Principal Airframe Design Engineer

Principal Airframe Design Engineer

About Electra:

At Electra, we're pioneering sustainable aviation by developing hybrid-electric Ultra Short Takeoff and Landing aircraft designed to transform regional air mobility, by making air travel more efficient, quieter, and environmentally friendly. Able to operate from soccer field-sized spaces, our Ultra Short unlocks a new era of aviation through what we call Direct Aviation - the next level of connectivity bringing air travel closer to where we live, work, and play. Headquartered in Northern Virginia, with additional locations in Switzerland, we're building a diverse team of global professionals passionate about redefining the future of aviation.

Position Overview:

Electra is seeking a Principal Airframe Design Engineer to lead the design, integration, and optimization of the primary and secondary airframe structures for Electra's flagship nine-passenger EL9 hybrid-electric aircraft.

This role will drive the structural design strategy across metallic and composite airframe components to achieve performance, manufacturability, safety, and certification objectives. The Principal Airframe Design Engineer will work across multidisciplinary teams to ensure structural solutions are optimized for weight, cost, and system integration, while maintaining Electra's commitment to innovation and sustainability.

Key Responsibilities & Essential Functions:

• Lead the design and development of primary and secondary aircraft structures, including fuselage, wing, empennage, and landing gear integration.
• Own the structural design process from concept through certification, ensuring performance, manufacturability, maintainability, and safety targets are achieved.
• Define and manage structural requirements, material selections, and design criteria in alignment with airworthiness and certification standards.
• Collaborate closely with aerodynamics, propulsion, systems, manufacturing, and certification teams to ensure seamless airframe integration.
• Develop and oversee detailed design documentation, including 3D CAD models, drawings, interface control documents (ICDs), and structural reports.
• Perform and review trade studies on materials, design configurations, and manufacturing processes to optimize weight, cost, and performance.
• Support structural analysis activities, including static, dynamic, and fatigue analyses, through close collaboration with stress engineering teams.
• Lead design reviews and provide technical guidance, mentoring, and leadership to other engineers.
• Engage with suppliers to define manufacturing strategies, resolve technical challenges, and ensure quality and schedule compliance.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives in structural design methods, tools, and processes.
• Stay current with evolving structural technologies, manufacturing innovations, and FAA certification standards for next-generation aircraft.

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field; Master's degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in airframe or structural design, integration, and certification for aircraft programs-or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Strong understanding of airframe structural design, including both metallic and composite components.
• Demonstrated experience in conceptual, preliminary, and detailed design phases of aircraft development.
• Proficiency with 3D CAD software (preferably Siemens NX or CATIA V5/V6).
• Familiarity with FAA Part 23 or Part 25 structural certification requirements.
• Working knowledge of loads, stress, and fatigue principles and their application to design decisions.
• Experience producing design documentation, drawings, and configuration management deliverables per aerospace standards.
• Strong leadership, communication, and collaboration skills for cross-functional team coordination.
• Proven ability to manage design tasks, timelines, and priorities in a fast-paced development environment.

Desired Skills and Qualifications:

• Experience with hybrid-electric or eVTOL aircraft programs.
• Familiarity with composite manufacturing techniques (e.g., automated fiber placement, resin infusion, hand layup).
• Hands-on experience with finite element modeling (FEM) tools (e.g., NASTRAN, FEMAP, HyperMesh).
• Experience with weight optimization, design-to-cost, and design-for-manufacturability (DFM) initiatives.
• Knowledge of requirements management and PLM tools (e.g., JAMA, Teamcenter).
• Experience leading supplier design and development activities.
• Private pilot license or strong passion for general aviation a plus.

Location & Additional Information:

• Location: Olten, Switzerland. Strong preference for on-site presence to encourage close collaboration.
• Travel: Occasional travel (<10%).
• Salary: $160,000.00-$200,000.00 Our salary ranges reflect the minimum and maximum range for the Company level overall across all locations & projects and does not necessarily reflect the budgeted amount for this position. Individual pay is based on additional factors, including project budgets, job-related skills, experience, relevant education and/or training, role, level, location, and project.