosophy, sizing criteria, and margins of safety
• Lead design and development of guidance, navigation, and control hardware
• Own the thermal protection system design strategy
• Lead mechanical integration of propulsion subsystems
• Define and maintain vehicle-level mechanical interface control documents
• Chair and lead formal vehicle design reviews
• Establish and enforce GD&T standards and CAD model management

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related engineering discipline
• 7–15+ years of professional experience in mechanical design, with the majority spent within missile defense, hypersonic systems, defense aerospace, or a related industry
• Demonstrated expertise in flight vehicle structural design for high-dynamic-pressure, thermally coupled, and high-g flight environments
• Extensive hands-on experience with guidance and seeker packaging architecture
• Deep experience with TPS design and high-temperature materials
• Proven experience leading mechanical integration of propulsion subsystems
• Expert-level proficiency in NX (Siemens) and/or SolidWorks
• Mastery of GD&T principles
• Proven track record of leading flight vehicle hardware programs from concept through test or flight certification
• Experience chairing or leading formal vehicle design reviews
• Strong familiarity with relevant defense and aerospace standards
• Experience with configuration management, MES, and PLM tools

Nice to have

• Master's degree or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related discipline
• 10+ years of experience specifically in interceptor systems, kill vehicles, or hypersonic flight vehicle mechanical design
• Experience as a responsible mechanical engineer on a missile defense or hypersonic program
• Deep experience with kill vehicle or hit-to-kill interceptor hardware
• Experience with hypersonic flight vehicle aeroshell design
• Background in spacecraft or satellite mechanical design
• Familiarity with structural analysis and FEA methods (e.g., NASTRAN, Ansys)
• Experience supporting business development, proposal writing, and new program captures
• Background working in a startup or high-growth aerospace and defense company
• Active U.S. security clearance (Secret or TS/SCI), or ability and willingness to obtain one

Benefits

• 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents
• HSA/HRA options
• Flexible Time Off (FTO) for exempt employees
• Accrued PTO of up to 25 days for non-exempt employees
• 12 paid holidays
• Parental Leave
• Sick Leave
• Daily catered lunch and unlimited snacks for in-office employees
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Fitness reimbursement
• Dog Fridays
• Equity participation

Before you apply

• Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of St

About the company

True Anomaly delivers decisive capabilities for space superiority by building autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors.