Lead Modular Airframe Engineer for Mass-Produced Aircraft

Chaos Industries; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401k with company match

Relocation assistance

Onsite lunch program

Casual dress code

Job summary

Chaos Industries seeks a Principal Airframe Engineer to lead modular airframe design and development for a massed MMA program. You will own the airframe architecture from concept through qualification and production, focusing on producibility, modular interfaces, and scalable build rates across sites.

The role requires 15+ years of aircraft structural experience, deep structural analysis skills, and a strong manufacturing mindset to reduce part count and tooling while meeting airworthiness

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 15+ years of aircraft structural/airframe design experience with concept-to-production ownership.

Responsibilities

• Lead modular airframe system design including primary/secondary structures and interfaces.
• Define modular architecture with interchangeable sections and scalable variants.
• Perform structural trade studies balancing performance, weight, cost and producibility at scale.
• Ensure integration with propulsion, avionics, payload and subsystems across boundaries.
• Apply DFM/DFA to enable high-rate, low-labor production.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing to define producible joints, tooling and assembly sequences.
• Drive design decisions to reduce parts, fasteners and tooling while maintaining airworthiness.
• Support make/buy discussions to ensure scalable material and fabrication sources.
• Lead or oversee structural analysis and substantiation for certification.
• Define and execute structural test programs from coupons to full-scale testing.

Skills

Airframe structural design

Modular design architecture

Design-for-manufacture/assembly

Structural analysis (static, fatigue,

NASTRAN/FEMAP or equivalent

Material selection and joining methods

Producibility mindset

Education

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering

15+ years of airframe design experience

Tools

NASTRAN

FEMAP

Job description

Chaos Industries seeks a Principal Airframe Engineer to lead modular airframe design and development for a massed MMA program. You will own the airframe architecture from concept through qualification and production, focusing on producibility, modular interfaces, and scalable build rates across sites.

The role requires 15+ years of aircraft structural experience, deep structural analysis skills, and a strong manufacturing mindset to reduce part count and tooling while meeting airworthiness