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Job Description

Overview

Heaviside Industries is focused on building multi-domain autonomous precision munitions for U.S. and allied forces, emphasizing the need for economical precision strike capabilities in modern warfare. The Principal Mechanical Engineer will lead the mechanical design of munition airframe structures and ensure their performance in challenging environments.

Responsibilities

  • Own the mechanical design of munition airframe structures, mechanisms, and payload packaging from concept through production.
  • Lead structural design and analysis for airframes subject to various loads.
  • Design for tactical environments according to MIL-STD-810 specifications.
  • Drive design-for-manufacture across various materials and processes.
  • Own thermal management design for avionics and RF payload packaging.
  • Develop single-use-reliability mechanisms for munitions.
  • Release production-ready drawing packages with rigorous GD&T and mentor engineers.

Requirements

  • 10+ years of mechanical design experience on defense or aerospace hardware.
  • Demonstrated ownership of complete mechanical subsystems.
  • Expert 3D CAD proficiency, preferably in NX.
  • Strong structural analysis capability including FEA validated against test.
  • Hands-on experience with composite and machined-metallic airframe design.
  • Experience qualifying hardware to MIL-STD-810 environments.
  • Experience with folding aerosurfaces or deployment mechanisms is a bonus.
  • Experience supporting in-house manufacturing of defense hardware is a bonus.
  • Must be a U.S. Person as defined by ITAR.

Benefits

  • 401k
  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision

Additional Information

  • Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and market data.
  • Individual level and base pay may vary based on skills, education, and experience.

Benefits

401k
Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
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How this job compares in Los Angeles, CA

Pay in context

This employer didn't publish a rate. For reference, welding jobs in Los Angeles, CA currently run a median of $42/hr in our index, with the middle half of them falling between $30–$58/hr across 74 postings with published pay. That median is a reasonable floor to anchor on when a recruiter asks what you're looking for.

The local market in Los Angeles, CA

We're tracking 103 other active welding openings in Los Angeles, CA right now, from 63 different employers. 58 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 650 other active welding openings from 314 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Los Angeles, or widen the search to California.

The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (34), Honeywell Aerospace (16), and Aerotek (13). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within California, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Santa Ana at $53/hr, Redondo Beach at $51/hr, and Long Beach at $42/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Similar openings near Los Angeles, CA

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Principal Mechanical Engineer figures were last recalculated when this page was built.