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Destinus is seeking a Stress Engineer to support structural sizing and simulation with a focus on non-linear and thermomechanical analysis of solid rocket motor structures. You will be a core member of the engineering team responsible for structural simulation of propellant grains, liner bonds, thermal protection systems (TPS), and propellant–liner–casing interfaces, combining finite element analysis (FEA) with material characterization and test correlation to build substantiated models of energetic material assemblies.
In this role, you will conduct stress analysis using both classical hand-calculation methods and FEA—linear and non-linear, static and dynamic. You will simulate solid rocket motor structures including propellant grain stress and strain fields, bond integrity at propellant–liner and liner–casing interfaces, TPS thermomechanical response, and igniter/nozzle attachment loads. Your work will involve non-linear simulations covering geometric non-linearity, material non-linearity (plasticity, hyperelasticity for propellant and elastomeric materials), and contact mechanics.
You will perform thermomechanical analysis across metallic, composite, bonded, and polymeric structures under thermal cycling and operational loads. Supporting experimental characterization of propellant, liner, and bonded joint materials is also key—you will feed test results (lap shear, peel, tensile, and DMA data) into material models and allowables. Correlating FE predictions against strain gauge, load, and thermal test data to validate and update models accordingly is essential. You will prepare stress reports, margin-of-safety calculations, and design justification documentation.
REQUIREMENTS:
• Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
• 3–5 years of industry experience in stress analysis of aerospace or mechanical structures
• Proficiency with FEA packages: NASTRAN (Femap or equivalent), Abaqus, or Optistruct/HyperWorks for both linear and non-linear analysis
• Strong classical stress analysis skills: beam theory, buckling, fastener and joint analysis, margin-of-safety calculations
• Experience with non-linear material modelling—plasticity, hyperelasticity, or viscoelasticity; familiarity with propellant or elastomeric material constitutive models is a strong advantage
• Experience with thermomechanical or thermal-structural analysis
• Experience correlating FE predictions with experimental test data
• Background in solid rocket motor, propulsion, or energetic structures is a strong advantage
• Fluent in English; German or French is an advantage
