Mechanical Design Engineer

Location: On-site in Mountain View, CA (preferred), Potential for Hybrid or Fully Remote
Job Duration: 6 months, with potential extension to a long-term role if candidate is strong in PCB design
Salary: $130-150k

Our client is the first non-military unmanned aircraft company to receive FAA Type Certification (2022) and operate under an FAA Production Certificate. We're seeking a Mechanical Engineer (Structures) to design and substantiate the primary structure of our next-generation system — airframe, arms, landing gear, payload interfaces, and ground systems — to the safety bar of a certified aircraft.

Responsibilities

• Design complex aero-structures in SolidWorks, including bonded and fastened joints
• Perform static, modal, buckling, and fatigue analysis using FEA, validated with hand calculations
• Own margins of safety and structural substantiation for flight-critical parts
• Run material, layup, and process trade studies balancing weight, stiffness, cost, and producibility
• Plan and execute structural tests and correlate with analysis and flight telemetry
• Work with suppliers on DFM and first articles; lead failure analysis on flight hardware

Required Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering (or related)
• 4+ years of structural design and analysis on aircraft, UAV, automotive, or weight-critical hardware
• Proficiency with FEA tools (e.g., Ansys, SolidWorks Simulation) and strong hand-calculation skills
• Experience designing and analyzing composite structures and joints
• Proficiency in SolidWorks and GD&T; hands-on structural test experience

Preferred Qualifications

• MS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering
• UAV, eVTOL, or certified aircraft experience; familiarity with DER substantiation or ASTM F38
• Composite manufacturing knowledge (layup, cure, bonding, NDI)

Salary Range

• $130,000 - 150,000
• The actual salary offered is dependent on various factors including, but not limited to, location, the candidate’s combination of job-related knowledge, qualifications, skills, education, training, and experience

Compliance Notice: Alten USA is a federal contractor subject to the requirements of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and Executive Order 11246. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Drug Screening Requirement: As a federal contractor, Alten USA maintains a drug-free workplace. All candidates selected for employment will be required to successfully complete a pre-employment drug screening as a condition of hire.