Senior Structures Design Engineer - Composite Aircraft

Swarmaero; Fayetteville (AR); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Competitive base salary

Medical, dental, vision, 401k

PTO & paid sick leave

Wellness stipend

Daily office lunch

Parental leave

Impact on national security mission

World-class engineering team

Job summary

Swarm Aero is seeking a structures design engineer to own parts on a Group 5 autonomous aircraft from concept through first article. You’ll design real hardware—control surfaces, ribs, spars, frames, doors, and joints—and drive from CAD through first article to flight.

Expect hands-on CAD, FEA, and shop floor collaboration. You will determine material choices (composites vs metals) based on weight and manufacturability, and coordinate with manufacturing to ensure the release design is buildable.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering (advanced degree preferred).
• 5+ years of experience in composite structure design for aircraft/spacecraft or similar vehicles.
• Deep understanding of composite and metal material properties, laminate design and bonding techniques.
• Strong CAD experience with Siemens NX and Fibersim, or equivalent.
• Led design and analysis of composite structures throughout product lifecycle.

Responsibilities

• Own structural design and sizing for primary and secondary airframe structure.
• Develop loads and criteria and convert into sized structure with margins.
• Run static, buckling, fatigue, and dynamic analysis in FEA; know when hand calcs are faster.
• Design in composites and metals; decide placement based on weight, cost, and rate.
• Coordinate with manufacturing on layup design, tooling concepts, and assembly sequence.
• Define and run structural tests from coupon to full-scale static testing; reconcile results.
• Support integration of propulsion, landing, payload bays, and control actuation.

Skills

Aerospace Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Composite structure design

CAD – Siemens NX

Fibersim

FEA analysis

DoD certification knowledge

Travel to Oxnard HQ

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

Teamcenter

NX & Fibersim

Job description

Swarm Aero is seeking a structures design engineer to own parts on a Group 5 autonomous aircraft from concept through first article. You’ll design real hardware—control surfaces, ribs, spars, frames, doors, and joints—and drive from CAD through first article to flight.

Expect hands-on CAD, FEA, and shop floor collaboration. You will determine material choices (composites vs metals) based on weight and manufacturability, and coordinate with manufacturing to ensure the release design is buildable.