---
title: 'Lead Structures Design Engineer at Swarm Aero'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/lead-structures-design-engineer-swarm-aero-oxnard-cdzsg6vn5jwr'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Lead Structures Design Engineer at Swarm Aero

- **Company:** Swarm Aero
- **Location:** Oxnard, CA
- **Compensation:** $180k–$300k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-08-21
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/swarmaero/ec8afda1-b1a0-47aa-9735-4c48c4939f87

## Job description

Swarm Aero is redefining air power, building the largest swarming UAV and the most versatile swarming aircraft network in the world. The company is moving quickly to launch the first aircraft designed specifically for swarming, as well as the Command & Control software to mobilize swarms of thousands of heterogeneous autonomous assets and empower human operators to achieve superhuman results. The team has created and exited multiple startups, negotiated defense deals worth billions of dollars, and designed and built 30+ novel aircraft, with aerospace experience from Scaled Composites, Airbus, Archer Aviation, Blue Origin, and Boom Supersonic.

## About this Role

We are building a Group 5 autonomous aircraft and driving it to first flight. We are in detailed design with tooling in work, and we are looking for a lead engineer to own the largest structures on that aircraft: wing, fuselage, and empennage. [Confirm this program-state line is accurate and cleared before publishing.] You will set the design approach for large composite primary structure, make the calls on architecture and joints, and lead other structures engineers to first flight. This is a hands-on technical leadership role. You will spend most of your time designing and reviewing structure, not managing. You will also be the senior voice in trades between weight, cost, schedule, and producibility on parts that are measured in meters, not inches.

## What you will do

- Own the design of major airframe structure, building on the configuration and trade space already established: wing box, fuselage sections, empennage, and large bonded assemblies
- Own and mature the structural architecture for large composite parts, including laminate strategy, core usage, joint philosophy, and load paths
- Lead and mentor a team of structures design engineers, setting standards for models, drawings, and design reviews
- Drive trades on part count, tooling approach, and assembly sequence with manufacturing and program leadership
- Solve the problems unique to big parts: dimensional control over large spans, thermal growth in cure, handling and fixturing, and transport constraints
- Work daily with stress, M&P, and composites manufacturing to close margins and keep the build moving
- Own design maturity through PDR, CDR, first article, structural test, and first flight

## What we look for

- BS or MS in Mechanical, Aerospace, or a related engineering field
- 8+ years designing aircraft structure, with direct ownership of large composite primary structure such as wings, wing boxes, fuselage barrels or panels, or empennage
- Deep knowledge of composite design and manufacturing at scale: laminate design, large tool design implications, cure behavior, bonded and bolted joints
- Experience leading engineers through a full development cycle, from concept through structural test or flight
- Proficiency in CAD (NX, CATIA, or SolidWorks) and strong GD&T, including datum strategies for large assemblies
- Hands-on mindset. You have stood next to your parts on the shop floor and changed the design because of what you saw
- Bias toward speed. You make decisions with incomplete data and iterate
- Ability to work onsite in Oxnard, CA

## Nice to have

- Experience on a clean-sheet aircraft development program
- Familiarity with prepreg, infusion, or out-of-autoclave processes for large parts
- Experience with FEA tools (Nastran, Abaqus, HyperMesh) or close partnership with stress teams
- Experience taking large structure through static and fatigue test
- Startup or small-team experience where you owned major program scope

ITAR requirement To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Swarm Aero is an equal opportunity employer. We value diverse backgrounds and experiences and make employment decisions without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, or disability.

## What We Offer

- Meaningful equity in a high-growth defense technology company
- Competitive base salary commensurate with experience
- Medical, dental, vision, and 401k
- PTO and paid sick leave
- Monthly wellness stipend
- Daily catered lunch (office)
- Paid parental leave
- Direct impact on a critical national security mission
- A world-class team of engineers and operators solving genuinely hard problems

## About Swarm Aero

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Swarm Aero builds large, swarming uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) for defense, logistics, disaster response, and sensing missions, controlled by a proprietary mission-level autonomy platform.
- **Entity Type**: Private startup (Series A, $35M raised in March 2026)
- **Headquarters**: Oxnard, California, USA (with a manufacturing facility in Fayetteville, Arkansas)
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Danny Goodman (CEO), Oliver Palmer (COO), Peter Kalogiannis (Co-Founder & Chief Engineer, departed April 2026)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Defense & aerospace, UAV swarm systems, advanced manufacturing
- **Target customers**: Government/military (B2G) – specifically U.S. Department of Defense and allied forces; also logistics, disaster response, and environmental monitoring agencies
- **Mission statement**: “Building the largest UAV swarm on the planet.” (LinkedIn tagline)

