Lead Structures & Analysis Engineer

About the role

Guide design from day one: Embed with design, manufacturing, and systems engineers to influence architecture early — load paths, joints, materials, and mass. Support mass-optimization, manufacturing and cost/weight/performance trades. Build and develop the team: Set the technical standard, grow engineers at all levels, and create an environment where the team does rigorous, independent work. Own structural analysis end-to-end: Define load cases and environments, develop load paths, and perform sizing of primary and secondary structures using both classical hand calculations and finite element methods (linear and non-linear static, buckling, modal, random vibration, shock, fatigue, and fracture/damage tolerance). Drive material selection: Lead research, trade studies across metallics, composites, polymers, and adhesives; account for environmental effects, manufacturing variability, and joint behavior. Lead structural test campaigns: Define test plans, instrumentation (strain gauges, accelerometers, thermocouples, DIC), and pass/fail criteria for coupon, component, and assembly-level tests — static, dynamic, drop, crush, and abuse. Close the loop on failures: Lead root-cause investigations of structural failures in test, production, or the field, and drive corrective actions back into design rules. Communicate effectively across domains: Serve as the structural SME for your domain — present margins, risks, and recommendations clearly at design reviews and to leadership, and translate complex analysis into language the broader team can act on.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical, Aerospace, Materials, or related engineering field (M.S. preferred).
• 8+ years of structural analysis experience on safety- or performance-critical hardware (automotive/EV, aerospace, launch, defense, motorsport, or similar), including time as a technical lead or responsible engineer.
• Deep grounding in statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials, fatigue, and fracture.
• Expert proficiency with at least one commercial FEA suite (HyperMesh, Abaqus, Ansys, Nastran, etc.) including pre/post tools (SimLab, HyperView, Femap, etc.) — and a track record of validating models against physical test.
• Strong materials background: selection, properties, allowables development, and testing of metallic and/or composite structures; familiarity with non-linear material behavior (plasticity, elastomers, adhesives).
• Scripting ability in Python or MATLAB for analysis automation, data processing, and tool development; comfort leveraging AI tools to accelerate and enhance engineering workflows.
• Clear, concise technical communication — written reports and live design-review defense of your margins.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with battery packs, modules, or enclosures — structural integration of cells, crush/intrusion protection, drop and abuse testing, sealing, thermal-structural interaction, or vibration durability of energy storage systems.
• Multi-physics fluency: coupled thermal-structural analysis, or working knowledge of how electrical, thermal, and safety requirements constrain structural design.
• DFM awareness across casting, stamping, extrusion, machining, additive, and composite layup — and experience taking hardware from prototype to rate production.
• Experience building analysis tools or methods adopted team or company-wide.

Compensation & Benefits

• Compensation: Base Salary: $125,000 – $160,000. Compensation may vary based on experience, training, education, and scope of the role.
• Benefits: Medical (HMO, PPO), Dental, and Vision
  401(k) Flexible PTO Team meals 2x per week Monthly team events