Full-Time

Airframe Lead Engineer

Stratolaunch

Stratolaunch

201-500 employees

Designs, manufactures, and launches aerospace vehicles.

Compensation Overview

$157k - $206k/yr

+ 401(k) match

No H1B Sponsorship

Mojave, CA, USA

Hybrid

Hybrid work arrangement: ~75-80% on-site (four days per week on-site)

US Citizenship, US Top Secret Clearance Required

Category
Aerospace Engineering (2)
,
Required Skills
Risk Management
Requirements
  • Knowledge of, and experience with, one or more of these disciplines: mechanical design, structures, mechanical systems, structural-thermal analysis, aircraft systems, aircraft operations, launch vehicle integration
  • Significant experience with the rapid development of prototype or experimental flight vehicles, including full life-cycle involvement on at least one program
  • Significant experience as a design engineering lead and/or analyst on a structures team
  • Experience with metallic structures design, analysis, and manufacturing
  • Experience with technical aerospace leadership, including working with sub-contractors
  • Experience with risk management
  • Experience working in small engineering teams where each member often has multiple responsibilities
  • Excellent written & verbal communication
  • Ability to acquire and maintain a security clearance
  • Ability to work on your own initiative and prioritize tasking to fit within the business goals
  • Ability to quickly adapt to changing priorities
Responsibilities
  • Lead a diverse team of mechanical and manufacturing engineers
  • Lead structural development of the hypersonic vehicle, including trade studies and structural layout
  • Responsible for making final technical decisions for the structures subsystem
  • Lead the successful execution of structural design reviews to advance the program through manufacturing and into flight test
  • Lead structural systems engineering approach, which may include: creating and dispositioning structural requirements, mass properties management, guiding the configuration management of models, reviewing and approving documents/reports/analyses, setting engineering and design best practices and standards for the structures team, waiving or approving ground testing based on structural technical risk assessments, etc.
  • Work hand-in-hand with the program responsible engineers and Chief Engineer to lead the program to a successful outcome
  • Regular and comprehensive communication to program Chief Engineer
  • Travel, as needed, to support the program
  • Demonstrate honesty, responsibility, integrity and fulfillment of commitments
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with hypersonic and/or supersonic vehicle development
  • Experience with air-launched vehicle development
  • Experience with composite structures design, analysis, and manufacturing
  • Experience with personnel management and small team leadership
  • Active Secret, TS, and/or SCI security clearance

Stratolaunch designs, manufactures, and launches aerospace vehicles and technologies to meet national needs for reliable, routine access to space and to advance the United States’ ability to design and operate hypersonic vehicles. Its offerings span the full end-to-end process of aerospace programs, from initial design through manufacturing to launch operations. The company differentiates itself by focusing on practical space access and the development of hypersonic capabilities, aiming to support national security and defense needs rather than pursuing consumer or commercial applications. The goal is to provide dependable ways to reach space regularly while pushing forward the nation’s hypersonic design and operational expertise.

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Huntsville, Alabama

Founded

2011

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • NASA gave Stratolaunch a $1.2 million Talon-A study contract.
  • MACH-TB and Leidos deepen Stratolaunch’s role in DoD hypersonic testing.
  • Elliott Investment Management’s multihundred-million-dollar investment funds scaling and contract capture.

What critics are saying

  • The Missile Defense Agency can reassign future test campaigns after 2026.
  • SpaceX and rocket-launched competitors pressure Stratolaunch on cadence and cost.
  • A Spirit of Mojave mishap would ground operations and freeze DoD confidence.

What makes Stratolaunch unique

  • Stratolaunch’s Talon-A3 flew for MDA on March 6, 2026.
  • The Spirit of Mojave 747-400 enables higher-altitude air-launch profiles.
  • Talon-A2 proved reusable recovery twice, in December 2024 and March 2025.

