Chief Engineer
Chief Engineer
Employer Active
Job Alert
You will be updated with latest job alerts via email
Share
Job Alert
You will be updated with latest job alerts via email
Job Description
Hop Aero is a venture-backed startup building the physical internet. Our mission is to enable resilient global logistics to protect and improve our way of life.
Our founding team has prior experience founding a satellite startup and taking it to orbit launching 20 F9s at SpaceX and has led engineering teams at the worlds most advanced aerospace organizations.
About the role
The Chief Engineer will play a foundational role in the development of our early vehicles and shaping Hop Aeros long-term roadmap. This is a broad and high-responsibility role combining technical leadership systems architecture program execution and customer interaction particularly with government stakeholders.
This role is for an experienced all-rounder engineer with a strong background in system architecture and specific disciplines (systems engineering GNC flight dynamics hypersonics/re-entry) and demonstrable experience across the full lifecycle (cradle to grave) of aerospace hardware.
Theres flexibility in this role as the company evolves so too will our needs. Our aim is to ensure that the role and person can evolve to meet these changing requirements.
Tasks
Vehicle Architecture
- Ownership of the system architecture and design of our current vehicle under development.
- Develop future vehicle concepts aligned with mission requirements unit economics and business goals.
Systems Engineering
- Lead vehicle-level systems engineering efforts across all subsystems on our current vehicle
- Define and manage system budgets (mass power thermal cost BOM etc.)
- Ensure interfaces and integration points across subsystems are clearly defined and managed
Program Execution
- Define technical roadmaps and development plans for each major system
- Plan tasks and delegate to relevant team leads.
- Interface directly with team leads suppliers (and other relevant externals) to ensure delivery timelines
Government Programs & Customer Interaction
- Support preparation of proposals for SBIR STTR and other DoD opportunities
- Report technical progress and participate in reviews with government stakeholders
- Help align engineering deliverables with customer expectations
Cross-Functional Work
- Work closely with CTO on program execution and with CEO on technical roadmap and milestones
- Participate in early customer discovery and feedback integration into technical planning
Requirements
- 10 years in aerospace vehicle development
- Demonstrated experience as a lead engineer or similar for complex flight hardware. Cradle-to-grave experience with a vehicle/program is a huge plus.
- Experience working on government-funded programs (preferably with AFRL or similar)
- Willingness to get their hands dirty and join us in the desert when needed.
Systems Engineering & Program Execution
- Expertise in systems architecture and systems engineering. Experience with MBSE tools is a huge plus.
- Creation and management of BOM and mass cost power budgets.
- Task planning team coordination and supplier management
Tools & Skills
- Strong knowledge of hypersonic/re-entry vehicles and systems. Hands-on experience with such vehicles a huge plus.
- Proficient in CAD (SolidWorks preferred but not required)
- Basic experience with structural and thermal FEA
- Familiarity with simulation tools (fluids dynamics impact) is a plus
- Strong foundation in guidance navigation and control
- Experience modeling 6-DOF flight dynamics. Ability to model aero loads.
- Familiarity with guidance laws and control system implementation (Simulink MATLAB C/Python)
Must be a U.S. Person as defined by ITAR (U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident)
Benefits
- Stock options package on top of base salary
- Relocation package/bonus negotiable if needed
- Flexible work schedule
Were at an inflection point. The world is more unstable than at any time since the Cold War and growing threats are challenging the foundations of our way of life.
Global logistics has been an engine of growth and stability of the free world for over a century keeping nations connected resilient and ready. As this system comes under strain our mission is to secure and strengthen global logistics for the century ahead.
Even if you dont meet every single requirement wed still love to hear from you. Greatness looks different in every one of us - and we need the best tackling this problem.
Employment Type
Full Time
