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Swarm Aero is building autonomous swarming UAVs and the command & control software to coordinate swarms of thousands of heterogeneous autonomous assets. The company is led by experienced aerospace engineers from Scaled Composites, Airbus, Archer Aviation, Blue Origin, and Boom Supersonic, and is currently in detailed design and tooling for a Group 5 autonomous aircraft targeting first flight.
As a Structures Design Engineer, you will own structural design and sizing for primary and secondary airframe components—wing, fuselage, empennage, and major joints—from concept through first article and into flight. You will develop loads and criteria, run static, buckling, fatigue, and dynamic FEA analysis, and make material selection decisions between composites and metallics based on weight, cost, and manufacturing rate. You will work directly with manufacturing on layup design, tooling concepts, part count, and assembly sequence to ensure designs are buildable.
You will define and execute structural testing from coupon and element testing through component and full-scale static test, reconciling results against models. You will support integration of propulsion, landing/recovery systems, payload bays, and control surface actuation into the structure. The role emphasizes hands-on design work: you will spend most days in CAD and FEA, with time in the shop, and you will see your parts come off the tool and validate your design decisions within weeks.
This is a role for someone who wants to design more and coordinate less, with end-to-end ownership of parts from drawings through vendor coordination, first article, and flight testing.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field (advanced degree preferred)
- 5+ years of experience in composite structure design for aircraft, spacecraft, or similar vehicles
- Deep understanding of composite and metal material properties, composite laminate design, composite structure analysis, bonding and joining techniques
- Strong expertise in CAD software, particularly Siemens NX and Fibersim, or equivalent
- Led the design and analysis of composite structures throughout the product lifecycle, from conceptualization to production
- Hands-on experience with composite part fabrication and bonding
- Familiarity with aviation industry standards and DoD certification requirements
- Ability and willingness to travel to Oxnard headquarters for onsite collaboration
- U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or eligible to obtain required ITAR authorizations
PREFERRED:
- Extensive experience in new product development within small, agile teams
- Experience in composite aircraft manufacturing techniques, including bonded structures
- Strong design skills using Siemens NX/Fibersim and experience with PLM systems like Teamcenter
- Comprehensive knowledge of aviation industry practices and DoD certification standards
- Outstanding communication, time management, collaboration, and leadership abilities with proven cross-functional team experience
