Mechanical Engineer

About Poseidon Aerospace:

Poseidon Aerospace is reimagining how the world moves goods. We build and operate full-size autonomous cargo aircraft - capable of carrying two tons of payload over a thousand nautical miles. From remote communities to contested logistics operations, our platforms unlock a new cost curve for air freight, making it faster, cheaper, and accessible anywhere it's needed. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with locations in Washington DC, Oregon, and Maine; we're building something consequential.

We encourage candidates without at least a year of full-time, post graduation work experience to apply to our Mechanical Engineer (New Graduate) job posting

As a Mechanical Engineer at Poseidon Aerospace, you will design the structural and mechanical systems that make our composite aircraft functional and manufacturable. You will work across CAD design, mechanism development, and finite element analysis to create reliable, lightweight structures suited for flight and marine environments. This role is both analytical and hands-on, involving close collaboration with manufacturing, aerodynamics, and test teams to bring designs from concept to flight hardware.

Responsibilities:

Design and develop aircraft structures, mechanisms, and tooling using CAD software

Perform FEA to validate strength, stiffness, and load paths in composite and metallic components

Create detailed part/assembly drawings and documentation for manufacturing and inspection

Design linkages, control surface mechanisms, and mounting systems for aircraft subsystems

Collaborate with manufacturing engineers to ensure designs are practical, cost-effective, and easy to assemble

Support testing and validation of structural and mechanical systems, including fixture and rig design

Maintain CAD libraries, revision control, and configuration management for aircraft assemblies

Provide design feedback to improve manufacturability, maintainability, and structural efficiency

Ideal Qualifications:

Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field

Proficiency with CAD software such as Fusion,, SolidWorks, CATIA, or NX

Strong understanding of structural design, stress analysis, and mechanical systems

Experience with FEA tools such as ANSYS, Fusion Simulation, Nastran, or similar

Ability to apply GD&T and mechanical tolerancing to production drawings

Familiarity with composite and metallic fabrication methods

Understanding of fundamentals of flight mechanics and aircraft dynamics

Comfortable working hands-on with prototypes, test articles, and shop tools

Capable of managing projects independently in a fast-paced, startup environment

Nice to Have:

Experience with bonded composite structures or hybrid assemblies

Background in actuation systems, linkages, or motion mechanisms

Knowledge of vibration, fatigue, or modal analysis

Hands-on experience with machining, additive manufacturing, or assembly tooling

Familiarity with design for manufacturing (DFM) and design for assembly (DFA)

Proficiency in MATLAB or Python for analysis and process automation

Exposure to aerospace certification or flight test environments

What you get from us

Competitive salary and meaningful early-stage equity

Relocation support if applicable

Employee Health Benefit Plans

6% Retirement matching

Flexible PTO

Free lunches, snacks, and a stocked fridge at our offices

AI tools and subscriptions