Staff Engineer, Aerostructures Loads - Ranger (R6352)

The role

This Staff Aerostructures Loads Engineer will define, analyze, and validate the loads environments that drive structural design for Project Ranger. The role covers air vehicle and component loads analyses, loads documentation, and support for ground and flight test planning and correlation.

What you will do

• Develop air vehicle and component level loads analyses for primary and secondary structures.
• Create and maintain loads models, free body diagrams, load paths, load cases, design envelopes, and critical load conditions.
• Partner with Aerodynamics, Flight Controls, Mass Properties, Propulsion, and Systems Engineering to define external, inertial, aerodynamic, actuator, and interface loads.
• Deliver loads documentation including design load reports, interface control loads, critical condition summaries, assumptions, margins, and recommendations.
• Support ground and flight test planning, instrumentation definition, correlation activities, structural test execution, and post-test data analysis.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 8 or more years of experience performing air vehicle, rotorcraft, uncrewed aircraft, launch vehicle, automotive, or other complex vehicle loads analysis.
• Demonstrated experience developing loads models and performing static, dynamic, maneuver, gust, landing, ground, handling, transport, or test loads analyses for vehicle structures.
• Strong understanding of structural mechanics, aircraft dynamics, aerodynamics, inertia relief, load paths, free body diagrams, structural sizing inputs, and finite element model interface loads.
• Proficiency with MATLAB, Python, Nastran, Patran, FEMAP, HyperMesh, or comparable loads analysis, data analysis, and finite element tools.

Nice to have

• Master's degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering with emphasis in structural dynamics, aeroelasticity, aircraft loads, flight mechanics, or a related field.
• Experience supporting uncrewed aircraft, fixed wing aircraft, rotorcraft, defense, space, or other aerospace vehicle development programs.
• Experience developing or correlating loads models using flight test, ground test, structural test, strain gauge, pressure, acceleration, or other instrumentation data.
• Familiarity with aeroelasticity, flutter, dynamic response, vibration, fatigue, durability, damage tolerance, or nonlinear structural analysis methods.
• Experience working in multidisciplinary product development environments with structural design, stress analysis, flight sciences, manufacturing, systems engineering, and flight test teams.

Benefits

• Bonus
• Benefits
• Equity
• Temporary benefits package for temporary employees, applicable after 60 days of employment

Before you apply

• All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check.
• Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits.

About the company

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company whose mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies.