Description

***This position is contingent upon contract award***

The Flight Systems Futures operating unit within Strategic Deterrent Systems is seeking highly motivated talent to join a team at the forefront of next-generation hypersonic capabilities. Our team focuses on the design, development, and demonstration of hypersonic re-entry vehicles and advanced payloads, with an emphasis on rapid development and prototyping aligned to specific customer missions. We operate in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment where innovative concepts are matured quickly into credible, testable solutions that address our nation’s most demanding strategic deterrence needs.

What You Will Get To Do:

• • • Define and maintain the overall mechanical layout for the vehicle and major subsystems (structures, TPS hardware, mechanisms, payload, avionics packaging).
    • Coordinate mass properties, interfaces, access, and maintainability across the configuration.
    • Oversee creation and release of mechanical designs, 3D models, and drawings in collaboration with the design/drafting team.
    • Ensure interfaces between subsystems are clearly defined, controlled, and compatible (mechanical, thermal, alignment, envelope).
    • Resolve mechanical integration issues between aerothermal, TPS, structures, GNC, propulsion, and avionics.
    • Flow down system requirements into clear mechanical requirements, constraints, and design criteria (environments, loads, clearances, margins, materials).
    • Work with systems engineering to maintain requirements traceability and define mechanical verification methods (analysis, inspection, test).
    • Collaborate with manufacturing and operations to ensure designs are producible, testable, and supportable.
    • Support build and integration on the factory floor (build issues, nonconformance disposition, redlines).
    • Provide technical direction to mechanical suppliers (requirements, reviews, deviations, acceptance).
    • Plan and coordinate mechanical engineering work across a small team (tasking, priorities, schedules).
    • Review and approve design work products, ensuring consistency with program standards and best practices.
    • Mentor junior engineers and foster strong communication across disciplines and IPTs.

Basic Qualifications:

• • • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related STEM field with
    • Minimum of 8 years of relevant experience
    • Must be a US Citizen
    • Active Top Secret clearance at time of application, current and within scope, renewed or initiated within the last 6 years.
    • Must be able to be successfully screened for Enhanced Security Clearances, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the company to meet its business needs
    • 5+ years of relevant structural analysis or design experience
    • 3+ years experience performing finite element analysis (FEA) of metallic and/or composite structures using industry tools (e.g., NASTRAN, Abaqus, ANSYS, or similar)
    • 3+ years experience generating and checking stress reports, margins of safety, and load paths for primary and secondary structures
    • 3+ years experience of classical hand calculations (beam/plate theory, bolted and bonded joints, stability, fatigue/fracture basics) to complement FEA
    • 3+ years experience interpreting loads and environments (aero/thermal/pressure/inertial) and applying them appropriately in structural models
    • 3+ years experience performing air vehicle dynamic structural assessments (Shock and Vibe)
    • 3+ years experience with systems packaging, sizing, and weight tradeoffs and analysis
    • 5+ years experience with CAD and pre/post-processing tools (e.g., NX, CATIA, Creo, HyperMesh, Femap, or similar)
    • Demonstrated ability to document technical work clearly and present results to a cross-functional team (structures, aero, TPS, systems)
    • Willing to travel up to 25% of the time

Preferred Qualifications:

• • • Experience on hypersonic, high-speed, or reentry vehicle programs, or similarly demanding environments (missiles, launch vehicles, spacecraft)
    • Experience with:
    • Thermal-structural coupling (applying aerothermal/TPS temperatures in structural models, assessing thermal stresses)
    • Nonlinear analysis (geometric and/or material nonlinearity, contact, large deflection)
    • Fatigue and fracture mechanics for mission profiles with significant thermal or dynamic loading
    • Familiarity with high-temperature materials and TPS-support structures (e.g., CMCs, high-temperature alloys, advanced composites)
    • Experience supporting structural test (component, subassembly, or system level): test planning, instrumentation input, predicting test response, and correlating models to data
    • Experience with requirements and verification: writing structural requirements, defining verification methods, and maintaining traceability
    • Scripting or automation skills (e.g., Python, MATLAB, or similar) for model setup, post-processing, and data reduction
    • Experience working in a configuration-controlled environment with formal design reviews (PDR/CDR) and change management
    • Knowledge of Hypersonic Reentry Vehicle systems, environments, and typical structural tests and assessments
    • Knowledge of Launch Vehicle interfaces and environments
    • Knowledge of advanced materials and manufacturing processes