Loads and Dynamics Engineering Lead

Location: San Luis Obispo, California, United States

Workplace: on_site

Employment Type: full

Description

As the Lead Loads Engineer, you will be responsible for defining, analyzing, and validating loads across all phases of flight and ground operations. Your work will directly influence the structural integrity, safety, and performance of the aircraft, from design through to certification and testing. This role requires an expert with deep experience in loads analysis, structural dynamics, and aeromechanics, ensuring that the aircraft meets all strength and stiffness requirements. You will be part of a multidisciplinary team, collaborating closely with aerodynamics, flight dynamics, flutter, and structural engineering teams.

Duties:

• Lead loads analysis and modeling for aircraft vehicles, including static and dynamic load

cases across all flight phases (hover, transition, forward flight, ground operations, etc.).

• Define load requirements in collaboration with aerodynamics, propulsion, and

structural teams to ensure compliance with design and safety goals.

• Conduct detailed structural and fatigue load calculations to predict operational

conditions, ensuring aircraft integrity.

• Support aircraft configuration design by providing critical insights into load distribution

and structural requirements.

• Develop load envelopes and load criteria based on regulatory requirements (FAA) and

industry best practices.

• Collaborate with control system and flight dynamics engineers to optimize control

surface and actuation system designs for load management.

• Participate in ground and flight testing, ensuring that measured loads align with design

predictions and providing recommendations for design improvements.

• Ensure compliance with all certification standards (e.g., 14 CFR Part 23/25/27/29) for

structural integrity and safety

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.

• 10+ years of experience in load analysis, structural dynamics, or aeroelasticity, with a

focus on rotorcraft, fixed-wing, or eVTOL aircraft.

• Expertise in load prediction tools.

• Proven experience in complete aircraft load analysis for unique vehicles, especially

eVTOL or rotorcraft.

• In-depth knowledge of FAA certification processes related to structural loads.

• Familiarity with aeroelastic and aeroservoelastic phenomena in rotorcraft or eVTOL

applications.

• Excellent leadership skills, with a proven ability to collaborate in cross-functional

teams.

• Strong communication skills, with the ability to present complex load analysis findings

to diverse technical stakeholders