Lead Mechanical & Aerospace Engineer

Role details

About UDD Tech USA

UDD Tech USA is building a U.S. engineering, production, integration, and field-support organization around combat-proven unmanned systems. Our work spans unmanned aircraft, counter-UAS, autonomy, communications, payload integration, maritime employment, high-rate manufacturing, and U.S. Government testing and fielding. The engineering team will work closely with F-Drones technical personnel in Europe while establishing configuration-controlled U.S. products, domestic supply-chain alternatives, and new U.S.-developed capabilities.

Position Summary

UDD Tech USA is seeking a Lead Mechanical & Aerospace Engineer to own airframe, structural, aerodynamic, propulsion-integration, and mechanical-development activities for U.S. product configurations. The role will help convert proven F-Drones systems into configuration-controlled U.S. products, adapt aircraft to domestic components and payloads, improve manufacturability, and develop future variants.

Key Responsibilities

• Own mechanical and aerospace engineering for U.S. product configurations and derivative systems.
• Develop and maintain CAD models, manufacturing drawings, assemblies, tolerances, materials specifications, and mechanical interface-control documentation.
• Support localization of composite, molded, machined, printed, and fabricated components within the U.S. supply chain.
• Lead structural and mechanical integration of motors, propellers, batteries, avionics, communications equipment, sensors, payloads, launch/recovery hardware, and mission-specific components.
• Analyze weight, balance, center of gravity, structural loads, packaging constraints, and flight-performance impacts of configuration changes.
• Support aerodynamic and propulsion analysis for existing platforms and future U.S.-developed variants.
• Lead design-for-manufacture and design-for-assembly improvements to support production scale, quality, repairability, and cost reduction.
• Develop fixtures, tooling, jigs, and production aids in collaboration with manufacturing and quality teams.
• Work directly with domestic suppliers to qualify components, processes, materials, and alternate sources.
• Support environmental, vibration, transport, durability, and field-use testing.
• Conduct failure analysis and corrective engineering following flight-test, production, or operational events.
• Provide hands-on engineering support during testing, demonstrations, competitions, exercises, and onsite customer training.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related discipline.
• 7+ years of relevant engineering experience in aerospace, UAS, robotics, high-performance vehicles, or lightweight electromechanical systems.
• Advanced proficiency with modern CAD and mechanical design practices.
• Working knowledge of composites, machined components, polymers, additive manufacturing, and production drawings.
• Experience taking hardware from design through prototype, qualification, and production.
• Ability to work closely with technicians, machinists, suppliers, quality personnel, and production teams.
• Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally for periods of up to two weeks.

Preferred Qualifications

• Multirotor, fixed-wing, VTOL, missile, or loitering-munition design experience.
• Composite airframe or lightweight structural design experience.
• Electric propulsion, motor, propeller, or battery integration experience.
• High-rate or cellular manufacturing experience.
• Payload, effects, or weapons-integration experience.
• Experience with CNC machining, injection molding, additive manufacturing, tooling, or supplier qualification.

Travel and Field Operations

This is a hands-on defense engineering role. Domestic and international travel is required, including travel to Europe and to U.S. Government exercises, demonstrations, test events, customer evaluations, and onsite training. Individual trips may last up to two weeks and may involve military installations, test ranges, austere field locations, or maritime sites.

Export Control and Government Access

UDD Tech USA develops and manufactures systems subject to U.S. export-control and Government-contracting requirements. Candidates must be eligible to access technical information and facilities required for their assigned duties under applicable U.S. law and must be able to obtain any customer, installation, range, or program access required for the position.

Operating Environment

UDD operates at the intersection of rapid product development and high-rate defense manufacturing. These roles require engineers who are comfortable working at a design workstation, on a production floor, at a flight range, and alongside operators during a Government exercise. The objective is not simply to build prototypes, but to develop systems that can be manufactured at scale, repeatedly pass acceptance testing, and perform reliably in demanding operational environments.

Pay: $110,000.00 - $140,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off

Work Location: In person