Lead Aerospace Design Engineer

Who we are:

As Paragon Space Development celebrates 30+ years of providing award-winning life support and thermal control solutions for extreme environments, we've recognized that it is our employees that keep our business thriving. By any measure, Paragon is an exciting and rewarding place to work. Our goal is to hire the best and allow you to do the work that you enjoy!

Job Description:

The Lead Designer will serve as the design lead for large and complex programs, providing technical direction and coordination for a team of six or more design engineers and designers. Responsibilities include establishing the overall design approach and architecture for assigned programs, assigning and prioritizing design tasks, reviewing and approving design outputs, and ensuring consistency with program requirements, engineering standards, and configuration management practices.

The Lead Designer participates in major design reviews, coordinates closely with systems engineering, analysis, manufacturing, test, and program management teams, and ensures that designs meet performance, schedule, cost, and manufacturability objectives. The Lead Designer will also mentor junior engineers, lead technical trade studies and risk reduction activities, and provide technical leadership throughout the product lifecycle from concept development through production and testing.

This function is responsible for but not limited to the following:

• Ability to serve as the technical design lead for major programs, establish design architecture, ensuring alignment with system requirements, and maintaining the overall integrity of the design solution.
• Proven ability to lead and coordinate the work of multiple design engineers on large or complex programs, including task assignments, technical guidance, schedule coordination, and design review oversight.
• Ability to review and evaluate the designs and concepts developed by junior and mid-level engineers and provide expert guidance that improves design quality, performance, and manufacturability.
• Ability to coordinate closely with systems engineering, analysis, manufacturing, test, quality, program management, supplier and customer teams to ensure designs meet performance, cost, schedule, and manufacturability objectives.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in the design and development of spacecraft, spacesuits, aircraft, military, or other complex vehicles, systems, subsystems, assemblies, and components.
• Extensive knowledge of the engineering product lifecycle, including requirements development, conceptual and detailed design, analysis, manufacturing, integration, test, and operations, with the ability to guide teams through each phase.
• Proficiency with SOLIDWORKS CAD software and SOLIDWORKS PDM, including configuration control and engineering release processes.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly present technical concepts, design rationale, risks, and trade studies to engineering leadership, program management, cross-functional teams, and customers, and to accurately capture, document, and communicate meeting notes, decisions, and action items from internal and customer interactions
• Experience leading or contributing to formal engineering design reviews and technical decision-making processes.
• Skills in project budgeting awareness, engineering resource planning, and forecasting to support program execution.
• Ability and willingness to mentor and train junior engineers and designers, promoting engineering best practices and professional development.

Required Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Bio-mechanical, Aerospace Engineering or equivalent field and 8+ years with system and/or hardware design and analysis experience
• Master's degree in Mechanical, Bio-mechanical, Aerospace Engineering or equivalent field and 6+ years with system and/or hardware design and analysis experience
• PhD degree in Mechanical, Bio-mechanical, Aerospace Engineering or equivalent field and 4+ years with system and /or hardware design experience in the aerospace industry.

Desired Attributes:

Experience in one of the following discipline areas:

• Life Support System Design
• Crew Systems Design
• Crew Cabin Design
• Human Factors
• Manufacturing/ Manufacturability
• Quality

Employment is contingent on other factors, including, but not limited to, background checks and drug screens.

U.S. Citizenship status is required for this position.