Senior Aerospace Materials, Structures & Thermal Lead

Gattaca; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Gattaca is seeking a Senior/Principal Materials, Structures & Thermal Engineer to lead materials and structural design for advanced defence aerospace projects. You will direct material selection, structural sizing, and thermal analysis across conceptual to detailed design stages.

You will mentor engineers, collaborate with suppliers, and ensure quality, safety and security requirements are met while influencing the technical roadmap and project direction.

Qualifications

• Degree in Aerospace, Mechanical or Materials Engineering with strong propulsion/structures focus.
• Extensive experience in materials, structures and/or thermal engineering in aerospace/defence.
• Proven track record leading projects and mentoring engineers; Chartered status preferred.
• Experience with FEA tools (ANSYS/Abaqus/Nastran) and thermal modelling.
• Able to obtain UK Security Clearance; strong communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead material selection for aerospace structures with trade-offs on performance and cost.
• Develop material databases and oversee supplier qualification.
• Lead structural design activities from concept to detailed design and sizing.
• Perform stress analysis and margin of safety assessments; create analytical/FEA models.
• Lead thermal modelling and analysis across the vehicle; relate to tests.
• Participate in design reviews, studies and architecture decisions; mentor others.

Skills

Aerospace engineering

Materials engineering

Thermal engineering

Leadership

Communication

Education

Degree in Aerospace Engineering or related

Tools

ANSYS

Abaqus

Nastran

Thermal Desktop

Python

Job description

Gattaca is seeking a Senior/Principal Materials, Structures & Thermal Engineer to lead materials and structural design for advanced defence aerospace projects. You will direct material selection, structural sizing, and thermal analysis across conceptual to detailed design stages.

You will mentor engineers, collaborate with suppliers, and ensure quality, safety and security requirements are met while influencing the technical roadmap and project direction.