Senior Composite Structure Engineer

Pyka; Alameda (CA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Generous PTO and paid holidays

401(k) plan

Free catered lunch and snacks

Job summary

A leader in electric aviation is seeking a Senior Composite Structure Engineer to design and prototype composite structures for their cargo aircraft. Candidates should have a strong background in composite materials and structural engineering, with at least 5 years of relevant experience. This role offers a salary range of $135,000 - $160,000, along with employer-sponsored health benefits and a dynamic working environment. The ideal candidate will also excel in CAD design and hands-on prototyping.

Qualifications

• 5+ years experience in composite structural design and analysis, particularly in aerospace.
• Proficient in composite material properties and assembly design.
• Hands-on experience with composite prototyping and fabrication processes.

Responsibilities

• Design composite structures for aircraft, utilizing appropriate materials and strategies.
• Conduct structural analysis to validate designs.
• Create detailed CAD models and engineering drawings for manufacturing.

Skills

Composite materials understanding

CAD design expertise

Structural mechanics knowledge

Collaboration skills

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

FEA tools

Job description

About Pyka Pyka’s goal is to provide society with a new form of safe, clean, and cost-effective transportation enabled by autonomous electric aviation.

To get there, we’re taking a different approach than most. We're applying our technologies to every industry where autonomous electric aircraft can be useful, starting with the highest value and most dangerous jobs. In doing so, we're building game-changing products manufactured at scale, while perfecting the safety, reliability, and capabilities of our autonomy engine and electric propulsion systems.

We design, develop and manufacture an ecosystem of technologies including proprietary flight control software, avionics, high power density motors, motor controllers, batteries, and custom carbon-fiber composite airframes.

Today, we supply autonomous electric aircraft for cargo transport and crop protection to real-world customers across four separate continents and have secured industry-first regulatory approvals from the FAA. Our cargo aircraft enables remote connectivity, enhances express delivery networks, and ensures fast and reliable shipping of critical supplies to areas in need. Our crop protection aircraft offers agricultural services providers and farmers an autonomous tool to make aerial application safer, more precise, and less harmful to surrounding environments. Both vehicles are highly economical to operate, easy to deploy, and significantly reduce CO2 emissions in their respective industries.

What you work on at Pyka makes people’s lives better now and brings the future of electric aviation one step closer each day.

Role Overview

Pyka is looking for a highly skilled Senior Composite Structure Engineer to lead the design, analysis, and prototyping of composite structures for Pyka’s cargo aircraft. This role requires a strong foundation in composite materials, structural engineering, and hands-on prototyping, as well as experience with CAD, tooling, and manufacturing techniques. You’ll work closely with cross-disciplinary teams to develop lightweight, high-strength structures optimized for performance and manufacturability.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop composite primary and secondary aircraft structures using appropriate materials and layup strategies
• Perform basic structural analysis using hand calculations and FEA to validate designs
• Apply proper tolerancing and GD&T to ensure manufacturability and proper assembly
• Create detailed 3D CAD models and engineering drawings (SolidWorks preferred)
• Design tooling, molds, and fixtures for composite part fabrication and bonding
• Perform testing to validate strength, stiffness, and durability of airframe components
• Collaborate with engineering and manufacturing teams to ensure proper integration of structural components

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field
• 5+ years of experience in composite structural design and analysis—preferably in aerospace or high-performance vehicle applications
• Proficient in composite material properties, layup design, and bonding/joining techniques
• Strong CAD skills with experience designing complex composite assemblies (SolidWorks highly preferred)
• Solid understanding of structural mechanics and experience with FEA tools
• Practical experience with tolerancing, and DFMA principles
• Hands-on experience with composite prototyping, tooling, and fabrication processes
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with carbon fiber prepreg, wet layup, or resin infusion methods
• Familiarity with out-of-autoclave composite processes
• Knowledge of composite repair techniques and structural testing methods
• Exposure to aerospace certification standards and structural substantiation processes
• Experience with PLM systems and engineering change control
• We understand that candidates bring different strengths and experiences, and you don’t need to meet every qualification to be considered. If this role excites you, we’d love to learn more about you. You may be a great fit even if your background doesn’t align perfectly with the list

Compensation And Benefits

• $135,000 - $160,000 per year base salary + equity. Compensation will vary depending on location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Salary ranges are subject to change
• Employer-sponsored health, dental and vision insurance
• FSA with employer matching
• 401(k)
• Paid holidays, generous PTO, and additional unpaid time off
• Voluntary short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Free catered lunch and plenty of snacks

Export Control Requirements

This position requires access to technology, software and other information that is subject to governmental access control restrictions, due to export controls. Employment in this position is conditioned on the continued availability of government authorization to authorize release of such items, to the extent required, including without limitation an export license, or other documentation required to establish authorization to receive access to such items.

Company may delay commencement of employment, rescind an offer of employment, terminate employment, and/or may modify job responsibilities, compensation, benefits, and/or access to Company facilities and information systems, as Company deems appropriate, in order to ensure compliance with applicable government access control restrictions.

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We do not work with external recruiters; if you are an external recruiter, please do not reach out.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans.