Level 5 Aerospace Engineer – Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)

Job Description

Level 5 Aerospace Engineer – Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)

Location: Fort Worth, Texas

Classification: Full-time, Exempt

Seniority: Level 5 Aerospace Engineer

Reports To: Chief Engineer

Company Description

Purple Rhombus designs, builds, manufactures, and tests unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for U.S. government and commercial customers. Focused on producibility, Purple Rhombus aircraft are engineered for scalable manufacture, rapid deployment, and mission-ready performance. We are seeking mission-driven individuals to join the team to build the next generation of unmanned aircraft.

Position Overview

Purple Rhombus is seeking a Level 5 Aerospace Engineer to serve as a senior technical authority responsible for fixed-wing UAS design, development, and production readiness. This role owns critical air vehicle design decisions across conceptual definition, structural design, and configuration maturity supporting prototype, LRIP, and production aircraft. The Level 5 Aerospace Engineer provides technical leadership across programs, ensures design credibility from first principles through flight test, and balances performance, manufacturability, cost, and operational requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Fixed-Wing UAS Design Authority

Lead air vehicle design for fixed-wing UAS platforms including configuration layout, mass properties, aerodynamic considerations, structural architecture, and design margins. Own key technical trade decisions impacting performance, payload integration, endurance, and producibility. Provide technical authority during design reviews and configuration control boards.

Conceptual Design and Trade Studies

Lead or oversee conceptual design activities including sizing, layout trade studies, weight estimation, performance analysis, and configuration down-selects. Translate mission requirements into credible vehicle architectures and design baselines. Develop design trades balancing range, endurance, payload, cost, and manufacturing constraints.

Structural Design and Integration

Lead or oversee primary and secondary structural design including load path definition, material selection, joint concepts, and structural margins. Coordinate with analysis teams on loads, strength, and stiffness validation. Ensure structural designs are compatible with manufacturing processes, assembly flow, and field repair concepts.

Design Maturation and Production Readiness

Drive design maturity from prototype through LRIP and production configurations. Ensure designs are production-ready, configuration-controlled, and supported by complete engineering documentation. Coordinate closely with manufacturing, quality, and supply chain teams to resolve producibility issues and enable rate scaling.

Flight Test and Design Validation

Support flight test planning, execution, and data review to validate aerodynamic, structural, and performance assumptions. Own design-related corrective actions arising from ground and flight test results. Ensure lessons learned are captured and flowed back into updated design standards and configurations.

Cross-Functional Technical Leadership

Mentor junior engineers and provide technical direction across aerodynamics, structures, manufacturing, avionics integration, and systems engineering teams. Interface with customers, partners, and program leadership as a senior technical representative. Support proposal development, technical roadmaps, and next-generation platform definition.

Required Qualifications

Ten or more years of aerospace engineering experience with direct prior fixed-wing UAS experience. Demonstrated aircraft design experience with ownership of air vehicle configuration, aerodynamic layout, or structural design. Proven background in either conceptual aircraft design or structural design for fixed-wing aircraft. Experience transitioning designs from concept through prototype and into production or LRIP. Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering or related technical discipline. Ability to travel to test locations, production facilities, and customer sites.

Preferred Qualifications

Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering or related field. Experience with aluminum or composite aircraft structures, loads development, and certification or airworthiness processes. Familiarity with design-to-cost, manufacturability-driven design, and high-rate production environments. Experience supporting flight test, operational deployment, and rapid iteration programs.

Competencies and Attributes

Recognized technical authority with strong first-principles engineering judgment. Ability to translate mission requirements into executable aircraft designs. Decisive decision-maker under schedule, test, and production pressure. Clear communicator capable of leading technical discussions across disciplines. Strong ownership mindset for air vehicle performance, structural integrity, and design credibility.

Annual salary range: $155,000–$195,000

Travel: 15% per year.

Equity: yes

Benefits:

401(k)

401(k) matching

Dental insurance

Health insurance

Paid time off

Vision insurance