Top Tech Jobs & Startup Jobs in San Francisco Bay Area, CA

Design and deliver mechanical and fluid system components from concept through production and flight. Perform trade studies, detailed CAD designs, and structural/thermal/fluid analyses. Collaborate with propulsion, structures, avionics, controls, and manufacturing teams, work with suppliers, develop and run hardware test plans, support prototyping, vehicle builds, ground and flight testing, and participate in technical reviews and safety/hazard analyses.

Lead the architecture, design, manufacturing, testing, and continuous improvement of primary and secondary aircraft structures. Define structural technical direction, load paths, materials, joints, and manufacturing approaches while coordinating across engineering disciplines. Lead technical reviews, resolve complex design issues, establish engineering standards, plan organizational capabilities, and mentor engineers. The role requires ownership of significant flight hardware from concept through release, manufacturing, ground testing, and flight testing.

Develop guidance, navigation, and control systems for autonomous aircraft; build six-degree-of-freedom dynamics and simulation models; automate control design, Monte Carlo analysis, and validation; collaborate across engineering disciplines; support flight and ground testing; and review post-flight performance against analytical predictions.

Own the complete tooling lifecycle for aerospace airframe manufacturing, including fixture and jig architecture, CAD design, tolerance analysis, procurement, fabrication, installation, certification, and production support. Lead composite and metallic tooling development, metrology, proof-outs, defect investigations, vendor coordination, and DFM initiatives. Establish tooling standards and processes, mentor engineers and technicians, and transition prototype tooling toward scalable production.

Develop and scale airframe composite manufacturing operations from the ground up. Translate engineering designs into manufacturing plans, processes, tooling, work instructions, and build sequences. Support composite layup, bonding, curing, trimming, assembly, inspection, and rework while resolving production-floor issues. Collaborate with design, tooling, quality, production, suppliers, and technicians; design fixtures, conduct first article inspections, provide DFM feedback, and improve manufacturing throughput and quality.

Design and analyze composite and metallic structures for aircraft, perform CAD modeling, support structural layout and collaborate with teams across disciplines.

Lead the rotordynamic analysis of turbomachinery systems, manage critical speed predictions, and collaborate on mechanical and thermal management, ensuring precision in both testing and production.

Execute tactical procurement for prototyping, testing, propulsion, and manufacturing teams: source parts, manage RFQs/POs, track deliveries, drive supplier schedules, vet vendors, and mitigate supply chain risks while partnering with engineering and manufacturing.

Design, analyze, build, and test high-speed power transmission systems (geartrains, shafts, bearings, lubrication) for turboelectric propulsion. Perform gear calculations, rotordynamic and NVH analysis, define and run qualification tests, instrument hardware, anchor simulations to test data, and collaborate with propulsion, aircraft, and test teams to validate performance.

The Senior Propulsion Design Engineer will oversee hardware design for propulsion systems, conduct analyses, build prototypes, perform tests, and resolve issues to ensure optimal engine performance.