Principal Airframe Architect

Archer is an aerospace company based in San Jose California building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a mission to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. We are designing manufacturing and operating an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers while producing minimal noise.

Our sights are set high and our problems are hard and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter drives better insights and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences and supports and celebrates all of our team members.

What youll do:

• Lead airframe development from concept through build and flight test collaborating with the Chief Engineer and program leaders to meet target requirements.
• Evaluate and trade structural layouts and material selections across candidate configurations for weight manufacturability and cost.
• Develop conceptual airframe architecture and parametric structural weight models for fuselage wing tail and nacelle structures.
• Size major structural components using classical analytical methods and/or conceptual FEM.
• Apply in depth understanding of load paths design best practices and hand calcs to design robust manufacturable and cost effective structural configurations.
• Mentor junior engineers on design analysis and manufacturing techniques.
• Own the validation and verification of airframe requirements.

What you need:

• 15 years of experience with innovative aircraft structures including leadership within a recent civil or military aircraft development program.
• Bachelors degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering
• In depth understanding of load paths laminate design fundamentals metallic design fundamentals and analysis methods (FEA closed form solutions for sandwich panel stability lug and fastener hand calcs etc.)
• Broad experience across a range of airframe structures (fuselage wing pylons empennage)
• Strong CAD skills in NX (preferred) Solidworks Catia or Creo
• Hands-on manufacturing experience with composites (wet-lay prepreg autoclave bonding drilling/fastening) and machining metallic parts (milling lathe drilling).
• Experience with analyzing and dispositioning non-conformances
• Self-starter team player and desire to work in a fast-paced environment

At Archer we aim to attract retain and motivate talent with the skills and leadership needed to grow our business. We drive a pay-for-performance culture and reward performance that supports the Companys strategy. For this position we are targeting a base pay range of $242800 - $322100. Actual compensation offered will be determined by job-related knowledge skills and experience.