Senior Loads Engineer; m​/f​/x

We are building a new generation of AI-controlled unmanned jets designed to strengthen the defence of European democracies. The airframe makes extensive use of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP), which allows for a very light and highly flexible structure, and this puts the loads discipline right at the centre of the design.

As Senior Loads Engineer you own the external loads that size the aircraft. You will define, calculate and release the flight, ground and system loads used by structures, landing gear, systems and flight controls, from the first sizing loops through to flight test correlation and airworthiness approval. Because the airframe is unmanned, highly agile and flexible, classic loads assumptions do not simply carry over.

You will be expected to modify them and to build the process that fits better to the new airframe.

• Loads Process Ownership:
  Set up and maintain the loads process and the loads model chain, from mass and inertia data, aerodynamic databases and structural dynamic models through to load case generation, sorting and delivery of interface loads and internal load distributions.
• Manoeuvre Loads:
  Calculate symmetric and asymmetric manoeuvre loads across the full flight envelope, including high angle of attack and high rate manoeuvres typical for an unmanned, agile platform without physiological limits on the pilot side.
• Gust and Turbulence Loads:
  Perform discrete gust and continuous turbulence analyses on a flexible aircraft model, including the effect of the flight control system in the loop.
• Ground Loads:
  Cover landing, taxi, braking, turning, towing and arrested or short field operations, in close cooperation with the landing gear and systems teams.
• Dynamic and Special Loads:
  Address dynamic landing, buffet, hammer shock, bird strike, store carriage and release, failure cases and system malfunctions, including flight control system failures and their load consequences.
• Loads and Flexibility:
  Work with the aeroelasticity team on flexible loads corrections, static aeroelastic effects, control surface effectiveness and hinge moments, and with flight controls on load alleviation functions and manoeuvre limiting.
• Interface to Stress and Design:
  Deliver traceable, well documented load sets to the structures and stress teams, support sizing loops, and drive the loads iterations that keep the design converging instead of oscillating.
• Validation:
  Support ground and flight test campaigns, define loads instrumentation and calibration requirements, evaluate strain gauge and flight test data, and correlate measured loads with the models.
• Method and Tool Development:
  Automate and improve the loads chain so that a full loads loop can run in days rather than months, and adapt methods where standard practice does not fit an unmanned CFRP airframe.
• Certification Support:
  Prepare loads evidence and reports for military airworthiness authorities and defend the results in internal and external reviews.

• Qualification:
  
  University degree (Master or PhD) in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or comparable, with a focus on structural mechanics, flight mechanics, aeroelasticity or lightweight design.
• Professional Expertise:
  Several years of hands‑on experience in aircraft loads, ideally on fast jets or other high performance platforms. Experience in a military aviation context and with composite airframes is a strong plus. You understand how loads, structural dynamics, aerodynamics and control laws interact, not just your own corner of it.
• Regulations:
  Familiarity with the relevant loads requirements, for example CS-23 where applicable and STANAGs, and the ability to argue a sensible interpretation where no rule fits an unmanned aircraft.
• Simulation Know-how:
• Lo…