Senior Airframe Structures Engineer

About Us

Skydweller Aero Inc. is a transatlantic cutting-edge aerospace company developing solar powered aircraft solutions capable of achieving perpetual flight with heavy, and powerful payload capacity. Utilizing technology based upon the longest continuous renewably powered flight program in history, this fast-growing startup is developing a new class of unmanned aircraft, providing the persistence of geosynchronous satellites with the powerful sensing capabilities and the flexibility of a large, airborne platform. Skydweller Aero Inc. has World and US headquarters in Oklahoma City and European offices headquartered in Spain.

About the Role

We are looking for candidates that can take a project from clean sheet to delivery of finished hardware.

Working within the Design and Stress team, you will be responsible for engineering key components of a novel airframe with the wingspan of a Boeing 747 and the same weight as a family SUV. In order to reach this level of optimisation, our designs need to efficiently balance the competing needs of functional design, structural performance and manufacturability. We cannot achieve these goals without breaking down the silos of traditional aerospace, where design, stress and manufacturing are treated as separate problems that can be solved in isolation. Like any other aerospace project, we have dedicated specialists, but this role is designed to bridge those gaps and be component focused, rather than domain focused.

Our ideal candidates have a desire to understand and balance the competing demands on aircraft components. They are engineers who enjoy taking ownership of a project, and seeing it through the full design process.

As such, our list of desired skills is extensive, and we do not expect a single candidate to tick all the boxes. The only non-negotiable requirement is a desire to take high level design requirements and turn them into well engineered solutions.

Desired Skills and Experience

• Proven experience in the design of high performance structures (fixed wing, rotor-craft, spacecraft, racing vehicles, homebuilt aircraft etc)

• Design of composite structures, including cored panels, bonded construction

• Design of mechanisms (Ailerons, Flaps, Retractable landing gear, etc)

• Proficiency in parameterized CAD design and PLM navigation (Catia, NX, Solidworks, etc)

• Proficiency with structural hand calculations (Bruhn, etc)

• Proficiency with FEM tools (Nastran, Hyperworks, etc)

• Creating and interpreting manufacturing drawings including GD&T

• Manufacture of composite components and bonded assemblies

• Materials and Processes and material characterization

• Hands on manufacturing experience

• Structural Test and Instrumentation

• Quality engineering (NCRs, Production travelers, NDI)

• Clean-sheet / layout / conceptual design experience

• Requirements definition and flowdown

• Technical management of people and projects

• Mentoring of junior engineers

• Defining engineering processes and best practices

• Certification (Part 23 or similar)

• Demonstrated experience of owning a part through a full design and build process

• Demonstrated practical problem solving

Notes

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Company Benefits

1. Health insurance: We offer health insurance to all FTEs, which can include medical, dental, and vision coverage.

2. Paid time off: This includes vacation time, sick leave, and personal days.

3. Flexible schedules: we offer flexible schedules; we help employees achieve a better work-life balance.

4. Professional development opportunities: we may offer training, educational opportunities, or tuition reimbursement programs to help employees develop their skills and advance their careers.

5. Stock options: all FTEs after one year of seniority may have the opportunity to receive options as part of their compensation package.

6. Bonuses: we offer bonuses or other forms of performance-based compensation to reward employees for their hard work and achievements.