Senior Mechanical/Aerospace Engineer

Elevate Systems; San Antonio (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Elevate Systems seeks a Senior Aerospace Engineer to lead reverse engineering projects from hand to final delivery, measuring, modeling, and documenting components for TDPs accepted by government customers.

You will mentor junior engineers, report to the Chief Engineer, and help scope and price new work, driving schedules and technical execution across concurrent projects.

Qualifications

• ABET-accredited B.S. in Mechanical Engineering is required.
• 6–10 years of engineering experience on military aerospace systems.
• Metrology with CMMs and 3D scanners is required.
• Advanced 3D solid modeling and drawing skills (SolidWorks strongly preferred).
• Working knowledge of GD&T per ASME Y14.5 is required.
• Excellent technical writing skills with authored reports/analyses.
• Ability to lead projects independently and communicate with government customers.
• U.S. citizenship is required for ITAR access.

Responsibilities

• Lead reverse engineering of aircraft components from assessment to TDP delivery.
• Perform dimensional inspection with CMMs and 3D scanners to capture geometry.
• Convert scan/point-cloud data into accurate models and establish critical dimensions.
• Create engineering drawings to ASME Y14.5 and MIL-STD-31000 TDP requirements.
• Write technical reports, analyses, and test plans for government review.
• Present findings to Air Force, Army, Navy and DLA authorities.

Skills

Metrology

Technical writing

Project leadership

Government customer communication

Education

ABET-accredited B.S. in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

Geomagic Design X

PolyWorks

ANSYS

CAD software

Job description

Elevate Systems keeps legacy military aircraft flying. We reverse engineer aircraft components that have no usable technical data or source, and turn them into procurement-ready Technical Data Packages (TDPs) for the Air Force, Army, Navy and Defense Logistics Agency. Our work supports platforms including the B-1, B-2, B-52, KC-135, C-5 and F-16.

As our Senior Aerospace Engineer, you will lead reverse engineering projects from part in hand to final delivery. You will measure, model, analyze and document components, and then present and defend the results to government engineering authorities. You will report to our Chief Engineer, mentor junior engineers and interns, and help scope and price new work.

What success looks like: Within your first year, you independently lead several concurrent reverse engineering efforts and deliver TDPs that government customers accept on time with few revisions. Your technical reports are clear enough that customers use them to approve new sources of supply, and the junior engineers you mentor are taking on larger parts of each project.

Elevate is a 13-year-old SBA 8(a) Woman-Owned Small Business with an ISO 9001:2015 quality system. We are a small team of mechanical engineers and software developers, so every engineer owns real work and sees their parts return to service.

Responsibilities

• Lead reverse engineering of aircraft components such as actuators, brakes, housings and structural parts, from initial assessment through TDP delivery
• Perform dimensional inspection with CMMs, 3D laser and structured-light scanners, and precision hand tools to capture accurate geometry
• Convert scan and point-cloud data into accurate models, and establish critical dimensions, datums and tolerances
• Identify materials, finishes, coatings and processes, and coordinate material analysis with outside labs
• Build parametric 3D solid models and assemblies in SolidWorks
• Produce engineering drawings to ASME Y14.5 (GD&T) and MIL-STD-31000 TDP requirements
• Perform tolerance stack-ups, stress and fit/function analyses to substantiate designs
• Support first article, qualification and test planning with manufacturing and test partners
• Write technical reports, engineering analyses, test plans and contract deliverables for government review
• Present findings to Air Force, Army, Navy and DLA engineering authorities and respond to their technical questions
• Maintain configuration control and traceability of engineering data under ITAR and CUI handling requirements
• Manage schedules and technical execution across multiple concurrent projects
• Mentor junior engineers and engineering interns
• Develop technical approaches, labor estimates and Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) costs for proposals

Qualifications

Required:

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from an ABET-accredited program
• 6–10 years of engineering experience on military aerospace systems
• Hands‑on reverse engineering experience, including metrology with CMMs and 3D scanners
• Advanced 3D solid modeling and drawing skills in a major CAD package (SolidWorks strongly preferred)
• Working knowledge of GD&T per ASME Y14.5
• Excellent technical writing skills, demonstrated by reports or analyses you have authored
• Ability to lead projects independently and communicate directly with government customers
• U.S. citizenship, required for access to ITAR‑controlled technical data

Preferred

• Experience at an Air Logistics Complex (Ogden, Oklahoma City or Warner Robins) or with a depot sustainment contractor
• Experience developing TDPs to MIL-STD-31000 and supporting source approval requests
• Scan‑to‑CAD software experience (Geomagic Design X, PolyWorks or similar)
• FEA experience (SolidWorks Simulation, ANSYS or similar)
• Background in actuators, landing gear, brakes, hydraulics or flight control components
• Exposure to additive manufacturing design and qualification
• Experience writing cost estimates or technical volumes for government proposals
• Active or prior DoD security clearance
• PE license or EIT certification

Elevate Systems is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.