Senior Rotor Dynamics Engineer - Propulsion & Flight Safety

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 215,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline in South San Francisco, CA is seeking a senior rotorcraft engineer to drive hardware and product design decisions for rotor and propeller systems. You will define loads, set requirements, and lead analysis-test cycles to keep our delivery aircraft safe, light, and scalable.

You will collaborate with structures, aerodynamics, GNC, and powertrain teams and mentor others while building practical, rigorous tools to accelerate design decisions in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of industry experience in rotor and vehicle structures.
• Experience developing loads for eVTOL vehicles.
• Expertise in helicopter/rotorcraft aeromechanics.
• Knowledge of rotor analysis codes: RCAS, CAMRAD II, FlightLab, Dyrobes Rotor.
• Experience with FEMAP/NASTRAN or Siemens Simcenter.
• Programming experience in Python and MATLAB.
• Clear owner mentality with rapid decision cadence.
• Location in South San Francisco, CA and US work eligibility.
• Travel to field sites and test ranges <10%

Responsibilities

• Own loads development for the propellers on Zipline’s aircraft.
• Perform dynamic analyses of aircraft propellers, including structural modes, forced harmonic vibration, and rotordynamics simulations.
• Define rotorcraft loads requirements that support flight performance and vehicle safety.
• Build finite element models of propellers and powertrain components for analyses.
• Collaborate with aerodynamics and mechanical teams to design high-performance blades.
• Drive rotorcraft configuration and performance decisions across hardware, software, and operations.
• Evaluate static strength and fatigue life of dynamic system components.
• Execute propeller and aircraft testing from start to finish in wind tunnels and labs.
• Mentor and build in-house tools and best practices for the team.

Skills

Rotorcraft analysis

Rotordynamics

FEMAP/NASTRAN

Simcenter

Python MATLAB

US work eligibility

eVTOL loads

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace/ME

Tools

RCAS

CAMRAD II

FlightLab

Dyrobes Rotor

Job description

Zipline in South San Francisco, CA is seeking a senior rotorcraft engineer to drive hardware and product design decisions for rotor and propeller systems. You will define loads, set requirements, and lead analysis-test cycles to keep our delivery aircraft safe, light, and scalable.

You will collaborate with structures, aerodynamics, GNC, and powertrain teams and mentor others while building practical, rigorous tools to accelerate design decisions in a fast-paced environment.