Senior Flight Test Data Engineer: Structural Loads

Archer56; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 144,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Archer, an aerospace and defense company based in San Jose, seeks a Senior Flight Test Loads Data Engineer to design and operate DAS software, process large flight datasets, and derive structural loads for certification and design decisions.

You will develop fatigue spectra, pipelines, and validation methods, collaborate with test engineers and analysts, and guide instrumentation choices across programs. Base pay ranges from $144,000 to $180,000 with performance-based aspects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or related field; MS preferred.
• 5+ years in flight test loads, structural test, or related dynamics for aircraft or mobility platforms.
• Hands-on with flight test data acquisition systems, sensors, conditioning, and telemetry.
• Proficient in deriving structural loads from flight data using loads equations.
• Strong scripting in Python and/or MATLAB with automated pipelines and visualization.
• Experience with fatigue spectra development from measured data.
• Solid understanding of structural analysis methods and FEA basics.
• Familiarity with fatigue/damage tolerance concepts and NDE methods.

Responsibilities

• Design, configure, and maintain DAS software for structural loads measurements.
• Develop and validate loads equations to derive internal loads from flight data.
• Plan and execute loads survey flight test programs with engineers and analysts.
• Process and quality-check large flight test datasets and ensure data integrity.
• Build automated data pipelines and tools to accelerate loads extraction.
• Develop fatigue and loads spectra for powertrain and airframe components.
• Compare flight test data against analytical models and update models accordingly.
• Support stress and damage tolerance analysis using test-derived loads.
• Compile test reports and FAA certification documentation.
• Provide guidance on instrumentation strategy and data quality trade-offs.

Skills

Python

MATLAB

DAS software

Sensors integration

Loads equations

Data pipelines

Fatigue spectrum

Education

Bachelor's in Aerospace Engineering

MS preferred

Tools

Nastran

Optistruct

Ansys

Abaqus

RCAS

CAMRADII

Job description

Archer, an aerospace and defense company based in San Jose, seeks a Senior Flight Test Loads Data Engineer to design and operate DAS software, process large flight datasets, and derive structural loads for certification and design decisions.

You will develop fatigue spectra, pipelines, and validation methods, collaborate with test engineers and analysts, and guide instrumentation choices across programs. Base pay ranges from $144,000 to $180,000 with performance-based aspects.