Lead Mechanical Engineer

About wardstone.space Wardstone is an aerospace defense-tech company developing next-generation capabilities to protect the United States and its allies from missiles and other aerial threats. We design, build, and deploy low-cost modular interceptors.

• Lead, mentor, and grow the mechanical engineering team, including hiring,
• setting priorities, and reviewing designs.
• Set the team’s engineering standards: CAD and drawing practices, GD&T, design
• reviews, analysis documentation, and configuration control.
• Own the mechanical schedule and technical risks, and give clear tradeoffs to
• founders and other teams.
• Size the airframe and structures for launch, flight, and maneuver loads.
• Lead structural, vibration, shock, and aeroelastic analysis across every
• phase of flight.
• Own the outer mold line (OML) together with the aerodynamics team, balancing
• aerodynamic performance, kinematics, and internal volume.
• Design primary and secondary structures, hardpoints, brackets, and
• mechanisms, including [fin actuation, separation, and canister/launcher
• interfaces].
• Own the master vehicle CAD assembly and mass properties.
• Work with propulsion and aerodynamics to handle thermal loads, structural
• margins, and drag.
• Work with electrical and controls to package, route, and mount avionics,
• harnesses, and actuators.
• Choose materials for high-performance applications, such as composites,
• high-strength alloys, and high-temperature materials.
• Manage vendors and machine shops, and hold them to quality and tolerance
• requirements.
• Design and run structural, vibration, and environmental tests, and build the
• fixtures and rigs to support them.
• Get hands-on in our in-house shop when speed matters.

Required

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience designing flight or high-load hardware.
• Experience leading engineers or owning a major subsystem from design through
• test.
• Expert in CAD, including large, complex vehicle assemblies.
• Expert in structural analysis, including FEA for static, dynamic, and
• vibration loads.
• Strong material selection experience for high-stress aerospace applications.
• Comfortable working hands-on with hardware in a shop and test environment.

Preferred

• Hardware experience on missiles, rockets, UAVs, or other high-speed aerospace
• vehicles.
• Manual or CNC mill and lathe proficiency.
• Experience with MIL-STD environmental testing (e.g., MIL-STD-810: thermal,
• vibration, shock).
• Experience designing and building your own structural test rigs.
• Prior early-stage startup experience.