Stress Engineer - Propulsion

What you'll do

• Own stress analysis and structural integrity for booster hardware, from early concept sizing through to qualified, flight-ready designs.
• Analyse booster structures and components under extreme thermal, pressure, vibrational, and mechanical loads, using hand calculations and finite element (FE) methods.
• Define and manage booster load cases across the full life cycle, including manufacture, handling, transport, storage, test, and flight.
• Carry out structural safety assessments for hardware containing energetic materials, including failure mode assessment, safety factors and margins, and the effects of structural failure.
• Produce the structural evidence for booster safety cases and hazard analyses, working closely with the Propulsion Systems Engineer and the HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) and Quality teams.
• Assess the structural effects of manufacturing defects, non-conformances, and design changes, and give clear, timely disposition advice.
• Define the structural requirements for proof, acceptance, and qualification tests, and correlate test results with analysis.
• Work closely with design, propulsion, thermal, and systems engineers, to make sure designs are safe, analysable, and lightweight.
• Take part in design and safety reviews, and present analysis results and margins clearly to engineering leadership and customers.
• Write clear, traceable stress reports and safety assessment documentation under configuration control.

Who you are

• A hands-on Stress Engineer with experience analysing high-load flight hardware, pressure vessels, or rocket and booster structures.
• Degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering (or related discipline); a postgraduate qualification in structural mechanics or a related field is a plus.
• Strong grounding in structural mechanics, including strength, stability, fatigue, fracture, and thermal stress, with confidence in both hand calculations and FE analysis.
• Experience with FE tools (e.g. Abaqus, MSC Nastran, Ansys) and turning results into practical design and safety decisions.
• Experience producing structural safety assessments or safety case evidence in a regulated or safety-critical industry such as aerospace, defence, nuclear, or pressure systems.
• Experience with energetic or pressurised systems, and the safety requirements that apply to them, is a strong advantage.
• Programming skills (e.g. Python or MATLAB) for automation, post-processing, and test correlation are an advantage.
• Comfortable making sound engineering judgements with incomplete data in fast-moving, prototype-heavy environments, without compromising on safety.
• Fluent English is essential; German is an advantage.

What we offer

• A mission driven environment with the opportunity to work on one of Europe’s most consequential defence challenges, with direct impact on sovereign capability and security.
• Daily collaboration with top experts across engineering, operations, and defence, with real opportunity to learn from the best, contribute, and grow.
• High ownership and autonomy; no time tracking, no micromanagement, just clear objectives and accountability for outcomes.
• A fast paced environment where good ideas are implemented quickly, and feedback from test and flight drives real decisions.
• A culture that values clarity, integrity, and excellence, and supports people who take initiative and push boundaries responsibly.
• Competitive compensation and real share options aligned to responsibility and impact, not tenure or hierarchy.