Senior Airframe & Structures Engineer for Drones

Manna Air Delivery; Dublin; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Manna is building and operating the future of autonomous drone delivery. The Senior Mechanical Design Engineer - Airframe & Structures will own mechanical design from concept through production release, focusing on lightweight, robust structures for safe, scalable flight.

The role requires hands-on expertise in airframe design, CAD/FEA, and cross-functional teamwork to deliver production-ready aircraft platforms for real-world operations.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in mechanical design (airframes/robotics/aerospace)
• Proficient in 3D CAD tools (CATIA/SolidWorks/NX/Creo)
• Experience with FEA/CFD and hand calculations
• Experience with manufacturing processes (CNC, sheet metal, composites)
• Strong understanding of tolerance analysis, GD&T, drawings, BOMs
• Hands-on prototyping, test rigs, environmental testing, mechanical validation
• Ability to work cross-disciplinarily with electrical/software teams and flight requirements
• Excellent communication to explain trade-offs, risks, and recommendations
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in fast-moving hardware development

Responsibilities

• Lead design of structural and mechanical systems for aircraft platforms.
• Own concepts through CAD, analysis, prototype build, test, release.
• Design airframe structures, brackets, interfaces, and integrated systems.
• Analyse structures under static, dynamic, fatigue, thermal, and operational loads.
• Use CAD/FEA/CFD and test data to make engineering decisions.
• Drive lightweight, robust, manufacturable designs meeting safety requirements.
• Apply DFM/DFA across machined parts, sheet metal, composites, additive parts, assemblies.
• Conduct tolerance analysis and apply GD&T for production-ready designs.
• Develop and support mechanical test plans, DVPs, test rigs, and data analysis.
• Collaborate with manufacturing, quality, supply chain, electrical, software, and operations teams.
• Support suppliers to ensure parts are scalable and production-ready.
• Lead root cause investigations and corrective actions for mechanical issues.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to design standards and reviews.

Skills

3D CAD

FEA/CFD

GD&T

Mechanical design

Prototyping

Cross-functional

Tools

3DExperience

CATIA

SolidWorks

NX

Creo

Job description

Manna is building and operating the future of autonomous drone delivery. The Senior Mechanical Design Engineer - Airframe & Structures will own mechanical design from concept through production release, focusing on lightweight, robust structures for safe, scalable flight.

The role requires hands-on expertise in airframe design, CAD/FEA, and cross-functional teamwork to deliver production-ready aircraft platforms for real-world operations.