Senior Structural Engineer – GFEM Lead (Aerospace)

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline, based in South San Francisco, seeks a hands-on Senior Structural Engineer to lead aircraft structural analysis, GFEM/DFEM modeling, and test correlation in a fast-paced environment. You will work across design, test, reliability, and flight operations to keep delivery aircraft safe, light, and highly available for continuous logistics operations.

The role emphasizes first-principles analysis, model validation, and mentoring a small team of engineers.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years in structural analysis for aircraft or aerospace vehicles.
• Hands-on hardware experience and test correlation.
• Experience owning top-level GFEM or system-level models.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain GFEM; set standards for materials, interfaces, and fidelity.
• Produce rapid analysis studies and drive design trades with lightweight FEMs.
• Support certification: static, dynamic, damage-tolerance analyses and margin reports.
• Lead pre/post-test correlation and tune models to test data within tolerance.
• Mentor 3–5 engineers and document reusable FEM tools and processes.

Skills

Structural analysis

GFEM/DFEM

NX/Nastran/FEMAP

Python/MATLAB

Aerospace structures

Hardware prototyping

Education

Bachelor's in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering

Tools

NX

FEMAP/NX Nastran

ANSYS

Siemens Design Center

Job description

Zipline, based in South San Francisco, seeks a hands-on Senior Structural Engineer to lead aircraft structural analysis, GFEM/DFEM modeling, and test correlation in a fast-paced environment. You will work across design, test, reliability, and flight operations to keep delivery aircraft safe, light, and highly available for continuous logistics operations.

The role emphasizes first-principles analysis, model validation, and mentoring a small team of engineers.