Associate Mechanical Design Engineer (Pelican)

Pyka; Alameda (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Pyka in Alameda, California is seeking an Associate Mechanical Design Engineer to join its team. In this dynamic role, you will work closely with senior engineers to enhance aircraft design for manufacturability and durability, support validation tests, and assist in troubleshooting hardware issues.

Your contributions will significantly impact flight hardware development, ensuring safe and efficient autonomous electric aviation. This position offers growth opportunities in a fast-paced, innovative work environment.

Qualifications

• Understanding of mechanical design principles.
• Ability to work collaboratively with engineers across disciplines.
• Interest in aircraft design and validation processes.

Responsibilities

• Improve design of existing components for better manufacturability.
• Support environmental and structural validation of parts.
• Assist with root-cause analysis for hardware issues.
• Participate in supporting the existing fleet of aircraft.

Skills

Iterative Design

Testing & Validation

Root-Cause Analysis

Fleet Support

Job description

About Pyka

Pyka’s goal is to provide society with a new form of safe, clean, and cost-effective transportation enabled by autonomous electric aviation.

To get there, we’re taking a different approach than most. We're applying our technologies to every industry where autonomous electric aircraft can be useful, starting with the highest value and most dangerous jobs. In doing so, we're building game‑changing products manufactured at scale, while perfecting the safety, reliability, and capabilities of our autonomy engine and electric propulsion systems.

We design, develop and manufacture an ecosystem of technologies including proprietary flight control software, avionics, high power density motors, motor controllers, batteries, and custom carbon‑fiber composite airframes.

Today, we supply autonomous electric aircraft for cargo transport and crop protection to real‑world customers across four separate continents and have secured industry‑first regulatory approvals from the FAA. Our cargo aircraft enables remote connectivity, enhances express delivery networks, and ensures fast and reliable shipping of critical supplies to areas in need. Our crop protection aircraft offers agricultural services providers and farmers an autonomous tool to make aerial application safer, more precise, and less harmful to surrounding environments. Both vehicles are highly economical to operate, easy to deploy, and significantly reduce CO2 emissions in their respective industries.

What you work on at Pyka makes people’s lives better now and brings the future of electric aviation one step closer each day.

Pyka is looking for an Associate Mechanical Design Engineer to join our experienced and enthusiastic team of engineers. In this role, you will bridge the gap between internship and autonomous engineering, taking on ownership of specific mechanical components and subsystems on the aircraft with the mentorship and support of senior team members.

Our Mechanical Engineering team members work closely with Manufacturing Engineers, Flight Test Engineers, and other Mechanical Engineers to design, test, and iterate on mechanical components and assemblies. This role is fast‑paced and highly impactful—the Pyka MDE team handles the same amount of hardware as teams 10x the size. You’ll have the opportunity to move quickly, significantly contribute to flight hardware, and accelerate your professional development and career growth.

What you’ll work on early on:

• Iterative Design: Improve the design of existing components for better manufacturability, usability, and durability under the guidance of senior engineers.
• Testing & Validation: Support the thorough environmental and structural validation of aircraft parts, materials, and assemblies.
• Root-Cause Analysis: Assist in the investigation, root-causing, and solution testing for hardware bugs that arise during field testing.
• Fleet Support: Actively participate in supporting our existing fleet of aircraft while learning the ropes for next‑generation development.