Principal Structural Design for Manufacturing Engineer

Principal Structural Design for Manufacturing Engineer What is Jet Zero ?

Today’s aircraft contribute around 4% of global CO2 emissions, equivalent to the emissions of 200 million cars. This is only going to increase:
Air travel is forecasted to double by 2050, while meaningful efficiency gains using current airplanes have hit a wall.

Jet Zero is developing a blended - wing body (BWB) aircraft. It uses up to 50% less fuel and will be built to accommodate zero-emission hydrogen propulsion. Jet Zero is the inevitable solution to sustainable air travel.

We are experienced aerospace professionals and engineers, excited about the future. That future will only be possible if we share our vision and what it means to people’s lives: carbon‑free flight that is better for both passengers and airlines around the world.

Jet Zero is looking for a Principal Design for Manufacturing (DFM) Engineer to serve as the critical bridge between structural design and production. This is a senior individual contributor role that requires deep expertise in both aircraft structural design and manufacturing engineering — someone who can speak the language of both disciplines and drive better decisions at the intersection of the two.

As a Principal DFM Engineer, you will be embedded in Jet Zero's Integrated Product Teams (IPTs), influencing structural architecture decisions from concept through detail design to ensure our Blended Wing Body aircraft is not only structurally sound, but producible, inspectable, and scalable to rate production. You will be a technical authority and mentor, setting DFM standards and practices across the organization.

• Serve as the primary DFM authority within structural IPTs, ensuring manufacturing considerations are incorporated at every stage of the design process
• Identify and resolve producibility risks early in the design cycle — influencing material selection, tolerances, joint design, part consolidation, and assembly methods before they become downstream production problems
• Lead DFM trade studies and design reviews, providing actionable guidance to both structural design engineers and manufacturing engineers
• Champion Model Based Definition (MBD) practices to ensure design intent is accurately and completely communicated to manufacturing

• Apply deep knowledge of composite and metallic aircraft structures to evaluate and guide structural architectures for producibility
• Collaborate with stress, design, and systems engineers to ensure load paths, PSE configurations, and structural interfaces are compatible with planned manufacturing and assembly methods
• Review and approve engineering drawings, design specifications, and compliance documentation with a DFM lens
• Support Building Block test program development to validate that structural and manufacturing approaches meet requirements

• Develop and validate manufacturing processes, tooling strategies, and build sequences aligned to the structural design
• Define Bills of Process (BOPs) and work package instructions that translate design concepts into production‑ready steps
• Apply and interpret GD&T to ensure structures are dimensioned and toleranced for manufacturability, inspection, and assembly
• Leverage digital manufacturing tools — including kinematic, robotic, and process simulations — to develop efficient, repeatable assembly approaches
• Maintain alignment across CAD, BOM, and BOP systems; manage DFM impacts of engineering changes
• Establish and maintain DFM guidelines, standards, and best practices for Jet Zero's structures organization
• Train and mentor structural design engineers and manufacturing engineers on DFM principles
• Engage directly with suppliers during design reviews to ensure external designs and processes meet Jet Zero's producibility requirements
• Collaborate with Systems, Cabin, and Supply Chain teams to drive integrated, manufacturable solutions at the aircraft level

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field
• 15+ years of combined experience in aircraft…