Structural Engineer UAV H/F

<h3>About Alta Ares</h3><p style="min-height:1.5em"><br />Alta Ares is an air defense Neoprime. We build AI-guided interceptors to counter drones and cruise missiles, along with the software platform that powers them.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em">Our customers are NATO-aligned militaries and defense institutions, and our systems are regularly deployed during live exercises and operational demonstrations across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em">Founded in 2024, we have grown to 90 people, raised over $60M, and increased revenue 40× this year. We are now entering a new phase of international expansion, industrial scaling, fundraising, and product development.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em"></p><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>ROLE &amp; Missions: </strong><br /></p><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>STRUCTURAL DESIGN &amp; ANALYSIS</strong></p><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Design and analyze the primary and secondary composite structures of our interceptor airframes (fuselage, wings/control surfaces, internal load-bearing components)</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Perform structural and stress analysis combining hand calculations and finite element analysis (FEA) to justify margins under static, dynamic, and high-acceleration loads</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Define and document load paths, free-body diagrams, and failure modes for all major structural elements</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Own composite laminate design, layup schedules, and bonding/joining strategies for carbon fiber structures</p></li></ul><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>WEIGHT &amp; PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION</strong></p><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Aggressively optimize structural weight without compromising strength, given the platform's speed and maneuverability requirements</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Work with Aerodynamics and Propulsion teams to balance structural mass, CG, and vibration constraints against flight performance targets</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Evaluate design trade-offs between composite and metallic/CNC solutions where each makes sense</p></li></ul><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>TESTING &amp; VALIDATION</strong></p><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Support structural, vibration, shock, and environmental qualification testing of airframe components and subassemblies</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Analyze test and flight data to identify failure modes, including:</p><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Fatigue and fracture</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">CG shifts</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Vibration-induced damage</p></li></ul></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Support fast structural repairs and troubleshooting during flight test campaigns</p></li></ul><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>MANUFACTURABILITY &amp; PRODUCTION</strong></p><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Work directly with manufacturing partners and internal fabrication teams to ensure designs are manufacturable, repeatable, and cost-effective at scale</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Get hands-on with composite fabrication and bonding to understand how parts are actually built, not just how they're modeled</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Support the transition of airframe structures from prototype to serial production</p></li></ul><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>CROSS-FUNCTIONAL COLLABORATION</strong></p><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Work closely with Aerodynamics, Propulsion, and Manufacturing engineers to resolve cross-disciplinary design conflicts</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Communicate structural decisions and analysis clearly to non-structural stakeholders</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Contribute to design reviews and structural documentation standards as the team scales</p></li></ul><p style="min-height:1.5em"></p><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>CANDIDATE PROFILE</strong></p><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">3+ years’ experience in aerospace or aircraft structural engineering, ideally including UAV/drone platforms</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Demonstrated experience analysing and sizing airframe structures for aerodynamic, manoeuvre, propulsion, and inertial loads, with the ability to interpret, validate, and apply aircraft aerodynamic load cases</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Proficiency in finite element analysis (FEA) for static strength, stiffness, buckling and vibration modelling</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Strong CAD capability (e.g. CATIA, SolidWorks, Autodesk or comparable tools), with the ability to support detailed design and internal component integration</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Familiarity with UAV/drone specific integration challenges, including payloads, batteries, avionics, propulsion mounting, and practical field repairability, would be a strong advantage</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Experience designing lightweight carbon-fibre composite structures, including laminate design and sandwich panels and knowledge of composite manufacturing methods and processes</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Experience designing parts for polymer 3D printed components, with a practical understanding of print orientation and load paths</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Ability to perform hand calculations and correlate analytical results with FEA and structural test data</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Strong communication and multidisciplinary collaboration skills across aerodynamics, systems and manufacturing teams</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Experience with aeroelasticity analysis, including flutter, divergence, structural deflection, and vibration assessment, would be a strong advantage</p></li></ul><p>Find more <a href="https://www.arbeitnow.fr/english-speaking-jobs">English Speaking Jobs in France</a> on Arbeitnow</a>