Senior Rotorcraft Structures Engineer — FEA & Fatigue

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

Job summary

Archer Aviation in San Jose, CA is seeking an experienced engineer to analyze and test the rotor system on a new unmanned vehicle platform. You will assess rotor head, blades, and control structures with FE tools, ensuring fatigue life and durability under flight and ground loads.

The role requires expertise in metallic and composite structures, fatigue life prediction, and first-principles analysis. Mentoring teammates and establishing best practices will be part of the responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in design and analysis of critical aircraft structures.
• Proficient in ANSYS, NASTRAN, or other FE software.
• Knowledge of fatigue and damage tolerance of composites.
• Knowledge of high cycle and low cycle fatigue in metallic components.
• Ability to read engineering drawings and interpret CAD models.
• CAD design experience (NX preferred).
• Strong technical, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Experience in a fast-paced design environment.

Responsibilities

• Perform detailed structural analyses of dynamic system components, including the rotor system, control system, and blades.
• Evaluate static strength and fatigue life of critical structures using classical hand calculations and finite element analysis for both flight loads and ground load conditions.
• Evaluate component life and dynamic response of dynamically loaded metallic and composite components subject to high and low cycle fatigue.
• Author structural substantiation reports and other required technical documentation to meet program needs.
• Support full scale component ground testing and flight testing, including test requirements, layout, instrumentation, and data reduction.
• Develop best practices for structural analysis of critical aerospace structures.
• Collaborate with the aerodynamics and loads & dynamics teams to design high performance propeller and rotor blades.
• Collaborate with internal and external customers to ensure on-time delivery of data.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering

Master’s degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering (preferred)

Tools

ANSYS

NASTRAN

NX

Python scripting

MATLAB scripting

Job description

Archer Aviation in San Jose, CA is seeking an experienced engineer to analyze and test the rotor system on a new unmanned vehicle platform. You will assess rotor head, blades, and control structures with FE tools, ensuring fatigue life and durability under flight and ground loads.

The role requires expertise in metallic and composite structures, fatigue life prediction, and first-principles analysis. Mentoring teammates and establishing best practices will be part of the responsibilities.