Mechanical Engineer, Aircraft

About the role

This is a general application for mechanical engineers to design and build aircraft across the full mechanical spectrum—including structures, mechanisms, thermal management, propulsion integration, fluid systems, materials and test engineering—supporting design, analysis, test campaigns and supplier manufacturing for Swarm Aero’s autonomous swarming platforms.

About the company

Swarm Aero is building the world’s largest swarming UAV and aircraft network, developing the first aircraft designed specifically for swarming and the command‑and‑control software to mobilize thousands of heterogeneous autonomous assets. The team has created and exited multiple startups, negotiated multibillion‑dollar defense deals and built over 30 novel aircraft, drawing talent from Scaled Composites, Airbus, Archer Aviation, Blue Origin and Boom Supersonic.

Requirements

• BS or MS in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related engineering field
• 3+ years of experience designing, analyzing, or testing hardware in aircraft, spacecraft, automotive or other high‑performance applications
• Proficiency in CAD (NX, CATIA, or SolidWorks) and working knowledge of GD&T
• Hands‑on mindset with experience building the things you design
• Bias toward speed – test early, iterate quickly rather than perfect on paper
• Ability to work onsite in Oxnard, CA
• U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual, or able to obtain required ITAR authorizations
• Nice to have: composite aircraft structure experience
• Nice to have: experience with FEA tools such as Nastran, Abaqus or Ansys
• Nice to have: experience taking hardware through qualification or certification
• Nice to have: experience at a startup or on a small, fast‑moving team