Aerospace Mechanical Engineer: Airframe & Flight Prototyping

Thermopylae Aerospace

Hawthorne (CA)

On-site

USD 125,000 - 145,000

Full time

40 hours ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Performance bonuses

Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance

Free meals on launch days

Paid time off

Job summary

Thermopylae Aerospace Corporation in Hawthorne, CA, is seeking a mechanical aerospace engineer to own the airframe, structures, and mechanisms of our interceptor platform. You will run aerodynamic simulations, perform structural and dynamic analyses, and drive manufacturability and cost reductions from concept to flight-tested reality.

The role is on-site in Hawthorne with responsibilities spanning CAD, GD&T, FEA, and hands-on fabrication.

Qualifications

Experience taking mechanical hardware from concept to flying or fielded product.
Hands-on experience with CFD or comparable aerodynamic analysis.
Strong structural and dynamic analysis fundamentals, including FEA and first-principles hand calculations.
Proficiency in CAD and GD&T with a track record of shop-built drawings.
Design for manufacturing across machining, sheet metal, castings, composites, and injection molding.
Hands-on fabrication, assembly, and test experience in shop and range.
Scripting in Python or MATLAB for analysis, automation, and data reduction.

Responsibilities

Own mechanical design of the airframe, control surfaces, mechanisms, and subsystem integration, from concept through flight qualification
Run aerodynamic simulations to size control surfaces, predict vehicle performance across the flight envelope, and inform the shape of the vehicle
Perform structural, thermal, and dynamic analysis, including hand calculations and FEA, and defend the margins that result
Trade aerodynamic performance against structural mass, manufacturability, and unit cost, and make the call
Drive cost and part count out of the design through material selection, process choice, and tooling strategy
Own CAD models, drawings, GD&T, tolerance stack-ups, bills of materials, and configuration control
Plan and execute ground qualification, including static, vibration, shock, and environmental testing
Work directly with machine shops and suppliers to qualify parts, compress lead times, and bring critical processes in house where it pays
Prototype and iterate rapidly using our internal fabrication capability
Support vehicle integration and flight test, reconstruct performance from flight data, and lead teardown and failure analysis