Zone Captain (Aircraft CAD Management)

Archer•San Jose, CA

About The Position

Archer is an aerospace company based in San Jose, California building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a mission to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. We are designing, manufacturing, and operating an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers while producing minimal noise. Our sights are set high and our problems are hard, and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter, drives better insights, and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences, and supports and celebrates all of our team members. As a Zone Captain, you will work on aircraft-level systems integration within the Advanced Projects group. We are a small but diverse group of multi-disciplinary engineers responsible for the rapid development of future Archer aircraft concepts, taking them from idea to experimental flight testing on aggressive accelerated timelines. In this role, you will play a critical role in integrating and optimizing the systems packaging on large sections of Archer’s future hybrid-electric aircraft platform.

Requirements

8+ years of mechanical design, systems integration or structural design engineering experience, preferably in the Aerospace industry or on other complex engineered systems (automotive, robotics, etc)
Strong candidates with less years of experience are also encouraged to apply
BS, MS, or PhD in Mechanical, Aerospace or related engineering fields
Expert proficiency in CAD (NX strongly preferred) with a focus on advanced DMU tools, large assembly management, and Master Model/Skeleton architecture implementation.
Understanding of mass budgeting, configuration management, and systems integration
Strong interpersonal communication skills. The ideal candidate should demonstrate the ability to coordinate cross-functional technical initiatives across multiple subsystem teams
Excellent project management skills

Nice To Haves

Aerospace development and certification experience
Deep understanding of prototype development lifecycle and the unique requirements for experimental flight test vehicles
Familiarity with regulatory requirements and design practices for system separation (e.g., flight-critical vs. non-critical systems).
Experience with HV electric propulsion systems or hybrid powertrains, electromechanical devices, or advanced sensor systems
Demonstrated hand-on experience in a prototype environment through prior work or personal projects
Self-motivated with exceptional attention to detail and systems-thinking approach

Responsibilities

Collaborate with various engineering disciplines to design high-reliability, safety-critical systems for an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft
Zonal management of the digital mock-up for a large section of the aircraft
Control space and manage routing envelopes for all subsystems in major aircraft zones
Ensure all subsystems are accessible and maintainable
Manage interface requirements models (IRMs) for their zone
Govern the top aircraft assembly part number and BOM structure
Hold regular design fly through meetings resolving any conflicts and maturing the design through CDR
Manage master geometry models for the respective zone
Ensure all system separation requirements are upheld
Directly collaborate with manufacturing engineering and prototype build teams to implement design-for-assembly (DFA) and ensure the physical build process is efficient, reliable, and compliant with rapid iteration cycles.