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Lead Structural Engineer

Fleetzero
4 days ago
Full-time
On-site
Houston, TX
Transportation

ENGINEERS WANTED for a hazardous journey. Small wages, high voltages, long hours of difficult technical work, safe career choice doubtful. Riches and Glory in case of success.

Wanted, specifically: a structures engineer who thinks in load paths, welds, and trusses, and wants to point that at ships.

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$110,000 - $160,000 a year

The role

You will design the hull structure of Fleetzero vessels and carry it from the model to the factory floor, including repeating triangular truss modules built in our factory. We are hiring deliberately from outside maritime: steel, aerospace, launch, satellite, defense, and large-drone structures. Ships have been built the same way for decades, and we want engineers who ask why.

Fleetzero's LFP battery system, Leviathan™, changes how power and energy are stored on a vessel. That opens up new load paths and new ways to build. Your job is to find them and make them buildable.

This is a hands-on role on safety-critical structures in harsh environments. You will take independent initiative and work with a small team of engineers who build what they design.

You will own three things

  1. Hull structure design. Design the primary hull structure, including the repeating truss modules, from concept to released drawings. Size members, joints, and welds against class rules and real loads. Set the structural design practices the team follows as it grows.

  2. Models and engineering analysis. Build and validate the structural models. Run the analysis (FEA and hand calculations) that proves the design, and package it for class review with the Modern Naval Architect.

  3. Design for manufacture. Design every part to be built repeatedly in our factory. Work with the Tooling / Manufacturing Specialist on joints, tolerances, weld sequences, and fixtures, so a drawing becomes a module without rework.

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What you bring

  • 3+ years designing and analyzing structures in aerospace, launch, satellites, defense systems, large drones, steel fabrication, or shipbuilding. Years are a starting point. We hire on what you have built, how you reason about loads, and how hard you push.

  • A bachelor's degree in mechanical, aerospace, structural, or civil engineering, naval architecture, or a closely related field.

  • Strong mechanical design and modeling skills: CAD (SolidWorks, NX, CATIA, or equivalent) and FEA (ANSYS, Abaqus, Nastran/Patran, or equivalent).

  • Structural analysis you can defend: static strength, buckling, fatigue, and welded joints.

  • Design-for-manufacture experience. You have taken a structure from a model to a built, tested article.

  • Authorization to work in the U.S. Some projects are ITAR-regulated.

  • Willingness to work on-site in Houston and on the factory floor.

Strong signals

  • Welded steel, stainless, or aluminum structures.

  • Truss, space-frame, or primary-structure design.

  • Composite or hybrid structures.

  • Qualification or proof testing of structures.

  • Prototype-to-production experience at a startup or small team.

  • Familiarity with ABS or other class rules. Not required.

Never designed a ship? Good. Tell us the hardest structure you have built.

Compensation, location, and equal opportunity

All roles are on-site at our Houston, TX facility. Relocation assistance is available for candidates moving to Houston.

All roles are expected to include intermittent or occasional travel as the business needs.

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, and covers base salary only. Actual salary offers may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Equity grants are included in most full-time offers and are part of Fleetzero's total compensation package.

Fleetzero does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, age, national origin, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other reason prohibited by law in provision of employment opportunities and benefits.