Senior Vehicle Structural Loads Analysis Engineer

As a Senior Vehicle Structural Loads Analysis Engineer, you will primarily focus on global structural modeling and loads development across Ursa vehicles and propulsion systems.  Your secondary focus will either be Loads and Dynamics or Detailed Finite Element Modeling. You will be exposed to multiple vehicles, systems, and engines, along with the unique challenges each present. We are looking for experienced 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 lead 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 potentially venture into engine stress analysis or dynamics analysis 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. 

Responsibilities:

• You will lead GFEM development for vehicles and propulsion systems
• 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 propagate loads to vehicle and engine components
• 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.
• You will provide professional development, mentorship, and technical guidance to peers.
• You will evaluate our designs through static, dynamic, fatigue, and fracture analyses and provide recommendations when needed to achieve our objectives.

Minimum Experience/Requirements:

• B.S. degree in mechanical, aerospace engineering, or a comparable field
• 8+ years of experience performing structural analysis
  • Note: Ursa Major is considering candidates for this position at multiple levels. Based on your experience, we may be able to adjust the level of the role along with the associated compensation range accordingly.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, startup environment
• GFEM analysis experience for vehicle and/or propulsion systems
• Experience performing Finite Element Analysis (FEA / FEM) using commercial codes (e.g., ANSYS, Abaqus, or NASTRAN-based solvers)
• Experience anchoring analytical models to physical testing
• High Cycle Fatigue Analysis (HCF, crack initiation predicted by a stress-life / SN approach)

Ideal Experience/Requirements:

• M.S. degree or higher in Mechanical, Aerospace Engineering, or a comparable field, ideally focusing on solid mechanics, fatigue, fracture, or structural dynamics
• Dynamic analysis methods (modal, random vibration, shock response)
• Working experience in loads development
• Thermal-Structural static analysis (particularly dealing with nonlinear materials and large strains)
• Low Cycle Fatigue Analysis (LCF, crack initiation predicted by a strain-life / e-N approach)
• Experience with Femap/Nastran
• Experience with the ANSYS FEA suite
• 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
• 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
• Prior experience working on safety-critical systems in production environments

Colorado law requires us to tell you the base compensation range of this role, which is $123,000 - $153,000, determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities. What we can’t quantify for you are the exciting challenges, supportive team, and amazing culture we enjoy. Click here for more information about our awesome benefits.

Classification: Full-time Exempt