Principal Airframe Engineer - IPT Lead [AERO]

The role

The Principal Airframe Engineer will lead airframe structural design and development for a Massed Modular Aircraft program. This role owns the structural design approach from concept through qualification and production transition with an emphasis on modularity and design-for-mass-manufacture.

What you will do

• Lead the structural design and architecture of a modular airframe system
• Define and enforce a modular design architecture
• Own structural trade studies for material selection, joining methods, and load path optimization
• Ensure structural design integrates with propulsion, avionics, payload, and subsystem installations
• Apply design-for-manufacture and design-for-assembly principles
• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering to define producible joint designs and assembly sequences
• Drive design decisions to reduce part count, fastener count, and tooling complexity
• Support make/buy and sourcing strategy discussions with Supply Chain
• Lead or oversee structural analysis for design maturity and airworthiness
• Define and execute the structural test program

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline
• 15+ years of aircraft structural/airframe design experience
• Strong background in structural analysis methods and associated analysis tools
• Demonstrated experience applying design-for-manufacture/design-for-assembly principles
• Experience with composite and/or advanced joining methods
• Experience supporting structural substantiation for military and/or civil airworthiness requirements
• Familiarity with MIL-HDBK-516 or equivalent military airworthiness processes

Nice to have

• Advanced degree
• Direct experience with modular, attritable, low-cost, or mass-producible aircraft/unmanned aircraft system (UAS) programs
• Ability to obtain/maintain Secret/Top Secret/SCI clearance

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for by the company
• 401k with 50% company match up to 6% of pay
• FSA
• HSA
• life insurance
• Free daily lunch while working onsite
• fully-stocked kitchen
• unlimited PTO
• casual dress code
• pre-IPO stock option grants
• relocation assistance
• annual bonuses (coming soon)

Before you apply

• CHAOS Industries does not accept unsolicited resumes or outreach

About the company

CHAOS Industries is a defense company founded in 2022 that uses Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™) to empower warfighters and commercial operators. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles with global offices.