Spacecraft Structural Analyst — FEA & Verification

Industrious Ventures; Burlingame (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Xona is seeking a Structural Analyst to own the analysis, sizing, and verification of spacecraft hardware from concept to qualification. You will develop FEMs for metallic and composite structures and drive designs with minimal supervision while coordinating with design and test teams.

The role emphasizes strong ownership, rigorous documentation, and hands-on test support across static, dynamic, thermal, and launch loading conditions, with travel as needed.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering required.
• 1+ years of structural analysis experience or equivalent internship/research.
• Proficiency with FEA tools (Femap/Nastran preferred).
• Experience developing finite element models and applying analysis to support structural design decisions.
• Ability to drive technical work and communicate in a fast-paced team.

Responsibilities

• Perform structural analyses of aerospace components and assemblies using FEA and hand calculations.
• Support design and optimization of primary and secondary structures for strength, stiffness, fatigue, and stability.
• Develop, refine, and validate finite element models for metallic and composite structures.
• Evaluate structural performance under static, dynamic, thermal, vibration, and launch/flight loading conditions.
• Develop analysis plans, reports, and verification documentation for design reviews and flight qualification.
• Communicate results and recommendations to multidisciplinary teams.
• Collaborate with design, manufacturing, test, and systems engineers to improve performance within mass/cost/schedule targets.
• Interpret test data and correlate models with experiments.
• Support root-cause investigations for hardware anomalies and test failures.

Skills

FEA

Structural sizing

Fatigue analysis

Joints analysis

Independent work

Communication

Education

BS or MS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Femap

Nastran

Job description

Xona is seeking a Structural Analyst to own the analysis, sizing, and verification of spacecraft hardware from concept to qualification. You will develop FEMs for metallic and composite structures and drive designs with minimal supervision while coordinating with design and test teams.

The role emphasizes strong ownership, rigorous documentation, and hands-on test support across static, dynamic, thermal, and launch loading conditions, with travel as needed.