Mechanical Engineer - Enclosure Design

Swarm Aero Inc.; Oxnard (CA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in company

Competitive base salary

Medical/dental/vision + 401k

PTO & paid sick leave

Wellness stipend

Office lunch

Job summary

Swarm Aero Inc. is hiring an avionics enclosure design engineer to develop aircraft enclosures and secondary structures for harsh environments. You will work across avionics, mechanical, and integration teams to design mounts, brackets, and ICDs.

The role requires 3+ years in enclosure design within aerospace/defense or UAS sectors, with strong CAD skills (NX/SolidWorks/Catia/Creo). Familiarity with GD&T and DFM is advantageous.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of enclosure design experience on aerospace, defense, UAS platforms, or similar environments.
• Experience communicating design intent following ASME 14.5 GD&T.
• Proficiency with CAD tools such as NX, SolidWorks/Catia, CreoParametric or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop aircraft avionics enclosures and secondary structure, including analysis and test of designs.
• Collaborate with the mechanical team to integrate avionics devices into the airframe and create mounts and brackets.
• Define and implement mechanical design standards and requirements for avionics enclosures.
• Develop and maintain mechanical models, drawings, and ICDs using design tools.
• Collaborate with suppliers to improve manufacturability, cost, and lead-time using DFM practices.
• Support flight test anomaly investigation and root cause analysis on avionics faults related to mechanical systems.
• Contribute to airworthiness documentation and flight authorization packages.

Skills

Enclosure design

Aerospace hardware

DFM for manufacturability

ASME 14.5 GD&T

Mechanical integration

Tools

NX

SolidWorks

Catia

Creo Parametric

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.

Swarm Aero is building autonomous UAV swarms that operate in contested environments where the electrical and avionics systems have to work every time. We need an engineer with experience designing electronics enclosures and structure for harsh environments. An engineer who can cross boundaries and work with all subsystems through avionics design, integration, and validation.

What You'll Do

• Design and develop aircraft avionics enclosures and secondary structure, including analysis and test of your designs

• Work with the mechanical team to integrate avionics devices into the airframe by specifying or creating necessary mounts and brackets

• Assist in the definition and implementation of mechanical design standards and requirements for avionics enclosures

• Develop and maintain mechanical models, drawings, and ICDs using appropriate design tools

• Collaborate with suppliers to implement DFM practices to improve manufacturability, cost, and lead-time

• Support flight test anomaly investigation and drive root cause analysis on avionics faults related to mechanical systems

• Contribute to airworthiness documentation and flight authorization packages

What We're Looking For

• 3+ years of enclosure design experience on aerospace, defense, UAS platforms, or similar industries with harsh environments

• Strong familiarity with aerospace mechanical design standards and the ability to communicate design intent following ASME 14.5 GD&T

• Proficiency with CAD tools such as NX, Solidworks/Catia, CreoParametric, or equivalent

• Experience designing with various materials such as aluminum, copper, polymers, composites, or similar

• Experience designing for various metal shaping processes such as CNC machining, laser cutting, waterjet, bending, stamping, or similar

• Experience with various coatings and sealants such as paint, plating, chemical conversion, or similar

• Experience taking components and systems from design through hardware integration and test

• US person status required; active security clearance a plus

Nice to Have

• Experience specifically on UAS or unmanned aircraft programs

• Experience with electrical harness design, routing, and integration

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• Experience with DO160, MIL-STD-810, and/or related environmental test standards

• Familiarity with MIL-STD-461 testing, EMI/EMC analysis and mitigation on flight vehicles

• Exposure to defense programs or military airworthiness processes

• Sheet-metal or composites design experience (professional or hobby)

• PCB design or embedded electronics background (professional or hobby)

• Scripting experience

ITAR requirement

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Swarm Aero is an equal opportunity employer. We value diverse backgrounds and experiences and make employment decisions without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, or disability.

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