Principal Aerospace Engineer

About the role

You will serve as a company-wide technical authority for aerospace engineering at a company defining its next decade of aircraft or spacecraft. Executives and program managers bring you the architecture decisions that commit billions: configuration choices, technology insertions, and certification approaches. This role matters because aerospace programs live or die on early architecture calls, and your technical vision determines whether the company fields winning vehicles or expensive lessons. You will set the technical bar for the entire engineering organization, and your written standards, review comments, and architecture decisions will outlast any single program. When two programs disagree on approach, or when a customer challenges the company's technical position, you will resolve it with analysis and precedent rather than opinion. You will invest in the company's technical future by identifying capability gaps, sponsoring internal research, and building relationships with universities and laboratories working on the problems you will face in five years. Your mentorship will focus on the engineers one level below you, deliberately preparing successors who can carry the technical authority you hold.

What you will achieve

• Define vehicle architecture strategy across programs, with configuration and technology decisions validated by analysis and precedent
• Approve or redirect major technical approaches, preventing nine-figure commitments to architectures that will not certify or perform
• Establish enterprise engineering standards for emerging domains: autonomy, electric propulsion, or reusable space systems
• Resolve the organization's hardest technical problems: systemic test failures, architecture dead-ends, and certification impasses
• Build the senior technical bench by mentoring staff and senior engineers and setting the standard for aerospace rigor
• Establish company-level engineering standards and design practices that reduce repeat errors across programs and shorten new-hire ramp time

What you will bring

Must-haves

• 12+ years of aerospace engineering experience with deep expertise across multiple vehicle domains
• Recognized authority in aircraft or spacecraft design, evidenced by programs flown and certified
• Track record of architecture decisions that delivered successful flight vehicles
• Ability to evaluate novel configurations rapidly with first-principles analysis and historical precedent
• Experience interfacing with executive leadership, customers, and certification authorities on technical strategy
• History of resolving major program technical crises with structured, decisive action
• External credibility: AIAA leadership, keynote presentations, or widely referenced technical work

Nice-to-haves

• Advanced degree in aerospace engineering or related field
• Experience with both commercial certification and government/military airworthiness
• Test pilot or flight test engineering background
• Patent portfolio in aerospace systems or configurations
• Service on government or industry advisory boards related to aerospace technology