Lead / Senior Mechanical Engineer - Own the airframe, structures, and mechanisms of a next-generation interceptor
El Segundo, California | On-site
Opportunity Summary
We are hiring at both the senior and lead level to own the mechanical side of a supersonic interceptor, including the airframe, internal load paths, actuated mechanisms, and the interface to existing launch systems. Senior engineers will take full ownership of major subsystems such as airframe sections, fin actuation, or separation hardware. The lead will set direction for a mechanical team of roughly five engineers, own the master vehicle model and mass properties, and drive schedule and technical risk across the discipline.
The hardware must hold up to severe launch, aero, vibration, and thermal environments while fitting tight volume and interface envelopes defined by fielded launchers. You will work side by side with the founders and with propulsion, aerodynamics, controls, and electrical engineers, carrying designs from first sketch through ground test and into flight.
About Us
We are a seed-stage, venture-backed defense technology company building affordable, modular interceptors for air and missile defense, with surface-launched and space-based platforms in development. The team has already demonstrated autonomous intercepts and is moving quickly from prototype hardware into flight testing from our South Bay facility. We are a small group of engineers and operators who design, build, and test in-house, with a clear path toward scaled production for government customers.
Job Duties
- Own structures and mechanisms from requirements and concept through analysis, fabrication, ground test, and flight
- Size the airframe and internal structures for launch, flight, and high-G maneuver loads
- Perform structural, vibration, shock, thermal, and aeroelastic analysis using hand calculations and FEA
- Partner with aerodynamics on the outer mold line, trading drag, kinematics, and internal packaging volume
- Design primary and secondary structure, hardpoints, brackets, fin actuation, separation mechanisms, and launcher or canister interfaces
- Create production-ready CAD and drawings with GD&T, and maintain mass properties and the top-level vehicle assembly
- Coordinate with electrical and controls on packaging, routing, and mounting of avionics, harnesses, and actuators
- Resolve thermal loads, structural margins, and interface questions with propulsion and aerodynamics
- Select materials and processes, including composites, high-strength alloys, and high-temperature materials
- Hold machine shops and vendors to quality and tolerance requirements, and build or modify parts in the in-house shop
- Design fixtures and rigs, run structural and environmental tests, and feed results back into the design
- Lead level: hire, mentor, and set priorities for the mechanical team, and establish CAD, drawing, design review, and configuration control standards
- Lead level: own the mechanical schedule and technical risk, presenting clear tradeoffs to the founders and partner teams
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related field
- 5+ years designing flight or high-load hardware (7+ years plus team leadership experience for the lead level)
- Ownership of at least one major subsystem from design through test
- Advanced CAD skills with large, complex assemblies and GD&T drawings
- Strong structural analysis background covering static, dynamic, and vibration loads with hand calculations and FEA
- Material selection experience for highly loaded aerospace structures
- Comfortable working hands-on with hardware in a shop and test setting
- U.S. Person status required (ITAR) and ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance
Preferred Experience
- Hardware experience on missiles, rockets, UAVs, or other high-speed vehicles
- Mechanism design such as actuators, deployables, or separation systems
- Manual or CNC mill and lathe skills
- MIL-STD-810 thermal, vibration, and shock testing
- Experience designing and building structural test rigs
- Prior early-stage startup experience
Why Join Us
- Own flight hardware outright, with designs that move from CAD to the test stand to flight in months
- Choose the scope that fits: deep subsystem ownership at the senior level, or build and lead the mechanical team
- Work directly with the founders and every engineering discipline on the vehicle
- In-house shop and test capability for fast iteration
- Early equity in a seed-stage company with a rapidly growing team
- Mission with direct national security impact
Compensation Details
$140,000 - $240,000 + equity (level dependent)