Specialist Engineer, Stress

Virgin Galactic•Tustin, CA

4d•$136,063 - $207,596

About The Position

Virgin Galactic is seeking a Specialist Stress Engineer eager to participate in innovative/unique aerospace vehicle design, build, test activities. Guided by our values, “Safety Above All”, we proactively manage the risks inherent in human spaceflight through our daily actions. The responsibilities will range from early concept and development, through full production, life cycle, and sustainment. The Specialist Engineer will be tasked with addressing and solving the most difficult engineering challenges throughout all phases of the program life cycle. The Specialist Stress Engineer will support the vehicle life cycle via hands-on assessment and analytical substantiation of vehicles in a fast-paced, multi-disciplinary environment. Stress Engineers will collaborate across other disciplines, including but not limited to: Structures Design, Maintenance & Operations teams, Manufacturing, Propulsion, Flight Test and more to provide design substantiation, test support, and operations support. Specialist Stress Engineers will be able to function both independently and as part of a team in support of their tasking. Maintain focus on timeliness and execution of tasks and deliverables every day.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, with a concentration in a relevant Engineering discipline
Minimum 12 years prior experience in structural analysis or “Stress-adjacent” disciplines of aerospace engineering (examples: Loads, Methods, Durability and Damage Tolerance)
Excellent understanding of material properties & behavior, statics / free body diagrams, and structural load paths.
Strong foundational knowledge and understanding of stress analysis procedures, failure modes, failure theories, and applicable calculations
Knowledge creating and interrogating FEA models, including pre and post processing of NASTRAN models and associated sizing of structure and system components
Strong teamwork and coordination skills
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite of tools, including MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint
Proficiency with MATLAB, Mathcad, and other industry standard stress analysis software
Demonstrate willingness to adjust thinking and behavior.
Ability to communicate in a manner that is timely, respectful, and open to other ideas

Nice To Haves

Previous experience with FEMAP, HyperX, TMP Slim/Vision, NASTRAN
Previous experience CATIA V5/V6/3DX and ENOVIA V5/V6/3DX
In-depth knowledge of aircraft composites structural analysis and familiarity with industry standards for the manufacture, repair, and assembly of components
Significant prior work experience analyzing aircraft/spacecraft primary, secondary, and bonded composite structures
Knowledge of and / or experience with Fatigue & Damage Tolerance analysis
Experience performing crack growth analysis with NASGRO
Experience with composite‑material modeling and laminate theory
Experience participating in multidisciplinary design reviews
Prior experience performing liaison / MRB activities in aerospace stress applications
Familiarity with MRB tasks associated with dispositioning non-conformant metallic and composite components resulting from manufacturing, assembly, or field operations
Experience with manufacturing-based ERP systems, such as Oracle
Experience with Product Lifecycle Management tools (PLM software), requirements management tools, and configuration management.
Proficient in coding / macro creation in one or more programming languages (VBA, Python, C++, etc)
A high degree of autonomy, creativity, ability to work quickly and prioritize tasks in a fast-paced environment as part of a team or individually
Strong time management and organizational skills
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively with peers and leadership
Experience in authoring or providing input for the authoring of standards and manuals.
Experience managing and leading small to medium sized teams of varying skillsets.
Experience with the design of flight vehicles or vehicle systems to a set of requirements or standards such as CFR 14, Part 400, Part 23 and 25, military or NASA is highly desired

Responsibilities

Develop technical solutions to complex problems that require regular ingenuity and creativity
Perform structural analysis to provide analytical definition and/or ensure structural integrity of components, assemblies, and systems
Develop and/or utilize finite element models (global and discrete)
Create, review, and update engineering analytical definition of components and assemblies (analysis documentation)
Prepare clear and concise reports that collect, analyze, and summarize information
Provide technical review and approval of engineering documentation including stress plans, procedures, reports and associated designs
Participate in various technical reviews, provide input on structural integrity and safety, and verify that technical requirements are properly achieved
Identify errors, omissions, other deficiencies, and recommend revisions and/or improvements in analyses and/or design layouts to responsible engineers
Identify process deficiencies and develop solutions to improve those deficiencies
Play an integral role in the workflow release process for structural designs
Support review of manufacturing plans and procedures to ensure compliance with design and load requirements
Support the creation of structural component and system test plans which will be used to verify manufacturing and testing
Support production and operations teams to ensure vehicle readiness for flight. This includes involvement in fabrication, implementation, and MRB activities
Lead and coordinate the activities of a team of stress engineers within an assigned project
Lead by example and inspire team collaboration with various engineering stakeholders during the design, production, integration, test, delivery, and operation of air/space vehicles
Develop stress analysis tools and methodologies
Participate in the continuous improvement of stress analysis methods and processes to enhance efficiency and accuracy
Contribute to internal technical standards, templates, and lessons learned databases
Manage multiple responsibilities
Coach and Mentor more junior team members, transfer expertise to drive projects to completion
Work collaboratively to achieve goals and/or complete assigned tasks