Chief Engineer Vehicle

Role Overview

Ursa Major is seeking a Chief Engineer Vehicle to serve as the technical authority and architectural owner for the Draper Engine Vehicle program. This individual will be accountable for the end-to-end vehicle technical baseline ensuring the successful integration of propulsion structures avionics GNC thermal and mission systems into a flight-worthy scalable vehicle solution.

As Chief Engineer you will provide technical leadership across the full lifecycle—from requirements definition and trade studies through design integration test and flight operations—while partnering closely with Program Management Manufacturing Mission Assurance and Business Development. This role is critical to delivering reliable high-performance systems to government and commercial customers on aggressive schedules.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Authority & Architecture

• Own and maintain the vehicle system architecture technical baseline and configuration for the Draper Engine Vehicle.
• Serve as the final technical decision authority for vehicle-level design trades requirements allocation and risk acceptance.
• Ensure propulsion (Draper engine) is fully integrated into the vehicle system with appropriate margins interfaces and operational envelopes.

Systems Engineering & Integration

• Lead vehicle-level systems engineering including requirements flow-down interface control verification & validation (V&V) and configuration management.
• Oversee cross-disciplinary integration across:
• Propulsion
• Structures & airframe
• GNC
• Avionics & software
• Thermal & TPS
• Mission & flight systems
• Chair technical reviews including SRR PDR CDR TRR and FRR.

Program Execution Support

• Partner with Program Management to balance performance cost schedule and risk.
• Support proposal efforts customer technical interchange meetings (TIMs) and design reviews with government and commercial customers.
• Identify technical risks early and lead mitigation plans through test analysis or design iteration.

Test Qualification & Flight Readiness

• Define and approve vehicle-level test strategies including ground testing qualification and flight test.
• Ensure data-driven decisions using analysis modeling and test results.
• Provide technical sign-off for vehicle readiness and flight authorization.

Team Leadership & Mentorship

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to subsystem leads and senior engineers.
• Foster a culture of engineering rigor accountability and rapid execution.
• Help scale engineering processes and standards as programs mature.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering Mechanical Engineering or related field (Master’s or PhD strongly preferred).
• 12+ years of experience in aerospace vehicle development including system-level ownership.
• Prior experience serving as a Chief Engineer Lead Systems Engineer or Vehicle Architect on a flight vehicle or missile system.
• Deep understanding of propulsion integration vehicle dynamics and system trades.
• Demonstrated experience leading vehicles through design reviews test campaigns and flight readiness.
• Ability to clearly communicate complex technical decisions to executive leadership and customers.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and stay flexible based on customer demands and company priorities along with daily firefighting
• Ability to make sound technical decisions under schedule and performance pressure
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering or related field
• Experience with hypersonic vehicles missiles launch vehicles or advanced propulsion systems.
• Familiarity with thermal structural and aero integration challenges in hypersonic regimes
• Experience in design and analysis of fluids systems
• Experience operating in ISO 9001 or AS9100 certified organizations
• Experience with SMC-S-016 Test Requirements
• Background working with DoD DARPA or classified programs.
• Familiarity with model-based systems engineering (MBSE) tools.
• Experience scaling a vehicle program from prototype to production.
• Active or ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance.

Colorado law requires us to tell you the base compensation range of this role which is $175000 - $230000 determined by your education experience knowledge skills and abilities. What we can’t quantify for you are the exciting challenges supportive team and amazing culture we enjoy. 

Classification: Full-time Exempt

What We Do

Ursa Major was founded to address a critical shortfall in the U.S. industrial base and bring a new model to aerospace and defense systems: we design and manufacture the world’s leading propulsion systems for space hypersonic applications and missile systems. Our products and technologies require an extraordinary team – a team that will mold tomorrow’s technologies while deploying today’s best. We are an intrinsically motivated team that has a passion for solving problems and empowering each other every day to develop our skills knowing that there is always room for growth.

Why Work With Us

We believe that each unique team member fuels the creativity necessary to build the world’s best propulsion systems. This is realized as a deeply held commitment to celebrating individuality hiring talent across all backgrounds and experiences building a culture of inclusion and constantly challenging ourselves to improve.

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