Loads Development Lead, Missile Defense

YOUR MISSION

RESPONSIBILITIES

True Anomaly is seeking a highly accomplished Loads Development Lead to serve as the technical authority for structural, mechanical, thermal, and coupled loads across a next-generation missile defense program. This is a generational opportunity to architect the structural design basis for one of the most demanding mission sets in aerospace engineering and missile defense.

In this role, you will have end-to-end ownership of loads development across the full system lifecycle, from ground handling and launch through on-orbit operations, intercept maneuvers, and end-of-life scenarios. You will establish and enforce program standards and processes for loads generation, combination, margins, and documentation; develop and validate Coupled Loads Analyses (CLA); derive Mass Acceleration Curves (MAC); and decompose system-level loads into clear design criteria and verification requirements.

The Loads Development Lead is the single point of accountability for loads methodology, assumptions, traceability, and technical rigor. You will define governing load cases, ensure consistency across subsystem analyses, adjudicate discrepancies, and act as steward of one of the program’s most critical technical artifacts: the Loads Data Book. Your work ensures that load environments are physically realistic, analytically defensible, and properly integrated into design, analysis, verification, certification, and safety margins across the program.

This role requires close collaboration with structures, dynamics, thermal, mechanisms, avionics, systems engineering, GNC, propulsion, trajectory, environments, and test teams to ensure system integrity and performance. You will lead design trade studies driven by load sensitivities, support risk reduction and anomaly resolution efforts, and represent the program in internal and external technical reviews.

As a senior technical leader, you will mentor analysts, shape best practices, and protect the intellectual rigor of the program’s structural design basis. You will play a central role in ensuring the success, credibility, and long-term robustness of True Anomaly’s missile defense architecture.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Qualifications & Experience

• 8+ years full lifecycle experience in structural loads development for aerospace systems (spacecraft, missiles, interceptors, or launch vehicles)
• Expertise in CLA, load derivation, and structural verification.
• Demonstrated experience generating and managing loads across multiple mission phases and operational environments.
• Strong background in structural dynamics, coupled loads analysis, and systems-level load integration.
• Experience authoring, owning, and maintaining formal loads documentation such as Loads Data Books or equivalent governing artifacts.
• Proficiency with industry-standard analysis tools (e.g., Femap, NASTRAN, MATLAB, Python, or equivalent).
• Proven leadership in design, analysis, and verification on a major aerospace program.
• Ability to lead cross-functional technical teams and coordinate across hardware and software boundaries.
• Bachelors Degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering or related field. Master’s or Ph.D. preferred
• U.S. Citizen and eligible for DoD Secret

Desired Qualifications & Experience

• Master’s or Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, Structural Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Experience with missile defense systems, interceptors, or highly dynamic flight regimes.
• Familiarity with DoD or Space Force programs, certification processes, and review cycles.
• Experience working with classified programs and handling controlled technical data.
• Background in probabilistic loads, uncertainty quantification, or margin optimization.
• Prior experience leading technical teams or serving as a subsystem or discipline lead.
• TS/SCI clearance

COMPENSATION

• Base Salary: Denver: $215,000-$285,000, Long Beach: $220,000-$295,000

• Equity + Benefits including Health, Dental, Vision, HRA/HSA options, PTO and paid holidays, 401K, Parental Leave

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education and experience.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Work Location—Successful candidates will be located near Denver or Colorado Springs. While we observe a hybrid work environment, some work must be done on site.
• Work environment—the work environment; temperature, noise level, inside or outside, or other factors that will affect the person's working conditions while performing the job.
• Physical demands—the physical demands of the job, including bending, sitting, lifting and driving.

This position will be open until it is successfully filled. To submit your application, please follow the directions below. #LI-Hybrid