Senior Drone Mechanical Engineering Leader

Telemetry Today LLC; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 270,000; Full time

Job summary

Applied Intuition, Inc. in Sunnyvale, CA, seeks a Senior Mechanical Engineering Manager, Drone, to lead the mechanical design of our drone platforms from airframe through full aircraft integration.

You will hire and mentor engineers, set the roadmap, and work hands-on across the full product lifecycle. You will drive tradeoffs between weight, strength, aerodynamics, flight time, and payload, oversee integration of propulsion and avionics, and ensure rigorous testing and validation across the

Qualifications

• 12+ years designing hardware and shipping products for drones or aircraft.
• 7+ years leading mechanical engineering teams.
• Hands-on design of flight vehicles or critical structures (airframes, landing gear).
• Strong grasp of weight, structure, aerodynamics, propulsion integration.
• Experience with lightweight materials (composites, carbon fiber).
• Experience with manufacturing methods (CNC, sheet metal, composites).

Responsibilities

• Lead mechanical design of drone platforms including airframe, wings, and integration.
• Set technical direction balancing weight, strength, aerodynamics, flight time, payload.
• Oversee integration of propulsion, batteries, avionics, and payloads into airframe.
• Guide structure, thermal, and vibration analysis; validate with flight data.
• Drive rapid prototyping and support flight testing and field operations.
• Investigate failures and perform root-cause analysis to drive design improvements.

Skills

Drone hardware design

Team leadership

Aircraft dynamics understanding

Design for manufacturing

CAD (SolidWorks)

Familiar with lightweight materials

Education

BS/MS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

CAD (SolidWorks)

FEA/CAE software

Job description

Applied Intuition, Inc. in Sunnyvale, CA, seeks a Senior Mechanical Engineering Manager, Drone, to lead the mechanical design of our drone platforms from airframe through full aircraft integration.

You will hire and mentor engineers, set the roadmap, and work hands-on across the full product lifecycle. You will drive tradeoffs between weight, strength, aerodynamics, flight time, and payload, oversee integration of propulsion and avionics, and ensure rigorous testing and validation across the