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Astro Mechanica is a vertically integrated aerospace company developing scalable technology platforms for critical infrastructure, mission operations, and advanced flight systems. The company is backed by leading venture and strategic investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Giant Step Capital, United Airlines Ventures, and Voyager Ventures.
In this role, you will architect primary and secondary composite and metallic structures, making key decisions on load paths, joints, materials, structural arrangement, and manufacturing approach. You will define technical direction for aircraft structures and drive key architectural decisions across structural modules, aerodynamics, propulsion, systems, manufacturing, and flight test.
You will define and drive the structures organization's execution plan, including headcount and capability needs, work allocation, engineering processes, and operating rhythms. You will communicate priorities, risks, and decisions effectively both up and down the organization. You will support fabrication, assembly, ground testing, and flight test, rapidly incorporating lessons learned into improved designs.
You will lead technical reviews and resolve complex structural design problems, providing technical direction when requirements, analysis, manufacturing constraints, or test results conflict. You will mentor engineers through technical guidance, design reviews, and day-to-day collaboration. You will establish and drive engineering standards, design practices, and development processes as the organization grows.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field
- 10+ years designing aircraft structures with ownership of significant flight hardware
- Demonstrated experience taking structural designs from concept through release, manufacturing, and test
- Demonstrated experience leading the technical development of major aircraft structures and driving design decisions across multiple engineers and disciplines
- Strong understanding of metallic and composite structural design, structural load paths, manufacturing methods, and joining techniques
- Expertise with Siemens NX or equivalent CAD software
- Strong first-principles engineering skills, including structural sizing and hand calculations, with working knowledge of FEA tools such as Femap/Nastran
- Sound engineering judgment and ability to make decisions with incomplete information and evolving requirements
- Excellent communication skills and ability to drive technical decisions across multiple engineering disciplines
- Track record of mentoring engineers while remaining a hands-on technical contributor
