Lead Structural Stress Analysis Engineer — Nastran / Patran

Aska Fly; Firebaugh (CA); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

ASKA seeks an Lead Structural Stress Analysis Engineer to own the aircraft structural substantiation. You will lead analysis priorities, review loads, and guide a stress engineer while coordinating with systems and design. The role requires building FE models in Patran, using Nastran, and validating results against tests.

You’ll assess static strength, buckling, fatigue, and joint performance, plan tests, and document findings. Occasional hands-on testing at Eagle Field Airport may be required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering or equivalent structural-analysis expertise.
• 5+ years of aircraft structural stress analysis experience with documented substantiation.
• Minimum 3 years hands-on Nastran; minimum 3 years Patran for FE model prep and analysis.
• Strong understanding of composite and metallic structures, joints, buckling, load paths, and failure modes.
• Experience validating FE results with hand calculations and correlating predictions with measurements.
• Ability to clearly communicate analysis assumptions and design implications to cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated technical leadership reviewing stress analyses and mentoring engineers.

Responsibilities

• Lead and review structural-analysis work and set priorities with the support engineer.
• Build and maintain global and local FE models using Patran and run Nastran analyses.
• Verify load paths, boundary conditions, material properties and joint idealizations.
• Perform static strength, buckling and modal assessments with mesh sensitivity and equilibrium checks.
• Evaluate laminates, fittings, fasteners and bonded joints using suitable criteria.
• Assess fatigue or damage-tolerance implications and coordinate specialist analyses.
• Plan structural tests and correlate stiffness, strain and modal data with predictions.
• Prepare stress reports detailing assumptions, margins, validation, and limitations.
• Improve verification methods and establish acceptance criteria with specialists.

Skills

Nastran

Patran

Finite-element modeling

Structural analysis leadership

Communication with design/loads teams

Education

Bachelor’s degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering

Tools

3DEXPERIENCE CATIA

Python

MATLAB

Job description

Lead Structural Stress Analysis Engineer — Nastran / Patran

Give a bold aircraft design a rigorous structural foundation. Your analysis and test correlation will help ASKA understand how its airframe carries load, connecting design decisions to evidence the whole engineering team can use.

Lead ASKA's aircraft structural stress analysis and substantiation. Set analysis priorities, review load paths and margins, and guide the supporting stress engineer while coordinating with aircraft systems and structural design.

Employment Full-time proposed

Location & work arrangement Eagle Field · Palo Alto area / remote for analysis and design to be defined; hands-on integration and test visits to be discussed; availability for occasional testing at Eagle Field Airport required, with advance coordination

Structural-analysis technical leadership, review of stress reports and delivery of the airframe substantiation baseline.

Key working interfaces

The Lead Airframe Design Engineer owns airframe geometry, structural layout, physical packaging and design decisions; the Airframe Design Engineer creates detailed parts and assemblies. Loads supplies aircraft load cases and aeroelastic assessments. Stress evaluates strength, buckling, fatigue and structural margins and recommends design changes. Airframe Design implements and releases geometry changes. Mass Properties maintains weight/CG records. Propeller engineering owns blades and hubs; Aircraft Systems coordinates vehicle requirements and subsystem integration.

What you’ll do

• Lead and review structural-analysis work, assign priorities to the supporting stress engineer, and resolve analysis assumptions with aircraft systems and design engineers.
• Build and maintain global and local finite-element models using Patran for model preparation and results review and Nastran for analysis.
• Represent and verify load paths, boundary conditions, material properties and joint idealizations in analysis models with the responsible design and loads engineers.
• Perform static strength, buckling and modal assessments, checking mesh sensitivity, equilibrium and whether idealizations suit the engineering question.
• Evaluate laminates, metallic fittings, fasteners and bonded joints using suitable failure criteria and independent calculations.
• Assess fatigue or damage-tolerance implications for assigned components and coordinate specialist analysis where the substantiation scope requires it.
• Plan structural tests and correlate measured stiffness, strain and modal response with analytical predictions.
• Assess the structural effect of design changes and manufacturing deviations, and document recommended dispositions for authorized review.
• Prepare controlled stress reports covering assumptions, load cases, margins, model validation and unresolved limitations.
• Own and continually improve structural-analysis verification and model-to-test correlation methods; agree acceptance criteria and independent checks with relevant specialists, and use discrepancies to strengthen analysis quality and coverage.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering, or equivalent demonstrated structural-analysis expertise.
• 5+ years of aircraft structural stress analysis, including responsibility for documented substantiation.
• Minimum 3 years of hands-on experience with Nastran AND minimum 3 years with Patran, covering finite-element model preparation, solver setup, model checking and engineering interpretation of results.
• Strong understanding of composite and metallic structural behavior, joints, buckling, load paths and failure modes.
• Experience verifying finite-element results with hand calculations and correlating predictions with physical measurements.
• Ability to communicate analysis assumptions and design implications clearly to designers, manufacturing engineers and test teams.
• Demonstrated technical leadership reviewing aircraft stress analyses and mentoring structural-analysis engineers.

Preferred qualifications

Experience with fatigue and damage tolerance, dynamic-response analysis and composite material allowables. Python or MATLAB automation, model-reduction methods and familiarity with aircraft compliance documentation are valuable. Hands-on experience with Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA is preferred, not mandatory; no minimum years of CATIA or 3DEXPERIENCE experience are required.

AI tools and automation: Preferred: experience using ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft 365 Copilot or equivalent tools for technical research, analysis, documentation or reporting. Where relevant, describe use of Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot or equivalent tools for Python/MATLAB scripts, CAD/CAE workflow automation or test-data processing. Provide a specific example, your contribution, any measured time saved or quality improvement, and how you verified the result. Equivalent tools are welcome.

We welcome transferable experience from related industries. You do not need to meet every preferred qualification. Tell us what you have delivered and how your skills apply to this role.

Location & working arrangements

Eagle Field Airport · 11100 W Eagle Ave, Firebaugh, CA 93622

Eagle Field Airport is our primary development and manufacturing location. Palo Alto area or remote arrangements may be considered for engineering work that does not require hands-on access. All current openings require availability to participate in development and flight-testing activities at Eagle Field Airport from time to time, with advance coordination. Flight-test roles require on-site availability for preparation and campaigns. Scheduling and travel arrangements will be discussed for each role.

About ASKA

At ASKA, we are on a mission to build the world’s first AI sensor fusion and digital twin system that manages autonomous driving and autonomous flying in one vehicle. We are bringing ground and air autonomy together to support the warfighter—moving critical supplies, reaching people in need, and reducing exposure in dangerous environments. Our team works across aircraft engineering, intelligent software, electric propulsion, and advanced manufacturing, with development and testing at Eagle Field Airport in California. Bring your expertise. Take ownership. Help build technology that matters.

ASKA welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and relevant experience. For questions or application accommodations, message the recruiting team .