Sr. / Principal Hose Design Engineer

Dixon Valve

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Hydrasearch is looking for a Senior Principal Hose Design Engineer to join our team in Stevensville, MD. In this role you will be a senior technical contributor responsible for developing advanced hose and fluid conveyance solutions for aerospace and defense programs. This role will focus on solving complex technical problems and accelerating product development efforts. This is a hands-on engineering role focused on design, testing, qualification strategy, and technical problem solving. The Senior Principal Hose Design Engineer will work within a small, highly capable technical team executing rapid development cycles including design, prototype, validation, and transition to production. While the role emphasizes speed and innovation, the engineer must maintain the technical rigor and configuration discipline required in regulated aerospace and defense environments.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related technical field.
8+ years of relevant hose or fluid conveyance design experience.
Deep knowledge of hydraulic, pneumatic, fuel, or seawater hose systems, including fatigue and impulse life performance.
Proficiency with elastomers, PTFE, metallic reinforcement technologies, and fitting/end connection design.
Demonstrated experience owning the full product lifecycle from initial concept through qualification and production release.
Direct involvement in hose testing programs (burst, impulse, or fatigue).
A "builder" mentality with a bias toward execution and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with limited structure.
Travel may be required, both domestically and internationally.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Professional Engineer (PE) license or active involvement in industry bodies like SAE or ASME.
Deep familiarity with NAVSEA Tech Pubs or specific SAE aerospace standards.
Experience specifically working in advanced development environments or with proprietary hose construction development.
Experience mentoring internal engineers and leading technical discussions with customers.

Responsibilities

Serve as the senior technical lead for hose innovation initiatives, designing custom assemblies for aerospace and defense.
Execute rapid design-build-test-iterate cycles to translate performance specifications into manufacturable solutions.
Establish design assumptions and qualification margins that meet MIL, NAVSEA, and AS9100 requirements.
Perform engineering analysis related to burst, fatigue, impulse, vibration, and environmental factors.
Support the development of proprietary Hydrasearch hose constructions and internal testing capabilities to reduce dependency on external design authorities.
Coordinate with Engineering, Quality, and Operations to ensure mature designs transition effectively into production.