Principal Aerospace Engineer

Enigma Aerospace is hiring a full-time Principal Aerospace Engineer to serve as a cornerstone technical leader at its Burlington, Middlesex County facility — a rare ground-floor opportunity with a venture-backed company building the next generation of large autonomous aircraft.

About the Role

As Principal Aerospace Engineer, you will own the end-to-end engineering of a complex, large-scale autonomous aerial vehicle — from early concept through integrated flight-ready system. You will operate as both a hands-on engineer and a technical authority, setting standards and solving the hardest problems across the vehicle lifecycle. This is a founding-team position, meaning your decisions will shape the architecture of the aircraft and the engineering culture of the company.

What You'll Do

• Lead design, development, and systems integration of a large, next-generation autonomous aircraft platform
• Define and own technical requirements, trade studies, and architecture decisions across airframe, avionics, propulsion, and flight systems
• Drive multi-disciplinary design reviews and ensure technical rigor at every program milestone
• Collaborate directly with co-founders and cross-functional leads to align engineering execution with company objectives
• Mentor and guide engineers as the team grows, establishing best practices for design, analysis, and verification
• Serve as the technical point of contact for regulatory, certification, and supplier relationships relevant to the vehicle program
• Hands-on contribution to hardware development, testing, and iteration alongside the engineering team

What We're Looking For

• Extensive experience in aerospace engineering, with a strong track record delivering complex aircraft or aerospace vehicle programs
• Deep expertise in at least one core discipline — structures, aerodynamics, propulsion, avionics, or flight mechanics — paired with solid systems-level thinking
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical teams and drive alignment across engineering functions
• Hands-on engineering instincts: comfortable moving between whiteboard analysis and hardware on the bench
• Passion for aviation and genuine enthusiasm for building in an early-stage, high-ambiguity environment
• Experience with autonomous or unmanned aircraft systems is a strong plus
• Bachelor's degree or higher in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related field

About Enigma Aerospace

Enigma Aerospace is a venture-backed aerospace startup headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, in Middlesex County. The company is developing a large autonomous aircraft system aimed at redefining what unmanned aerial platforms can do at scale. Joining now means working directly with founders, influencing the product roadmap, and being part of a small team where individual contributions have outsized impact.

How to Apply

If you are an experienced aerospace engineer ready to take on a principal-level role at an early-stage company in Burlington, MA, apply directly through this listing to be considered for the position.