ENGINEER STRUCTURAL 4

Lehigh Heavy Forge Corporation; Newport News (VA); On-site; USD 124,000 - 153,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Travel up to 10%

Top Secret clearance

Job summary

Newport News Shipbuilding seeks a Lead Engineer in the Ship Survivability department to advance structural designs for carrier programs, focusing on survivability systems, materials, welding and NDT.

The role involves performing analyses, coordinating with multi-discipline teams and briefing on technical specifications, while supporting waterfront fabrication and project leadership.

Qualifications

• ABET-accredited engineering degree required with progression in experience.
• Bachelor's degree with 9 years, Master’s with 7 years, or PhD with 4 years relevant exempt experience.
• Experience in naval ship survivability and related design, materials, welding, and NDT.

Responsibilities

• Provide oversite and design guidance for survivability systems.
• Coordinate with disciplines to maintain survivability requirements.
• Communicate technical matters to internal and external stakeholders.
• Lead projects as prime technical contact and manage interdisciplinary teams.
• Perform analyses and evaluations using navy specs, including FEA and NDT.

Skills

Naval survivability

NDT experience

Welding

Ship structures

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Master's degree

Ph.D.

Tools

AutoCAD

Teamcenter/NX

Job description

ENGINEER STRUCTURAL 4

Location: Newport News, Virginia, United States

Date: Sep 28, 2026

Req ID: 49800

Team: E46 SHIP SURVABLTY

Entity: Newport News Shipbuilding

US Citizenship Required for this Position: Yes

Full-Time

Shift: 1st

Relocation: Relocation assistance will be available

Virtual/Telework Opportunity: No – Not eligible for telework

Travel Requirements: Yes, up to 10% of the time

Clearance Required: Yes- Final Clearance Required to Start

Salary Range: $124,000.00 to $153,000.00

The anticipated salary range represents the estimated base pay for this role. Final compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors, and may vary from the posted range

This position is for a lead engineer in the Ship Survivability Department supporting the construction, maintenance, overhaul, and modernization of CVN 68 and CVN 78 Class aircraft carriers as well as research and development, specialized technical assignments, and cost reduction initiatives. The successful applicant should have technical knowledge in naval ship survivability, aircraft carrier protection systems, and experience related to designing and maintaining naval ship structures, materials, welding, and non‑destructive testing (NDT). This position will involve resolving complex issues that require ingenuity and creativity.

Typical responsibilities

• Providing oversite, expertise, and design guidance for survivability systems.
• Working with other disciplines to ensure survivability requirements are maintained.
• Clearly communicating with internal and/or external personnel on significant technical matters.
• Representing the organization as a prime technical contact on projects, which may require acting in a project leadership role.
• Applying extensive technical expertise to solve problems, which will require having knowledge of other related disciplines.
• Performing technical evaluations and analyses of survivability structural designs (including weapons effects, material qualifications, NDT, high‑strain rate analyses, finite element analysis (FEA), structural modernization, etc.).
• Performing technical analyses using U.S. Navy specifications and Technical Manuals.
• Performing quality assurance reviews of products such as analyses, calculations, reports, drawings, and models.
• Performing ship checks to validate designs and solve waterfront issues.
• Developing, documenting, and briefing interdisciplinary teams on technical specifications, analysis, and calculations for validating system performance.
• Providing waterfront and vendor support for the fabrication and installation of survivability systems.
• Supporting a culture of teamwork, enthusiasm, and proactive behavior.

Must Have

• Bachelor's Degree and 9 years of relevant exempt experience;
• Master's Degree and 7 years of relevant professional experience;
• Ph.D. and 4 years of experience.

Newport Shipbuilding requires a Bachelor's Degree in engineering from an ABET accredited program.

Must have the ability to obtain a Top Secret Clearance.

Nice to Have

• Bachelor's Degree in Structural Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Ocean Engineering, Naval Architecture, or other related field.
• Experience leading projects and assignments with interdisciplinary teams.
• Experience developing schedules and budgets.
• Working knowledge of the various Hull, Mechanical, and Electrical (HM&E) systems on Navy ships.
• Excellent MS Office skills, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Experience with AutoCAD.
• Experience with Teamcenter/NX.
• Experience performing technical evaluations and analysis.

Meet HII's Newport News Shipbuilding

With more than 25,000 employees - including third-, fourth- and even fifth-generation shipbuilders - HII's Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division is the largest industrial employer in Virginia. We're the sole designer, builder and refueler of U.S. Navy nuclear aircraft carriers and one of two providers of U.S. Navy nuclear submarines. Our diverse and innovative team of professionals ranges from skilled trades to project managers, engineers and software developers to solution architects, technical subject matter experts, and system users. We collaborate together at the forefront of technology, manufacturing, and integration of the most powerful and survivable naval ships in the world. Want to be part of the team? We look forward to meeting you.

The Role

Analyzes, researches and develops structural engineering specifications involving metals, non‑metallic or composite structural materials for product design, or operation of product to include structures, mechanical, hydraulic, electrical and electronics, power plant, armament, heating and ventilating, equipment and maintenance designs. Analyzes damage tolerance, durability, design allowables and structural modeling. Specific structural engineering specialties may include dynamics and loads, stability and stress fatigue and thermal analysis. Tools utilized may include CATIA, IDEAS, ProEngineer and a variety of software applications.

Do You Need Assistance?

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please send an e-mail to [e-mail] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Reasonable accommodations are considered on a case‑by‑case basis. Please note that only those inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this e‑mail address. Additionally, you may also call 1-844-849-8463 for assistance. Press #2 for Newport News Shipbuilding.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, or veteran status or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law. U.S. Citizenship may be required for certain positions.