Stress Engineer - Non-linear & Propellants

Arbeitnow; Zürich; On-site; CHF 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Destinus seeks a Stress Engineer to support structural sizing and simulation for solid rocket motor structures, with a focus on non-linear and thermomechanical analysis. You will model propellant grains, liner bonds, TPS, and propellant–linercasing interfaces using FEA and material characterization.

You will perform linear and non-linear analyses, validate FE results against test data, and prepare stress reports and margin-of-safety calculations.

Qualifications

• Master's degree required in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering.
• 3–5 years of industry experience in stress analysis of aerospace or mechanical structures.
• Experience with FEA packages for linear and non-linear analysis.

Responsibilities

• Conduct stress analysis using both classical hand-calculation methods and FEA - linear and non-linear, static and dynamic.
• Simulate solid rocket motor structures: propellant grain stress and strain fields, bond integrity at interfaces, TPS thermomechanical response, and ignition/attachment loads.
• Perform non-linear simulations covering geometric non-linearity, material non-linearity, and contact mechanics.
• Perform thermomechanical analysis across metallic, composite, bonded, and polymer structures under thermal cycling and operational loads.
• Correlate FE predictions with experimental data and update models accordingly.
• Prepare stress reports, margin-of-safety calculations, and design justification documentation.

Skills

FEA experience

Non-linear material modelling

Thermomechanical analysis

Structural stress analysis

English proficiency

Education

Master's degree in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering

Tools

NASTRAN

Abaqus

Optistruct/HyperWorks

Job description

The Destinus engineering team is seeking a Stress Engineer to support structural sizing and simulation with a focus on non-linear and thermomechanical analysis of solid rocket motor structures.

A core part of this role is the structural simulation of propellant grains, liner bonds, thermal protection systems (TPS), and propellant-liner-casing interfaces - combining FEA with material characterization and test correlation to build substantiated models of energetic material assemblies.

What You'll Do

• Conduct stress analysis using both classical hand-calculation methods and FEA - linear and non-linear, static and dynamic
• Simulate solid rocket motor structures: propellant grain stress and strain fields, bond integrity at propellant-liner and liner-casing interfaces, TPS thermomechanical response, and igniter/nozzle attachment loads
• Conduct non-linear simulations covering geometric non-linearity, material non-linearity (plasticity, hyperelasticity for propellant and elastomeric materials), and contact mechanics
• Perform thermomechanical analysis across metallic, composite, bonded, and polymeric structures under thermal cycling and operational loads
• Support experimental characterisation of propellant, liner, and bonded joint materials; feed test results (lap shear, peel, tensile, and DMA data) into material models and allowables
• Correlate FE predictions against strain gauge, load, and thermal test data; validate and update models accordingly
• Prepare stress reports, margin-of-safety calculations, and design justification documentation

Requirements

What You'll Need

• Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field
• 3-5 years of industry experience in stress analysis of aerospace or mechanical structures
• Proficiency with FEA packages: NASTRAN (Femap or equivalent), Abaqus, or Optistruct/HyperWorks for both linear and non-linear analysis
• Strong classical stress analysis skills: beam theory, buckling, fastener and joint analysis, margin-of-safety calculations
• Experience with non-linear material modelling - plasticity, hyperelasticity, or viscoelasticity; familiarity with propellant or elastomeric material constitutive models is a strong advantage
• Experience with thermomechanical or thermal-structural analysis
• Experience correlating FE predictions with experimental test data
• Background in solid rocket motor, propulsion, or energetic structures is a strong advantage
• Fluent in English; German or French is an advantage