Propulsion Analysis Engineer II

Ursa Major•Berthoud, CO

9d•$95,000 - $115,000•Remote

About The Position

As a Propulsion Analysis Engineer II, you will primarily focus on structural analysis of vehicles and propulsion systems. You will be exposed to multiple vehicles, systems, and engines, along with the unique challenges each present. We are looking for analysts who bring new skills and best practices from their prior experience to Ursa and who, in time, will mentor others. You will be expected to support verification and validation efforts and to provide proactive feedback to our design team based on the results of your work. Lastly, as Ursa ramps up its production rate and begins development on new engine platforms, you will be expected to assess nonconforming hardware, introduce approaches that could improve our team’s efficiency, and venture into additional analysis specialties to support others in our multi-disciplinary analysis team. You will report to our Propulsion Analysis Team Lead. This role is available to work remotely within the US (with 10% travel to Colorado) or as a hybrid or on-site role out of our Berthoud, Colorado office.

Requirements

B.S. degree in mechanical, aerospace engineering, or a comparable field
2+ years of professional experience performing structural analysis
Experience performing Finite Element Analysis (FEA / FEM) using commercial codes (e.g., ANSYS, Abaqus, or NASTRAN-based solvers)
High Cycle Fatigue Analysis (HCF, crack initiation predicted by a stress-life / SN approach)
A strong theoretical background in structural mechanics
Comfortable working in a fast-paced, startup environment

Nice To Haves

M.S. degree or higher in Mechanical, Aerospace Engineering, or a comparable field, ideally focusing on solid mechanics, fatigue, fracture, or structural dynamics
Thermal-Structural static analysis (particularly dealing with nonlinear materials and large strains)
GFEM development and model grounding experience
Dynamic analysis methods (modal, random vibration, shock response)
Working experience in loads development
Low Cycle Fatigue Analysis (LCF, crack initiation predicted by a strain-life / e-N approach)
Fracture analysis (crack growth / safe-life and assessing for instability via LEFM, ideally with prior experience using NASGRO)
A strong theoretical background in heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and/or compressible flow
Experience with the ANSYS FEA suite
Experience with Femap/Nastran
Experience anchoring analytical models to physical testing
Knowledge of turbomachinery-related analytical methods (e.g., generating Campbell diagrams to assess margins on rotordynamics or structural modes or rotating hardware)
Prior professional experience working on either rocketry or turbomachinery
Experience supporting failure investigations and root-cause analysis
A track record of working efficiently in fast-paced engineering environments
A track record of effective oral and written communications to support your recommendations
Fluid analysis (e.g. Computational Fluid Dynamics / CFD or 1-D transient analysis using SINDA/FLUINT or ROCETS)
Knowledge of composite materials, insulation, and ablative thermal protection systems

Responsibilities

You will evaluate our designs through static, dynamic, fatigue, and fracture analyses and provide recommendations when needed to achieve our objectives.
You will support GFEM development for vehicles and propulsion systems
You will propagate loads to vehicle and engine components
You will perform coupled thermal-stress analysis to assess material response under extreme conditions
You will verify and validate your models
You will work closely with our test team to request the instrumentation necessary to anchor our analytical models
You will perform loads development for vehicles and engine programs
You will collaborate with other engineering teams to develop our systems while ensuring they meet requirements and comply with the structural standards we follow
You will collaborate with our manufacturing team to assess nonconforming hardware for development and flight components and provide recommended dispositions and repairs
You will improve our analytical methods and seek out new approaches and tools