Chief Engineer, Defense

Astro Mechanica; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) program and stock options

Flexible time-off policy

Flexible work environment

Job summary

Astro Mechanica invites an accomplished Chief Engineer to guide the technical development of our aircraft for military applications. This senior leadership role demands ownership of engineering integrity, performance, and delivery across all disciplines while balancing schedules and budgets in a fast-moving aerospace program.

You'll steer propulsion, structures, avionics, and flight controls, ensuring traceability from requirements to verification, and overseeing design authority and risk

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field (Master's or PhD preferred).
• 10+ years of experience in aircraft design and development, with significant experience in flight vehicles.
• Prior experience supporting defense or military aerospace programs, including familiarity with defense acquisition processes.
• Demonstrated experience owning technical, schedule, and cost outcomes on a complex aerospace program.
• Deep working knowledge of aircraft systems integration (propulsion, structures, aerodynamics, avionics).
• Strong track record of engaging with government customers, prime contractors, or defense agencies.
• U.S. citizenship required; Secret Clearance required, Top Secret desired.

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership: Drive aircraft development across all subsystems — propulsion, aerostructures, avionics, flight controls, thermal management, and systems integration — to achieve performance, safety, and mission objectives.
• Stakeholder Communication: Communicate clearly and proactively with internal teams and external stakeholders on technical developments, design challenges, risk mitigation, and path forward.
• Design Authority: Serve as the final engineering authority on design decisions, ensuring configuration control and technical baseline integrity across the program.
• Requirements Management: Translate defense customer and mission requirements into engineering specifications, ensuring traceability from requirements through design, test, and verification.
• Risk Management: Identify, track, and mitigate technical risks; lead root-cause investigations and corrective action for critical design or test issues.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Align engineering, manufacturing, quality, flight test, and program management teams around a unified technical plan.
• Team Development: Mentor and grow a high-performing engineering organization, fostering a culture of technical excellence and accountability.
• Test & Certification Support: Guide analysis, ground test, and flight test campaigns to validate performance and support certification/airworthiness milestones.

Skills

Aerospace engineering

Systems integration

Defense programs

Leadership

DoD clearance

Education

Master's degree

PhD preferred

Job description

ABOUT US:

Astro Mechanica is a vertically integrated aerospace company building a faster, more connected future. Our mission is to democratize high-speed flight by making supersonic travel flexible, accessible, and sustainable. We believe that rapid, on-demand, point-to-point global mobility will become the new standard for moving people and goods across the planet. To achieve this, we are integrating our advanced airframe and engine technologies—which include Duality™, our proprietary dual-use propulsion system—with a new flight operations model to make supersonic transport as efficient and economical as commercial air travel is today. In the near term, we are developing adaptable, high-speed systems to close aircraft performance gaps for the United States government.

WHO WE ARE:

We’re a team of passionate engineers dedicated to advancing aerospace. We’re generalists with specialist depth, united by a flat structure and a shared obsession with building things that work well. We move fast, stay pragmatic, and let engineering excellence speak louder than hierarchy.

WHO YOU ARE:

We are seeking a Chief Engineer to lead the technical development of applications of our aircraft in direct support of the military. This is a senior leadership role responsible for the integrity, performance, and successful delivery of the aircraft across all engineering disciplines. The Chief Engineer will serve as the top technical authority on this aircraft, balancing rigorous engineering standards with the schedule and budget realities of a fast-moving aerospace development effort.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

• Technical Leadership: Drive aircraft development across all subsystems — propulsion, aerostructures, avionics, flight controls, thermal management, and systems integration — to achieve performance, safety, and mission objectives

• Stakeholder Communication: Communicate clearly and proactively with internal teams and external stakeholders (customers, defense agencies, suppliers, and regulatory bodies) on technical developments, design challenges, risk mitigation, and path forward

• Design Authority: Serve as the final engineering authority on design decisions, ensuring configuration control and technical baseline integrity across the program

• Requirements Management: Translate defense customer and mission requirements into engineering specifications, ensuring traceability from requirements through design, test, and verification

• Risk Management: Identify, track, and mitigate technical risks; lead root-cause investigations and corrective action for critical design or test issues

• Cross-Functional Coordination: Align engineering, manufacturing, quality, flight test, and program management teams around a unified technical plan

• Team Development: Mentor and grow a high-performing engineering organization, fostering a culture of technical excellence and accountability

• Test & Certification Support: Guide analysis, ground test, and flight test campaigns to validate performance and support certification/airworthiness milestones

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field (Master's or PhD preferred)

• 10+ years of experience in aircraft design and development, with significant experience in flight vehicles

• Prior experience supporting defense or military aerospace programs, including familiarity with defense acquisition processes

• Demonstrated experience owning technical, schedule, and cost outcomes on a complex aerospace program

• Deep working knowledge of aircraft systems integration (propulsion, structures, aerodynamics, avionics)

• Strong track record of engaging with government customers, prime contractors, or defense agencies

• U.S. citizenship required; Secret Clearance required, Top Secret desired

• Experience with modern tactical mission systems integrations and their architectures

• Familiarity with MIL-STD and DoD airworthiness certification processes

• Experience leading engineering teams through early-stage (pre-production/prototype) development

PERKS & BENEFITS:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, including Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

• 401(k) program and transparent stock option plan

• Self-managed and flexible time-off policy, including PTO, paid holidays, and sick time

• Flexible work environment

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

At Astro Mechanica, we highly value in-office work to foster collaboration and strengthen our company culture. We consider working in the office five days a week an essential part of the employee's role.

Astro Mechanica is an equal opportunity employer. We proudly recruit and hire a diverse workforce and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.