What are the responsibilities and job description for the Mechanical Design Engineer position at Actalent?
Description
To help achieve these efforts, we are seeking a Senior or Staff-level Structural or Mechanical Engineer to lead the structures team in the continued development of the air-launched, Talon-A hypersonic flight vehicle development program. This position requires leading a multi-disciplined group of engineers to design, build, integrate, and test vehicles and payloads to meet customer structural requirements. An ideal candidate has prototype development or small scale-production experience, with focus in thermal-structural-mechanical design, leading to first flights.
ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Work hand-in-hand with the program responsible engineers, Payload Lead, and Talon-A Chief Engineer to lead the program to a successful outcome
Lead a diverse team of mechanical engineers, structural engineers, structural analysts, dynamics analysts, and manufacturing engineers
Lead structural development of the hypersonic vehicle and integration of payloads, including trade studies and structural layout
Responsible for making final technical decisions for the structures subsystem
Lead the successful execution of structural design reviews to advance the program vehicles through manufacturing and flight test
Lead structural systems engineering approach, which may include: creating and dispositioning structural requirements, mass properties management, guiding the configuration management of models, reviewing and approving documents/reports/analyses, setting engineering and design best practices and standards for the structures team, waiving or approving ground testing based on structural technical risk assessments, etc.
Management of Talon-A structures team (1:1s, reviews, etc.)
Regular and comprehensive communication to program Chief Engineer
Contribute to the integration of complex aerospace systems
Travel, as needed, to support the program
Demonstrate honesty, responsibility, integrity and fulfillment of commitments
Skills
structural design, composite analysis, composite engineering, airframe design, Mechanical engineering
Top Skills Details
structural design,composite analysis,composite engineering
Additional Skills & Qualifications
QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential responsibility satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Required Qualifications:
Knowledge of, and experience with, one or more of these disciplines: structures, loads, structural-thermal analysis, mechanical systems, aircraft systems, aircraft operations, launch vehicle integration
Significant experience with the rapid development of prototype or experimental flight vehicles, including full life-cycle involvement on at least one program
Significant experience as a design engineering and/or analyst lead on a structures team
Experience with composite structures analysis, design, and manufacturing
Experience with technical aerospace leadership, including working with sub-contractors
Experience with risk management
Experience working in small engineering teams where each member often has multiple responsibilities
Excellent written & verbal communication
Ability to acquire and maintain a security clearance
Ability to work on your own initiative and prioritize tasking to fit within the business goals
Complex aerospace system development
Ability to quickly adapt to changing priorities
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience with hypersonic and/or supersonic vehicle development
Experience with air-launched vehicle development
Experience with BMI or epoxy pre-preg composites
Experience with static structural testing
Required Computer Skills:
MS Office (Word, Excel, PPT, Outlook)
Configuration management systems such as JIRA, GIT, JAMA, etc.
3D CAD experience - CATIA or Solidworks
Preferred Computer Skills:
Experience with FEMAP and NX NASTRAN
Programming - Python, C , or Matlab
Experience Level
Expert Level
Job Type & Location
This is a Permanent position based out of Mojave, CA.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $117000.00 - $200000.00/yr.
health, dental, 401K, will receive all stratolaunch benefits
Workplace Type
This is a fully onsite position in Mojave,CA.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Dec 13, 2025.
About Actalent
Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 30,000 consultants and more than 4,500 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500.
The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.
If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.
Salary : $117,000 - $200,000