Mechanical Engineer

Swarm Aero; Oxnard (CA); On-site; USD 105,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Competitive salary

Health benefits (medical/dental/vision

401k

PTO & sick leave

Wellness stipend

Office lunches

Parental leave

Impact on national security mission

World-class engineering team

Job summary

Swarm Aero in Oxnard, CA is hiring a Mechanical Engineer to design, integrate, and test structural and mechanical systems for its swarming aircraft program.

You will own designs from blank sheet through flight test, defend them in design reviews, and support build, test, and troubleshooting with a hands-on approach.

The role emphasizes collaboration with manufacturing, suppliers, and technicians to ensure hardware is built right and scalable.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering
• 5+ years of mechanical design, structures design, or design and integration experience
• Proficiency in CAD (NX preferred)
• Working knowledge of GD&T, drafting standards, and structural analysis fundamentals
• Understanding of machining, sheet metal, and composite manufacturing processes
• Familiarity with PLM systems (Teamcenter or equivalent)
• A track record of owning hardware from concept through build and test

Responsibilities

• Design, integrate, and test aircraft mechanical systems including flight controls, landing gear, fuel systems, actuation, and related subsystems
• Design composite and metallic airframe structures with clean load paths, sound joints, and analysis to back them up
• Create detailed CAD models, assemblies, and installation drawings
• Drive design for manufacturability so mechanical systems and structures can scale with the program
• Partner directly with manufacturing, suppliers, and technicians to get hardware built right
• Conduct engineering analyses, document findings, and present them to the team
• Support fabrication, assembly, integration, and troubleshooting through prototype build and flight test

Skills

Design ownership

Attention to detail

Analytical thinking

Team collaboration

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

NX CAD

GD&T

Teamcenter PLM

Job description

Swarm Aero is redefining air power, building the largest swarming UAV and the most versatile swarming aircraft network in the world. The company is moving quickly to launch the first aircraft designed specifically for swarming, as well as the Command & Control software to mobilize swarms of thousands of heterogeneous autonomous assets and empower human operators to achieve superhuman results.

The team has created and exited multiple startups, negotiated defense deals worth billions of dollars, and designed and built 30+ novel aircraft, with aerospace experience from Scaled Composites, Airbus, Archer Aviation, Blue Origin, and Boom Supersonic.

About the Role

We are hiring a Mechanical Engineer to design, integrate, and test the structural and mechanical systems that make our aircraft possible. This is a broad role by design. Depending on your background and where the program needs you most, your work may center on mechanical subsystems like flight controls, landing gear, fuel, and actuation, or on composite and metallic airframe structures. Most likely it will be both.

You will own designs from blank sheet through flight test. You will make real decisions, defend them in design reviews, and see your hardware fly. There is no handoff culture here. The engineer who designs it supports the build, the test, and the fix.

What You'll Do

• Design, integrate, and test aircraft mechanical systems including flight controls, landing gear, fuel systems, actuation, and related subsystems

• Design composite and metallic airframe structures with clean load paths, sound joints, and analysis to back them up

• Create detailed CAD models, assemblies, and installation drawings

• Drive design for manufacturability so mechanical systems and structures can scale with the program

• Partner directly with manufacturing, suppliers, and technicians to get hardware built right

• Conduct engineering analyses, document findings, and present them to the team

• Support fabrication, assembly, integration, and troubleshooting through prototype build and flight test

What You Bring

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

• 5+ years of mechanical design, structures design, or design and integration experience

• Proficiency in CAD (NX preferred)

• Working knowledge of GD&T, drafting standards, and structural analysis fundamentals

• Understanding of machining, sheet metal, and composite manufacturing processes

• Familiarity with PLM systems (Teamcenter or equivalent)

• A track record of owning hardware from concept through build and test

Nice to Have

• Experience on aerospace, defense, or UAV programs

• Background in composite airframe structures, laminate design, or structural test correlation

• Background in actuation systems, landing gear, fuel, or hydraulic systems

• Exposure to additive manufacturing methods

What We Offer

• Meaningful equity in a high-growth defense technology company

• Competitive base salary commensurate with experience

• Medical, dental, vision, and 401k

• PTO and paid sick leave

• Monthly wellness stipend

• Daily catered lunch (office)

• Paid parental leave

• Direct impact on a critical national security mission

• A world-class team of engineers and operators solving genuinely hard problems