Chaos Industries
Principal Airframe Engineer - IPT Lead [AERO]
$200K–$320K
El Segundo, California, United States +1 · Principal · Full-time · Posted Oct 9, 2026
- Location
- El Segundo, California, United States
Los Angeles, California, United States - Experience
- 15+ years of aircraft structural/airframe design experience.
- Education
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline; advanced degree preferred.
About the job
Leads airframe structural design and development for a modular aircraft program, from concept through qualification and production transition, with an emphasis on scalable, producible manufacturing.
What you'll do
- Own modular airframe structural architecture, interfaces, and trade studies, balancing performance, weight, cost, and producibility.
- Lead structural analysis, testing, airworthiness substantiation, and documentation for design reviews and qualification.
- Partner with manufacturing, systems, program, quality, and supply chain teams to support high-rate production and manage structural risks.
What they ask for
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline.
- 15+ years of aircraft structural/airframe design experience, including ownership from concept through qualification/production.
- Strong structural analysis background in static strength, fatigue, and damage tolerance, using NASTRAN, FEMAP, or equivalent FEA tools.
- Experience applying DFM/DFA principles, composite and/or advanced joining methods, and structural substantiation for military and/or civil airworthiness requirements.
Nice to have
- Advanced degree.
- Direct experience with modular, attritable, low-cost, or mass-producible aircraft/UAS programs; ability to obtain/maintain Secret/Top Secret/SCI clearance.
Pay
$200,000 - $320,000 USD base salary
Tools
NASTRAN, FEMAP, MIL-HDBK-516
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative