Aerospace Structural Engineer

collieraerospace; Raleigh (NC); On-site; USD 70,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PTO

401(k)

Health insurance

HSA/HRA eligibility

Life and disability insurance

Company events

Job summary

Collier Aerospace in Raleigh, NC seeks a junior to mid-level structural analyst to perform aerospace stress analysis and design sizing for airframes and space vehicles. You will use HyperX, Nastran, Abaqus, and related tools to evaluate loads, durability, and margins of safety, supporting NASA and industrial customers.

Candidates should have a bachelor’s degree (master’s preferred), 0–2 years experience, knowledge of composites and metals, and strong documentation skills.

Qualifications

• Aerospace structural analysis and design experience.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s preferred.
• 0–2 years experience, entry level.
• Experience with composites and metals as applicable.
• Knowledge of load paths and hand FE analysis plus FEA tools.
• Familiarity with failure theories and margins of safety.
• Experience with laminates, ply-based and laminate strength.
• Experience with bonded joints and residual strength analysis.
• Strong documentation and communication skills.
• US Citizen.

Responsibilities

• Learn and use HyperX for preliminary and detail analysis sizing.
• Use HyperX and other tools to analyze airframes and space vehicles.
• Perform trade studies for weight savings and producibility.
• Document designs, analyses, and results.
• Report to NASA and OEM customers and justify load paths.
• Escalate urgent problems and support software testing.

Skills

Aerospace structural analysis

FEA

Nastran

Abaqus

Optistruct

HyperWorks

FEMAP

Ansa

CAD Catia

NX

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

HyperX

Nastran

Abaqus

Optistruct

HyperWorks/FEMAP/Ansa

Catia

3DX

NX

Job description

Our Why

At Collier Aerospace, our mission is to help our customers reach their unique structural analysis and design goals with more accurate results in less time. We are a team of passionate employees who want to contribute to each customer's goal in the best way possible across space launch, reusable rocket, commercial airframe, business jet, eVTOL, bike frame, and speed boat applications. We accomplish this with our leading software, HyperX, through software development and engineering support. As you join our team, you join our company mission and become an integral partner in increasing efficiency and innovation throughout the world.

Our Culture

We foster a highly supportive and collaborative environment where our meetings are a mix of brainstorming, analysis, and humor. When you’re stuck, our employees are always eager to lend a helping hand. We offer a relaxed and casual dress code to promote a comfortable atmosphere. Our passion and drive fuel us as we strive to make a lasting impact on our company, customers, and industry.

Requirements

• Candidates should have comprehensive experience in performing aerospace structural stress analysis and design. The candidates should have many of the following capabilities:
• Bachelor’s Required; Master’s Preferred
• (0-2) years’ experience – entry level
• Following aerospace industry practices, capability to perform structural analysis and design with composite materials. Additionally experience with metals a plus.
• Understanding of overall load paths and an intuitive feel for the efficient use of structural concepts and materials. Experience performing classical hand stress analysis and finite element analysis (FEA) with either Nastran/Abaqus/Optistruct; FEM meshers Hyperworks/FEMAP/Ansa; and a plus to have CAD competence with Catia/3DX/NX.
• Proficiency in applying appropriate failure theories, preparing structural analysis reports, and identifying critical load conditions and margins-of-safety.
• Knowledge of panel buckling, local buckling, crippling, and material strength as well as classical in-plane laminate stress analysis. Experience with both ply based (max strain, Tsai-Wu) and laminate based (AML, polynomial) strength prediction approaches and associated material allowables, including damage.
• Experience with analysis of composite fasteners for bearing and bypass, and bonded joints for out-of-plane interlaminar shear and peel stress analysis, or residual strength energy solutions.
• Experience sizing structures for minimum weight and practical design experience of composite laminates, including ply drop ratios and layup patterns on complicated surfaces, such as padups around cutouts and bolted joints.
• Strong documentation, communication, and presentation skills.
• US Citizen.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Ability to learn and use HyperX for preliminary and detail analysis/design sizing optimization of full airframe and space vehicles. Candidates must be adept at using engineering software tools, learning new software and analysis methods, and working in a Windows OS environment.
• Use HyperX and other software tools to analyze and design customer airframes and space launch vehicles.
• Perform trade studies for weight savings and part producibility. Perform both preliminary and detail design and analysis. Document design and analyses results.
• Candidates will be reporting directly to NASA and industry OEM customers and must be able to verify and describe the application of external loadings and their resolution into critical internal mechanical and thermal load paths, and to the resulting optimum design and their margins of safety.
• Ensure project issues are resolved in a timely fashion with your related experience and competence and an ability to create workaround procedures when needed. Escalate urgent problems requiring more in-depth knowledge to appropriate engineering leads.
• Participate in overall HyperX software testing and provide your suggestions to development and modification of the software.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and benefits (PTO, 401(k), health insurance, HSA/HRA eligibility, life and disability insurances)
• Exposure and involvement with many companies and their current aircraft designs (commercial transports/UAM eVTOLS/military planes) and space launch designs (commercial rockets/space tourism vehicles/demonstrator X planes)
• Occasional travel to customer facilities
• Small company, large impact
• Passionate coworkers
• Company events and conferences