Structure Design Engineer

Swarm Aero; Fayetteville (AR); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity stake

Competitive salary

Healthcare coverage

401k plan

PTO & sick leave

Wellness stipend

Office lunch

Parental leave

Impactful mission

Top engineers team

Job summary

Swarm Aero is building a Group 5 autonomous aircraft and seeks a structures design engineer to own parts from concept through first article. You will design real hardware including wings, fuselage, and major joints, and drive it through analysis, drawings, and vendor coordination.

You will work in CAD/FEA daily, coordinating with manufacturing to ensure design is buildable and verified by testing. The role emphasizes end-to-end ownership and rapid iteration in a small, high-impact team.

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, bonding techniques.
• Strong CAD skills, especially Siemens NX and Fibersim.
• Willingness to travel to Oxnard headquarters for onsite collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Own structural design and sizing for primary and secondary airframe structure (wing, fuselage, empennage, joints).
• Develop loads/criteria and convert to sized structure with margins.
• Run static, buckling, fatigue, and dynamic analysis in FEA; know when hand calculations are better.
• Design in composites and metallics; decide material placement by 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; reconcile results with model.
• Support integration of propulsion, landing/recovery, payload bays, and actuation.
• Own parts end to end from concept through drawings, vendor coordination, and first article.

Skills

CAD design

FEA analysis

Composite structures

DoD standards

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s in Aerospace Engineering or Mechanical Eng

Tools

Siemens NX

Fibersim

Teamcenter

Job description

Swarm Aero is redefining air power, building the largest swarming UAV and the most versatile swarming aircraft network in the world. The company is moving quickly to launch the first aircraft designed specifically for swarming, as well as the Command & Control software to mobilize swarms of thousands of heterogeneous autonomous assets and empower human operators to achieve superhuman results.

The team has created and exited multiple startups, negotiated defense deals worth billions of dollars, and designed and built 30+ novel aircraft, with aerospace experience from Scaled Composites, Airbus, Archer Aviation, Blue Origin, and Boom Supersonic.

About this Role

We are building a Group 5 autonomous aircraft and driving it to first flight. We are in detailed design with tooling in work, and we are looking for a structures design engineer to own parts on that aircraft from concept through first article.

You will design and size real hardware: control surfaces, ribs and spars, frames, doors and access panels, fittings and joints. You will take your parts all the way out, through analysis, drawings, vendor coordination, first article, and the fixes that come after. Our structures lead sets the architecture and the design approach. Inside that, your parts are yours.

This is a role for someone who wants to design more and coordinate less. You will be in CAD and in FEA most days, and in the shop the rest of them. The aircraft is small enough as an organization that the person who draws a part is the person who sees it come off the tool, and finds out the same week whether the call they made was right.

What you’ll do

• Own structural design and sizing for primary and secondary airframe structure, including wing, fuselage, empennage, and major joints
• Develop the loads and criteria set for the aircraft and turn it into sized structure with documented margins
• Run static, buckling, fatigue, and dynamic analysis in FEA, and know when hand calcs are the faster and better answer
• Design in composites and metallics, and make the call on which belongs where based on weight, cost, and rate
• Work directly with manufacturing on layup design, tooling concepts, part count, and assembly sequence so the design we release is the design we can build
• Define and run structural test, from coupon and element testing through component and full scale static test, and reconcile test results against the model
• Support integration of propulsion, landing or recovery systems, payload bays, and control surface actuation into the structure
• Own your parts end to end, from concept through drawings, vendor coordination, first article, and flight

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field (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, composite laminate design, composite structure analysis, bonding and joining techniques.
• Strong expertise in CAD software, particularly Siemens NX and Fibersim, or equivalent software.
• Led the design and analysis of composite structures throughout the product lifecycle, from conceptualization to production.
• Hands-on experience with composite part fabrication and bonding.
• Familiarity with aviation industry standards and DoD certification requirements.
• Ability and willingness to travel to our Oxnard headquarters for onsite collaboration and meetings.

Preferred Qualifications

• Extensive experience in new product development, especially within small, agile teams.
• Experience in composite aircraft manufacturing techniques, including bonded structures.
• Exceptional problem-solving and analytical skills. Strong design skills using Siemens NX/Fibersim and experience with PLM systems like Teamcenter.
• Comprehensive knowledge of aviation industry practices and DoD certification standards.
• Outstanding communication, time management, collaboration, and leadership abilities, with a proven track record of successfully working in cross-functional teams.

As part of our commitment to maintaining a safe and trustworthy work environment, Swarm Aero conducts a thorough screening of prospective employees. Candidates will be subject to a comprehensive background verification process as a prerequisite for employment.

ITAR requirement

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Swarm Aero is an equal opportunity employer. We value diverse backgrounds and experiences and make employment decisions without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, or disability.

What We Offer

• Meaningful equity in a high-growth defense technology company
• Competitive base salary commensurate with experience
• Medical, dental, vision, and 401k
• PTO and paid sick leave
• Monthly wellness stipend
• Daily catered lunch (office)
• Paid parental leave
• Direct impact on a critical national security mission
• A world-class team of engineers and operators solving genuinely hard problems