Senior Drone Mechanical Engineering Manager

Applied Electrodynamics, Inc.; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 225,000 - 270,000; Full time

Job summary

Applied Intuition, Inc. is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineering Manager, Drone, to lead the mechanical design of our drone platforms from airframe to full aircraft integration.

You will build and guide a team of mechanical engineers, shape the roadmap, and drive hands-on development through prototype to production. You will mentor engineers, collaborate with cross-functional leaders, and ensure designs meet performance, manufacturability, and field serviceability requirements.

Qualifications

• 12+ years designing hardware and shipping products for drones/aircraft.
• 7+ years leading and managing mechanical engineering teams.
• Hands-on experience with flight vehicles or flight-critical structures.
• Strong understanding of weight, structures, aerodynamics, and propulsion integration.
• Experience designing lightweight structures (composites, carbon fiber, aerospace metals).
• Experience with design for manufacturing (CNC, composites, sheet metal, additive).
• Proficiency in CAD; SolidWorks preferred.
• Track record of hiring, developing and retaining engineers.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow the mechanical engineering team for drone platforms.
• Set technical direction and tradeoffs for airframe designs.
• Guide integration of propulsion, batteries, avionics, and payloads.
• Oversee structural, thermal, and vibration analysis with flight data validation.
• Foster rapid prototyping and support flight testing and field ops.
• Lead root-cause analysis from failure investigations.
• Own design, analysis, and validation from component to aircraft level.
• Champion manufacturability and field serviceability.
• Hire, mentor, and manage performance of engineers.
• Partner with autonomy, avionics, electrical, software, and flight test leaders.

Skills

12+ years hardware experience

7+ years leading teams

Hands-on flight vehicles experience

Understanding of aircraft flight

Lightweight structures expertise

Design for manufacturing

CAD proficiency

Hiring and mentoring engineers

Education

BS/MS in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

Job description

Applied Intuition, Inc. is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineering Manager, Drone, to lead the mechanical design of our drone platforms from airframe to full aircraft integration.

You will build and guide a team of mechanical engineers, shape the roadmap, and drive hands-on development through prototype to production. You will mentor engineers, collaborate with cross-functional leaders, and ensure designs meet performance, manufacturability, and field serviceability requirements.