Senior MDAO Engineer for UAS & Missiles

Zone 5 Technologies; Fort Worth (TX); On-site; USD 149,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Medical/dental/vision benefits

401k match

Paid time off

Sick time

Company holidays

Job summary

Zone 5 Technologies is hiring an experienced MDAO Lead to drive multidisciplinary design and optimization for air-launched effects, interceptors, and next-gen munitions. You will architect MDAO toolchains, mentor engineers, and collaborate across Aerodynamics, Structures, Propulsion, and GNC to deliver validated, system-level designs.

The role emphasizes data-driven sizing, trade studies, and rigorous design reviews, with a focus on fast, reliable workflows and engineering excellence in a

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 10+ years leading multidisciplinary design in a program-driven environment.
• Experience delivering MDAO from concept sizing to flight hardware.
• Proven ability to implement and own MDAO toolsets and workflows.
• Experience with OpenMDAO, ModelCenter, or similar frameworks.
• Hands-on with CAD/CFD/FEA toolchains and validation libraries.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, analysis, and optimization across aero, structures, propulsion, and GNC.
• Develop shared MDAO methods and automate workflows and data integration.
• Architect and maintain MDAO toolset documentation and pipelines.
• Collaborate across disciplines to translate analyses into system-level designs.
• Mentor engineers and present findings at design reviews.
• Support proposals and program captures with sizing studies.
• Validate designs against wind tunnel and flight test data.
• Lead root-cause investigations and data-driven decisions.

Skills

MDAO design lead

OpenMDAO / ModelCenter

Python / MATLAB

Technical leadership

Systems integration

Education

Bachelor's in AE/ME

Master's degree preferred

Tools

SolidWorks

CATIA

Siemens NX

NASTRAN/PATRAN

GIT/SVN

Job description

Zone 5 Technologies is hiring an experienced MDAO Lead to drive multidisciplinary design and optimization for air-launched effects, interceptors, and next-gen munitions. You will architect MDAO toolchains, mentor engineers, and collaborate across Aerodynamics, Structures, Propulsion, and GNC to deliver validated, system-level designs.

The role emphasizes data-driven sizing, trade studies, and rigorous design reviews, with a focus on fast, reliable workflows and engineering excellence in a