Aerospace Engineer – Stratospheric Systems - Urban Sky

About Role: 

Urban Sky is seeking an Aerospace Engineer to help design and advance the next generation of high-performance stratospheric balloon systems. Our ideal candidate has hands-on experience with balloon systems, aerostats, airships, blimps, or similar soft-goods-based systems. A background in soft goods, paired with a strong foundation in physics and material sciences, would be a good fit for this position.  

In this role, you will need to understand material properties such as density, thickness, creep, tensile, elongation, tear, puncture, DSC, melt index, low temp brittleness, UV resistance, stress crack etc. and how to apply them to platform design. You’ll dive deep into the science and art of ballooning, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with trial-and-error testing and first principles thinking. You should be comfortable experimenting with new designs, flying prototypes that may fail (always with safety and regulatory compliance in mind), and embracing innovation at the cutting edge of aerospace. 

Key Responsibilities:   

• Design Cutting Edge Stratospheric Balloon Systems 
  • Use and expansion of the in-house design tool, create mathematical models or other tools to evaluate potential balloon performance 
    • This will include creating and updating material models (over temperature and pressure gradients) based on in-house and in field test data 
    • This will include understanding material process/performance phases and performance effects therein 
    • Design and analyze auxiliary components like structural mounting Points(fittings), Fill Ports, Destruct Devices, and Vents  
    • Design flight hardware including electromechanical assemblies 
  • Participate in the design of heat sealing/bonding systems and other critical equipment 
  • Participate in the design of launch systems and other critical ground equipment 
  • Design and analyze auxiliary components like structural mounting points, fill ports and vents  
  • Design product packaging per internal and external regulatory requirements 
  • Design for and with Manufacturing, Quality, and Customer Teams 
• Support manufacturing engineering and configuration management efforts for the platforms you design. 
  • Have strong configuration management head space in all aspects of R&D design and manufacturing control. 
• Participate and contribute to operation review board (ORB). 
• Understanding of different development cycles and approaches and when to apply them. 
• Participate in customer-facing events as the Balloon Engineering representative as requested by management.  

Qualifications:  

• Experience developing systems made of thin films or fabric 
• Strong understanding of physics principles including gas laws, thermodynamics and aerodynamics 
  • Aerospace/Mechanical dual discipline preferred 
• Strong understanding of mechanical design  
• Strong understanding of material science  
• Strength in mathematics or an ability to develop balloon designs iteratively

Nice-to-Haves / Preferred Skills: 

• Specific experience developing balloon designs that were used in practice (actually flew) 
• Field experience flying balloons 
• Testing Data Evaluation and incorporation into mathematical models 
  • Cold brittleness 
  • Vacuum and / or pressure testing 
  • Modulus 
  • Stress/strain/creep/CTE 
• Understanding of meteorology and product environmental conditions and effects 

Requirements: 

• Must be US Citizen or Permanent Resident 
• Must be located near Greenville, Tx or willing to relocate to Greenville, Tx 

Benefits: 

• Salary $120,000 - $180,000 per year 
• Stock Options 
• Medical, Vision and Dental 
• Unlimited Vacation Days 
• Cell Phone Bill Stipend