Stress Engineer - Contractor

Stirling Dynamics is recruiting a Stress Engineer to join the Mechanical team as a contractor.

The Stress Engineer will support the design and development of structural components for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) and other aerospace applications. The contractor will be responsible for performing structural substantiation through analytical methods and finite element analysis (FEA), developing load cases, assessing static and fatigue performance, and producing stress reports suitable for design review and customer compliance.
 
They will be required to work closely with teams across the business within a multidisciplinary project team to ensure the delivery of projects to the agreed technical requirements, timescales and budget.
 
This role will be predominantly based in the Stirling Dynamics Bristol office with occasional travel to our clients’ sites as required.

• Perform structural analysis of mechanical and electro-mechanical assemblies to satisfy project requirements
• Prepare design support documentation and maintaine concise engineering records
• Conduct static and fatigue assessment of metallic component using classical hand calculation and FEA (Finite Element Analysis)
• Support design trade studies by recommending structural improvements for weight reduction, stiffness, manufacturability, and reliability
• Generate and maintain stress substantiation documentation such as stress reports or certification/compliance evidence packs
• Work closely with design engineers to ensure stress considerations are incorporated early in the design cycle
• Participate in technical design reviews and provide stress sign-off support (PDR/CDR type reviews)
• Ensure compliance with applicable standards and best practices relevant to the work, including those issued via the Company’s Quality Management System, certification and statutory bodies

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent (Master’s preferred).

• Strong understanding of static and fatigue strength analysis principles, including familiarity with various typical aerospace metallic materials
• Proficiency with FEA tools such as ANSYS, Nastran/Patran or similar, including the validation and verification process
• Ability to collaborate with design engineers to optimise geometry for structural performance and manufacturability
• Strong technical writing skills: able to create clear stress reports with traceable assumptions and results
• Ability to communicate analysis outcomes to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Comfortable working in fast-paced development environments

• Understanding of certification-oriented development of aerospace structures
• Familiarity with landing gear structural substantiation and typical design practices
• CAD familiarity (CATIA v5/3DX, SolidWorks) to support geometry interrogation

Strong experience in structural/stress analysis for mechanical systems, ideally within a regulated environment.

A competitive rate will be agreed based on the contractor's experience.