Principal Airframe Engineer - IPT Lead [AERO]

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

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Relocation assistance

Stock options

Free daily lunch onsite

Unlimited PTO

Job summary

Chaos Industries in California seeks a Principal Airframe Engineer to lead modular airframe design and development for a massed modular aircraft program. You will own the airframe structural approach from concept through qualification and production, focusing on modularity, producibility, and design-for-mass-manufacture to enable rapid build rates across sites.

You will drive structural trade studies, define interfaces, apply DFM/DFA, and partner with manufacturing, supply chain, and systems

Qualifications

• 15+ years of aircraft structural/airframe design experience with concept-to-production ownership.
• Bachelors or higher in aerospace/mechanical engineering; advanced degree preferred.
• Expertise in structural analysis and design-for-manufacture principles.

Responsibilities

• Lead modular airframe design and architecture for scalable production.
• Define interfaces and common configurations across platform family.
• Perform structural trade studies balancing weight, cost, and producibility.
• Ensure integration with propulsion, avionics, payload, and subsystems.
• Drive DFMA throughout the design process for high-rate production.

Skills

Modular design

DFM/DFA

Producibility mindset

Airframe structures

Leadership

Interdisciplinary collaboration

System integration

Risk management

Education

Bachelor's in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

NASTRAN

FEMAP

FEA tools

Job description

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Principal Airframe Engineer to lead airframe structural design and development for a Massed Modular Aircraft (MMA) program, supporting a platform architecture designed for low-cost, high-rate, distributed production. This role owns the airframe structural design approach from concept through qualification and production transition, with particular emphasis on modularity, producibility, and design-for-mass-manufacture principles that enable rapid, scalable build rates across multiple production sites or partners. The ideal candidate brings deep aircraft structures expertise combined with a strong producibility/manufacturing mindset suited to attritable, low-cost, or distributed-production aircraft concepts, rather than traditional low-rate, highly customized airframe programs.

Responsibilities

• Lead the structural design and architecture of a modular airframe system, including primary and secondary structure, load paths, and major structural interfaces between modules/sections.


• Define and enforce a modular design architecture that supports interchangeable sections/subassemblies, common interfaces, and scalable configuration variants across the platform family.


• Own structural trade studies (material selection, joining methods, load path optimization) balancing performance, weight, cost, and producibility at scale.


• Ensure structural design integrates cleanly with propulsion, avionics, payload, and subsystem installations across modular interface boundaries.


• Apply design-for-manufacture and design-for-assembly (DFM/DFA) principles throughout the structural design process to enable high-rate, low-touch-labor production.


• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering to define producible joint designs, tooling concepts, and assembly sequences compatible with distributed or multi-site production.


• Drive design decisions that reduce part count, fastener count, and non-recurring tooling complexity without compromising structural integrity or certification/airworthiness requirements.


• Support make/buy and sourcing strategy discussions with Supply Chain to ensure structural designs are compatible with available/scalable material and fabrication sources.


• Lead or oversee structural analysis (static strength, fatigue/damage tolerance, dynamic loads) supporting design maturity and airworthiness substantiation.


• Define and execute the structural test program (coupon, element, component, and full-scale static/fatigue testing) required to substantiate the design.


• Support airworthiness qualification activities in accordance with applicable military airworthiness criteria (e.g., MIL-HDBK-516) and/or civil-derivative standards as applicable to the program's certification basis.


• Maintain structural analysis and substantiation documentation to support government and internal design reviews.


• Serve as the senior technical authority for airframe structures on the program, representing structures at Preliminary Design Review (PDR), Critical Design Review (CDR), and government technical interchange meetings.


• Partner with Systems Engineering, Program Management, Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain to align structural design maturity with program schedule and cost targets.


• Identify and manage structural/technical risks, including material supply risk, fatigue/damage tolerance uncertainty, and producibility risk at scale.


• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline; advanced degree preferred.


• 15+ years of aircraft structural/airframe design experience, including demonstrated ownership of structural design from concept through qualification/production.


• Strong background in structural analysis methods (static strength, fatigue, damage tolerance) and associated analysis tools (e.g., NASTRAN, FEMAP, or equivalent FEA tools).


• Demonstrated experience applying design-for-manufacture/design-for-assembly principles to reduce production cost and complexity at scale.


• Experience with composite and/or advanced joining methods (e.g., bonding, friction stir welding) suited to high-rate production.


• Experience supporting structural substantiation for military and/or civil airworthiness requirements.


• Familiarity with MIL-HDBK-516 (Airworthiness Certification Criteria) or equivalent military airworthiness processes.

Preferred Requirements

• Direct experience with modular, attritable, low-cost, or mass-producible aircraft/unmanned aircraft system (UAS) programs.


• Ability to obtain/maintain Secret/Top Secret/SCI clearance

Salary Range

$200,000 - $320,000

Why CHAOS?

[ENTER SALARY/HOURLY RANGE]

• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for by the company


• Additional benefits: 401k (+ 50% company match up to 6% of pay), FSA, HSA, life insurance, and more


• Our Perks: Free daily lunch while you're working onsite, fully-stocked kitchen, unlimited PTO, casual dress code


• Compensation Components: Competitive base salaries, generous pre-IPO stock option grants, relocation assistance, and (coming soon!) annual bonuses


• Team Growth: 500+employees and counting across 5 global offices

The stated compensation range reflects only the targeted base compensation range and excludes additional earnings such as bonus, equity, and benefits. If your compensation requirements fall outside of the range, we still encourage you to apply. The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations.

Please note this position does not necessarily require eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.