Mechanical Engineer

Department: Core Engineering

Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Employment Type: FullTime

About Poseidon Aerospace:

Poseidon Aerospace is reimagining how the world moves goods. We build and operate full-size autonomous cargo aircraft; Heron, a seaplane, and Egret, a STOL aircraft; each capable of carrying two tons of payload over a thousand nautical miles. From remote communities to contested logistics operations, our platforms unlock a new cost curve for air freight, making it faster, cheaper, and accessible anywhere it's needed. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with locations in Washington DC, Oregon, and Maine; we're building something consequential.

We encourage candidates without at least a year of full-time, post graduation work experience to apply to our Mechanical Engineer (New Graduate) job posting

As a Mechanical Engineer at Poseidon Aerospace, you will design the structural and mechanical systems that make our composite aircraft functional and manufacturable. You will work across CAD design, mechanism development, and finite element analysis to create reliable, lightweight structures suited for flight and marine environments. This role is both analytical and hands-on, involving close collaboration with manufacturing, aerodynamics, and test teams to bring designs from concept to flight hardware.

Responsibilities:

• Design and develop aircraft structures, mechanisms, and tooling using CAD software

• Perform FEA to validate strength, stiffness, and load paths in composite and metallic components

• Create detailed part/assembly drawings and documentation for manufacturing and inspection

• Design linkages, control surface mechanisms, and mounting systems for aircraft subsystems

• Collaborate with manufacturing engineers to ensure designs are practical, cost-effective, and easy to assemble

• Support testing and validation of structural and mechanical systems, including fixture and rig design

• Maintain CAD libraries, revision control, and configuration management for aircraft assemblies

• Provide design feedback to improve manufacturability, maintainability, and structural efficiency

Ideal Qualifications:

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field

• Proficiency with CAD software such as Fusion,, SolidWorks, CATIA, or NX

• Strong understanding of structural design, stress analysis, and mechanical systems

• Experience with FEA tools such as ANSYS, Fusion Simulation, Nastran, or similar

• Ability to apply GD&T and mechanical tolerancing to production drawings

• Familiarity with composite and metallic fabrication methods

• Understanding of fundamentals of flight mechanics and aircraft dynamics

• Comfortable working hands-on with prototypes, test articles, and shop tools

• Capable of managing projects independently in a fast-paced, startup environment

Nice to Have:

• Experience with bonded composite structures or hybrid assemblies

• Background in actuation systems, linkages, or motion mechanisms

• Knowledge of vibration, fatigue, or modal analysis

• Hands-on experience with machining, additive manufacturing, or assembly tooling

• Familiarity with design for manufacturing (DFM) and design for assembly (DFA)

• Proficiency in MATLAB or Python for analysis and process automation

• Exposure to aerospace certification or flight test environments

What you get from us

• Competitive salary and meaningful early-stage equity

• Relocation support if applicable

• Employee Health Benefit Plans

• 6% Retirement matching

• Flexible PTO

• Free lunches, snacks, and a stocked fridge at our offices

• AI tools and subscriptions

Even if you don't meet every qualification listed, we encourage you to apply. At Poseidon Aerospace, we value diverse perspectives and are always looking for talented individuals with unconventional backgrounds.