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Salary: USD 198,000 - 300,000 / annual
CHAOS Industries is seeking a Principal Mechanical Systems Engineer to lead the design and development of aircraft mechanical systems for a Massed Modular Aircraft (MMA) program. This is a senior technical leadership role focused on mechanical systems architecture, design, and production transition.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead design and integration of aircraft mechanical systems including landing gear (main/nose, retraction, shock absorption, steering), wheels, tires, and brake systems (including brake control and anti-skid), doors, hatches, access panels with latching/locking mechanisms, and actuation systems (electromechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic).
- Define and enforce a modular mechanical systems architecture with common interfaces, standardized attachment schemes, and interchangeable subassemblies across platform variants.
- Own mechanical system trade studies balancing performance, weight, reliability, cost, and producibility at scale.
- Ensure clean integration of mechanical systems with airframe structure, avionics, and flight controls across modular interface boundaries.
- Apply design-for-manufacture and design-for-assembly (DFM/DFA) principles to enable high-rate, low-touch-labor production.
- Partner with Manufacturing Engineering to define producible mechanism designs, standardized components, and assembly sequences compatible with distributed or multi-site production.
- Drive design decisions that reduce part count, unique fastener types, and non-recurring tooling complexity without compromising reliability or safety.
- Support make/buy and sourcing strategy with Supply Chain, identifying commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) or modified-COTS components to reduce cost and lead time.
- Lead or oversee mechanical systems analysis including kinematic/motion analysis, structural analysis, load analysis (landing gear ground loads, braking loads, door/latch loads), and reliability/durability analysis.
- Define and execute the mechanical systems test program (component, subsystem, and full-system functional, environmental, and endurance testing).
- Support qualification activities in accordance with applicable military and civil-derivative standards (MIL-STD/MIL-HDBK guidance, SAE Aerospace Recommended Practices).
- Serve as senior technical authority for mechanical systems, representing the discipline at Preliminary Design Review (PDR), Critical Design Review (CDR), and government technical interchange meetings.
- Partner with Systems Engineering, Structures, Avionics, Program Management, Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain to align mechanical systems maturity with program schedule and cost targets.
- Identify and manage mechanical systems risks including component supply risk, wear/durability uncertainty, and producibility risk at scale.
Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline; advanced degree preferred.
- 15+ years of aircraft mechanical systems design experience, including demonstrated ownership of one or more of the following: landing gear, brakes, doors/mechanisms, or actuation systems, from concept through qualification/production.
- Strong background in mechanism design, kinematic analysis, and structural/load analysis of mechanical components, with experience using relevant analysis tools (CAD-integrated motion simulation, FEA tools).
- Demonstrated experience applying design-for-manufacture/design-for-assembly principles to reduce production cost and complexity at scale.
- Experience supporting mechanical systems qualification/substantiation for military and/or civil-derivative requirements.
Preferred:
- Direct experience with modular aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or multi-mission/multi-variant platform architectures.
- Ability to obtain/maintain Secret/Top Secret/SCI clearance.