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Your Connections

People at Stratolaunch who can refer or advise you

Benefits

9/80 schedule

Healthcare (medical, dental, vision, prescription drugs)

Paid Maternity and Parental Leave

50% company match per contributed dollar into 401(k) savings plan, up to $11,500

Tuition reimbursement

Paid Holidays

Unlimited Paid Time Off

Remote Work Options

Hybrid Work Options

Flexible Work Hours

Wellness Program

Mental Health Support

Conference Attendance Budget

Professional Development Budget

Stock Options

Company Equity

Phone/Internet Stipend

Home Office Stipend

Company News

Aerospace Testing International
Feb 9th, 2026
NASA awards hypersonic vehicle research contracts

NASA awards hypersonic vehicle research contracts. NASA has awarded two contracts to explore how current vehicle platforms could be modified to provide reusable, affordable flight-testing capabilities for airbreathing hypersonic aircraft. SpaceWorks Enterprises, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Stratolaunch, of Mojave, California, will each conduct six-month studies examining ways to bridge the gap between hypersonic ground and flight tests. SpaceWorks received US$500,000 to focus on the X-60 platform, while Stratolaunch received US$1.2 million to study its Talon-A platform. Unlike rocket-powered vehicles that carry their own oxygen supply, airbreathing hypersonic aircraft take in surrounding air as they fly. This approach enables much longer sustained cruising at hypersonic speeds - defined as five times the speed of sound. "With these awards, NASA will collaborate with the commercial hypersonics industry to identify new ways to evaluate technologies through flight tests while we address the challenges of reusable, routine, airbreathing, hypersonic flight," said Dr Nateri Madavan, director of NASA's Advanced Air Vehicles Program. The studies aim to define the capabilities needed to achieve flight test requirements for air-breathing hypersonic aircraft, with a focus on high-cadence, cost-effective testing. The work will also potentially support a future NASA Making Advancements in Commercial Hypersonics (MACH) project. MACH would focus on advancing commercial hypersonic vehicles through the development of supporting infrastructure, including cost estimates and schedule requirements for a potential flight vehicle.

PR Newswire
Jan 20th, 2026
Stratolaunch Raises Significant Capital to Further Accelerate Hypersonic Capability at Scale

/PRNewswire/ -- Stratolaunch has completed a significant capital raise to accelerate growth and welcomes Elliott Investment Management L.P. (together with its...

TipRanks
Jan 20th, 2026
Elliott invests hundreds of millions in hypersonic firm Stratolaunch as US defence spending rises

Elliott Investment Management has made a multihundred-million-dollar investment in Stratolaunch, a California-based hypersonic flight company owned by Cerberus Capital Management, according to the Wall Street Journal. The stake includes a board seat. Stratolaunch develops reusable aircraft that test hypersonic systems flying faster than five times the speed of sound, reducing test costs for the US military. The Pentagon completed successful test flights using the company's Talon A vehicle in March. The investment comes as hypersonic technology attracts significant capital, with PitchBook estimating over $2 billion flowed into the sector last year. Defence officials have designated hypersonics a top priority as the US seeks to catch up with China and Russia. Elliott's involvement suggests Stratolaunch is approaching stable defence revenue streams.

readmagazine.com
May 28th, 2025
Vivace Partners with Stratolaunch to Deliver Critical Hardware on Talon-A Test Vehicles

Vivace International Corporation, a leading manufacturer of specialty propulsion tanks for space and defense applications, is proud to announce its partnership with Stratolaunch, to support the design and construction of hardware components on the Talon-A test vehicles ("TA-1" and "TA-2"), which provide autonomous, fully reusable testbeds used for the rapid development and in-flight testing of hypersonic and other aerospace systems.

IFLScience
May 12th, 2025
Hypersonic Rocket Plane Successfully Performs Second Test, Soaring Past Mach 5

Stratolaunch, in partnership with fellow company Leidos, is developing this to increase the speed of testing for all commercial hypersonic systems, something that has been generously funded by the Pentagon.Stratolaunch is already developing a new test vehicle that won't need the peculiar Roc to launch, but will be able to fly from a modified 747.