Structural Analyst (Aerospace)

Location: Burlingame, California, United States; on-site

Salary: $130K–$150K per year, plus equity

Company

Xona develops satellite-based navigational intelligence and high-precision positioning infrastructure through its Pulsar low-Earth-orbit PNT system.

What you will do

• Perform structural analyses of aerospace components and assemblies using finite element analysis and classical hand calculations.
• Design and optimize primary and secondary spacecraft structures for strength, stiffness, fatigue, stability, mass, cost, and schedule targets.
• Develop, refine, and validate finite element models for metallic and composite structures under static, dynamic, thermal, vibration, launch, and flight loads.
• Prepare analysis plans, reports, and verification documentation for design reviews, flight qualification, and production release.
• Communicate analytical results, assumptions, margins, and recommendations to multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Correlate analytical models with test data and support structural assessments, root-cause investigations, and off-site hardware testing.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering.
• At least 1 year of structural analysis experience, or equivalent internship, research, or university project experience.
• Proficiency with finite element analysis software; Femap/Nastran is preferred.
• Experience developing finite element models and applying analytical methods to structural design decisions.
• Understanding of structural sizing, minimum-mass design, strength and stiffness margins, metallic structures, and mechanical joints.
• For this U.S. role, eligibility requires U.S. citizenship, lawful permanent residence, or another protected-individual status under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3). Willingness to travel for off-site testing is also required.

Nice to have

• Experience developing, building, and testing spacecraft hardware from initial design through qualification and production handoff.
• Experience with structural verification and environmental testing, including vibration, acoustic, shock, sensor selection, force limiting, and test execution.
• Experience correlating finite element models with structural test data and reviewing CAD geometry, preferably in SolidWorks.
• Experience developing analysis automation tools with the Femap API, Python, MATLAB, or similar scripting languages.
• Experience or interest in thermal analysis, composites, material selection, manufacturability, and mass optimization.

Culture & Benefits

• High-ownership role in a fast-moving aerospace engineering environment.
• Cross-functional collaboration with design, manufacturing, test, thermal, and systems engineering teams.
• Compensation includes equity.
• Inclusive workplace committed to equal employment opportunity and diversity.