## Products & Services
- **Swarm-Scale Command & Control (C2) Platform**: Browser-based, platform-agnostic UI that enables small teams to coordinate thousands of uncrewed vehicles in communications-limited, contested environments.
- **Universal Swarm Node (UAV)**: A Group 5 drone designed from the ground up for swarming – not expendable (like a Switchblade) nor exquisite (like an F-35), but recoverable and mass-producible.
- **Mission-Level Autonomy Software**: Translates user intent into vehicle-level behaviors that update in real-time as the swarm detects changing conditions; includes collaborative autonomy for superhuman agility.
- **Manufacturing as a Feature**: High-rate composite manufacturing processes adapted from other industries to achieve unprecedented airframe throughput (targeting 1,000+ units per year).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Total Funding**: $35M (Series A closed March 2026; prior $2M pre-seed in 2022 and $22M seed in 2023)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Two Sigma Ventures, Silent Ventures (co-leads Series A), Construct Capital, Alumni Ventures, Founders Fund
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount: 50 employees as of mid-2026 (+94.6% YoY)
  - Opened a manufacturing facility in Fayetteville, Arkansas in early 2026
  - Plans to more than double headcount by end of 2026 (per Axios)
  - First flight of the Group 5 drone expected within two years

## Competitive Advantages
- **Team expertise**: Leadership collectively has 100+ years of uniformed U.S. military service, built 30+ novel aircraft, and contributed to the highest production rate composite aircraft and rocket engines ever.
- **Manufacturing moat**: Concurrent design of factory and aircraft enables rapid scaling from prototype to 1,000+ units; “two-thirds of the cost of building a new aircraft is generally headcount” – Swarm designs for low-cost, high-rate production.
- **Software-defined swarm**: Browser-based C2 and edge-compute sensor mesh bring cloud-like agility to contested environments, allowing small teams to control massive swarms.
- **Differentiation**: Neither expendable (like loitering munitions) nor exquisite (like stealth bombers) – a recoverable, affordable mass that overmatches adversaries through numbers.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale manufacturing**: The new Arkansas facility is central to achieving high-rate composite production and reducing unit cost.
- **Headcount growth**: Aggressive hiring across engineering, manufacturing, and operations; 20 active job postings as of mid-2026.
- **First flight milestone**: Complete design, build, and test of the Group 5 drone within the next two years to enter operational service.
- **Multi-domain expansion**: Plans to deploy a combination of air, sea, and ground assets tailored to diverse missions (cargo, fire suppression, adaptive sensing, resilient communications).

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: “Move Fast and Make Things” – a startup ethos focused on rapid design-build-test cycles and real-world impact in defense tech.
- **Work environment**: Likely on-site given manufacturing and hardware focus; offices in Oxnard, CA (HQ) and Fayetteville, AR (factory).
- **Team**: Work alongside veterans of Scaled Composites, Anduril, Northrop Grumman, and leaders who have built five billion-dollar startups and software with 4.6B combined active users.
- **Perks**: Not publicly detailed, but typical for well-funded defense startups (competitive compensation, equity, mission-driven work). The company uses modern tools (Kubernetes, Docker, Python, MATLAB, etc.) and offers roles from engineering to program management.
- **Growth opportunity**: Early-stage company with strong funding and a clear path to scale – employees can have outsized impact on product and manufacturing processes.

## Sources
1. [Swarm Aero Website](https://www.swarm.aero/)
2. [Swarm Aero LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/swarm-aero)
3. [Craft.co Company Profile](https://craft.co/swarm-aero)
4. [Axios – Exclusive: Big-drone builder Swarm Aero raises $35 million](https://www.axios.com/2026/03/11/swarm-aero-seriesa-drone-factory)
5. [Swarm Aero Team Page](https://www.swarm.aero/team-2)

## Other roles at Swarm Aero

- [Embedded Software Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/embedded-software-intern-swarm-aero-oxnard-p9rcq7x1wkfa) — Oxnard, CA
- [Avionics Engineer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/avionics-engineer-intern-swarm-aero-oxnard-psg9w8x5t20w) — Oxnard, CA
- [Software Engineer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-intern-swarm-aero-remote-k3ez3df35cwp)
- [Composite Engineering (M&P) Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/composite-engineering-m-p-intern-swarm-aero-oxnard-rqgtdwckgmb1) — Oxnard, CA
- [Aircraft Engineering Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/aircraft-engineering-intern-swarm-aero-oxnard-3ks66gt8q67p) — Oxnard, CA
- [Tracking and Fusion Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/tracking-and-fusion-engineer-swarm-aero-remote-qhq68f6cpdfw)
- [Software Engineer, Robotics](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-robotics-swarm-aero-remote-8v5z0g7hxr1b)
- [Principal Engineer, Real-Time Visualization](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-engineer-real-time-visualization-swarm-aero-remote-ff9b30e812kb)
- [Staff Software Engineer, Real-Time Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-software-engineer-real-time-systems-swarm-aero-remote-qaa3zbaht54y)
- [Software Engineer, Autonomy](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-autonomy-swarm-aero-remote-8tmzhrrhz25b)