Senior Manager, Mechanical Engineering - Drone
About The Position
Applied Intuition is hiring a Senior Manager, Mechanical Engineering to lead and grow the team responsible for mechanical design of its drone platforms, from airframe and structures through full aircraft integration. The role owns the mechanical engineering roadmap for uncrewed aircraft, hires and develops mechanical engineers, and works hands-on through the full product design lifecycle—from concept and prototype through flight test and production. The manager will set technical direction on aircraft design tradeoffs, guide integration of propulsion, batteries, avionics, and payloads, and oversee structural, thermal, and vibration analysis. The role also drives rapid prototyping, flight testing, failure investigations, design validation, and design for manufacturability, repairability, and field serviceability. The position partners with autonomy, avionics, electrical, software, and flight test leaders to meet mission requirements. Applied Intuition is an in-office company. Full-time employees are expected to primarily work from an Applied Intuition office five days a week, with flexibility for occasional remote work and schedule adjustments.
Requirements
- Bachelor's or master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
- 12 or more years of experience designing hardware and shipping products, ideally for drones, UAS, or aircraft.
- 7 or more years of experience leading and managing mechanical engineering teams.
- Hands-on experience designing flight vehicles or flight-critical structures, such as airframes, wings, fuselages, rotor arms, or landing gear.
- Strong understanding of aircraft design factors, including weight, structures, aerodynamic loads, stability, and propulsion integration.
- Experience designing lightweight structures, including composites, carbon fiber, and aerospace-grade metals.
- Experience with design for manufacturing methods such as CNC machining, composite layup, sheet metal, and additive manufacturing.
- Proficiency in CAD for 3D design and modification.
Nice To Haves
- Experience supporting flight tests and field operations, including setting up devices under test and writing clear documentation for test, maintenance, safety, and team processes.
- Experience designing, drawing, and prototyping custom cable harnesses.
- Demonstrated experience in FEA/CAE, including structural, thermal, vibration, and shock analysis.
- Hands-on experience shipping high-complexity hardware in both early-stage startup (0 to 1) and mass-production environments.
- Experience using SolidWorks, which is preferred.
Responsibilities
- Build and lead a mechanical engineering team responsible for drone airframes, fuselages, wings or rotor arms, landing gear, and structural components.
- Set technical direction on tradeoffs involving weight, strength, aerodynamics, flight time, and payload capacity.
- Guide integration of propulsion, batteries, avionics, and payloads, including packaging, mounting, cooling, and cable routing.
- Oversee structural, thermal, and vibration analysis and use flight and test data to validate and improve designs.
- Drive rapid prototyping by building, assembling, and iterating on hardware, and support flight testing and field operations.
- Lead failure and crash investigations, conduct root cause analysis, and implement design improvements.
- Own design, analysis, and validation quality at the component, assembly, and fully integrated aircraft levels.
- Champion design for manufacturability, repairability, and field serviceability.
- Hire, mentor, and develop mechanical engineers, including managing performance and career development.
- Partner with autonomy, avionics, electrical, software, and flight test leaders to ensure designs meet mission requirements.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
