Senior Structural Engineer

About the Team

Anduril’s Rocket Motor Systems (RMS) team is on a mission to build next-generation solid rocket motors for a safer, more connected world. The team aims to become a large-volume provider of tactical rocket motors by developing differentiated products and services that maximize customer capabilities, while establishing a reputation for Quality and Reliability.

About the Role

Anduril is seeking a Senior Structural Analyst to join the RMS team in Huntsville, AL. In this role, you will own the structural analysis of solid rocket motor hardware, including propellant grains, motor cases, nozzles, igniters, and ignition safety devices. You’ll operate in a lean, high-ownership culture where you directly shape the product and move quickly enough to test new designs in months, not years. The ideal candidate combines first-principles expertise in stress, dynamics, shock/vibration, and thermal-structural analysis with fluency in industry-standard tools, and wants their analysis tied to real hardware and test data.

Responsibilities

• Perform static and dynamic structural analysis across metallics, composites, and viscoelastic materials (propellant, insulation, liner) using tools ranging from hand calculations and scripts to detailed FEA.
• Build and own finite element models (FEMs) at the global and subsystem level, including motor cases, nozzles, and grain, with proper model organization, documentation, and configuration control.
• Analyze coupled and transient environments such as ignition pressurization, shock and vibration, flight and captive-carry loads, and thermal-structural interaction, where closed-form solutions are not available.
• Set and defend structural margins against customer requirements, industry standards, and safety regulations.
• Partner with design and hardware engineers to translate analytical results into improved designs quickly.
• Plan and support validation testing, including instrumentation, load requirements, Do-Not-Exceed limits, real-time load monitoring, data collection, model-to-test correlation, and dispositioning of inspection findings.
• Document methodology and results in technical reports for internal teams and external stakeholders.

Requirements

• BS or higher in engineering or applied physics with a structures focus.
• Strong command of statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials, and material behavior.
• Proficiency in commercial FEA tools (ANSYS, Abaqus, or NASTRAN), including linear and nonlinear static and buckling solution sequences.
• Proficiency in Python or MATLAB (or equivalent) for analytical modeling, data reduction, and automation.
• Experience with CAD tools (NX, SolidWorks).
• Ability to establish scope, requirements, and methodology for ambiguous, ill-defined problems and drive them to closure with minimal direction.

Preferred Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant structural analysis experience, or equivalent education, with demonstrated ownership of hardware outcomes.
• MS or higher in Mechanical Engineering or applied physics with a structures focus.
• Structural analysis experience on solid rocket motors or comparable pressure-vessel/harsh-environment hardware.
• Experience with solid rocket motor propellant grain structural analysis (viscoelastic materials, bore strain, cure shrinkage, thermal cycling).
• Composite and filament-wound case analysis and tooling such as WoundSim, CadWound, or similar.
• Hands-on structural test experience, including sensor selection, data acquisition, and post-processing (static, buckling, cyclic).
• Experience with workflow automation tooling.