Stress Engineer: Nonlinear Propellant Structures Expert

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

Job summary

Destinus in Zürich seeks a Stress Engineer to lead structural sizing and simulation of solid rocket motor assemblies, focusing on non-linear and thermomechanical analysis. This role covers propellant grains, liners, TPS, and interfaces—integrating FEA with material characterization and test correlation to build validated models for energetic assemblies.

You will perform linear and non-linear stress analyses, validate FE predictions with test data, and prepare margin-of-safety reports and design

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 3–5 years of industry experience in stress analysis of aerospace or mechanical structures.
• Proficiency with FEA packages: NASTRAN, Abaqus, or Optistruct/HyperWorks for 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.

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 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 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

Skills

FEA software

Classical stress analysis

Non-linear material modelling

Thermomechanical analysis

Experimental data correlation

Aerospace propulsion knowledge

English fluent

German/French beneficial

Education

Master's degree in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering

Tools

NASTRAN

Abaqus

Optistruct/HyperWorks

Job description

Destinus in Zürich seeks a Stress Engineer to lead structural sizing and simulation of solid rocket motor assemblies, focusing on non-linear and thermomechanical analysis. This role covers propellant grains, liners, TPS, and interfaces—integrating FEA with material characterization and test correlation to build validated models for energetic assemblies.

You will perform linear and non-linear stress analyses, validate FE predictions with test data, and prepare margin-of-safety reports and design