Senior Mechanical Engineer - Analysis

Leonardo DRS, Inc.; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 107,089 - 159,027; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Paid time off

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Leonardo DRS, Inc. is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer Analyst in San Diego, California. This role involves performing advanced simulations to predict the structural and thermal behavior of instruments and assemblies and ensuring that models align with real-world performance.

Qualified candidates will hold a BS in Mechanical Engineering with at least 5 years of experience in simulation, particularly FEA, and will be proficient with ANSYS tools. Comprehensive benefits and a competitive salary range of $107,089.00‑$159,027.00 per year are offered.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience in Mechanical Engineering.
• Demonstrated experience in engineering simulation focusing on FEA.
• Strong technical communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Build, verify, and run structural models.
• Define critical load scenarios and boundary conditions.
• Produce engineering artifacts suitable for review.

Skills

Proficiency with ANSYS toolchain

Experience with FEA-to-optics deformation fitting

Familiarity with Zemax

Experience with nonlinear mechanics

Thermal modeling skills

Experience with CFD and flow modeling

Experience with Structural Thermal Optical Performance

Education

BS in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent

Tools

ANSYS Mechanical

ANSYS Workbench

ANSYS APDL

ANSYS Icepak

ANSYS Fluent

SigFit

Zemax

Job description

Job ID: 114788

Job Summary

The Senior Mechanical Engineer Analyst - Simulation and FEA performs advanced simulation and analysis to predict structural, thermal, and coupled physics behavior of assemblies and instruments. Work includes developing models, defining load cases, executing analyses, correlating to test when available, and translating results into design actions and verification evidence. Scope includes structural analysis – linear and nonlinear statics and dynamics, thermal analysis, computational fluid dynamics and flow analysis, specialized analyses including Structural Thermal Optical Performance, and multiphysics and coupled loads analysis. The role will support issue resolution and design closure across the business by building and validating models that explain real behavior and quantify margin. The output is not opinions; it is engineering artifacts that enable requirement closure, qualification readiness, and stable production. This role supports Daylight’s way-of-working by making analysis a normal step in engineering execution and corrective action, especially when testing shows unexpected failures, systems must survive harsh environments, schedules are tight, and reliability must be demonstrated before hardware exists.

Job Responsibilities

• Build, verify, and run structural models for linear and nonlinear statics and dynamics.
• Define critical load scenarios and boundary conditions that represent real use, handling, and environmental conditions.
• Produce engineering artifacts that state assumptions, inputs, solver setup, sensitivities, and conclusions suitable for review and reuse.
• Develop thermal models to predict temperatures, gradients, and thermal stability.
• Quantify thermal sensitivities that affect alignment, packaging stability, and operating margin.
• Execute coupled loads analyses where mechanical, thermal, and flow effects interact.
• Support Structural Thermal Optical Performance analysis when optical performance is sensitive to structural and thermal behavior.
• Perform CFD and flow analysis to support convective cooling, purge flows, and enclosure thermal behavior as needed.
• When unexpected failures occur, use simulation to bound root‑cause hypotheses, identify critical variables, and recommend design or process changes.
• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering and Product Engineering to translate findings into controlled changes with measurable outcomes.
• When test data exists, correlate models to reality and quantify uncertainty and margin.
• Define what test data is needed to close gaps in model fidelity and support verification.
• Work with Mechanical, Optical, EE, Firmware, Software, and Manufacturing to ensure simulation results translate into design decisions, verification plans, and integration closure.

Ideal Candidate will have

• Proficiency with ANSYS toolchain for the analyses in this role, including ANSYS Mechanical, ANSYS Workbench, ANSYS APDL, ANSYS Icepak, and ANSYS Fluent, with the ability to build, solve, post‑process, and package review‑ready engineering artifacts.
• Experience with SigFit for FEA‑to‑optics deformation fitting is desired.
• Working‑level familiarity with Zemax for interpreting optical sensitivity and STOP‑related handoffs.
• Experience with nonlinear mechanics, dynamics, and model‑based failure investigation.
• Experience with thermal modeling and coupled thermo‑mechanical analyses.
• Experience with CFD and flow modeling for cooling and enclosure behavior.
• Experience with specialized analyses such as Structural Thermal Optical Performance, optical sensitivity drivers, or other multi‑domain performance modeling.

Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent technical discipline and a minimum of 5 years of experience; Master’s degree or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Applied Mechanics, or a closely related field may be considered in lieu of some required years of industry experience, provided the candidate demonstrates applicable simulation and analysis depth and the ability to generate review‑ready engineering artifacts.
• Demonstrated experience performing engineering simulation with a focus on FEA.
• Ability to translate ambiguous field or factory issues into structured load cases, models, and actionable conclusions.
• Strong written and verbal technical communication with the ability to present analysis in formal reviews.

U.S. Citizenship required. This position requires an active DOD security clearance or the ability to obtain such clearance within a reasonable time after commencement of employment.

Compensation and Benefits

Salary range: $107,089.00‑$159,027.00 per year. In addition to base pay, employees may be eligible for annual performance‑based bonuses, equity awards, and overtime pay (for non‑exempt employees as applicable). Benefits include comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance; employer matching 401(k) retirement plan; paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick leave, parental leave); tuition reimbursement; professional development support; life and disability insurance; and other standard corporate benefits.

Leonardo DRS, Inc. and its subsidiaries provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.