UAV Airframe Design & Prototyping Engineer

About the opportunity

Terrestrial X is building an DefTech R&D team in Edmonton.

We are looking for a hands-on aircraft designer who can combine airframe design, aerodynamic analysis, and physical prototyping. You should enjoy working through a design on a computer - and then heading into the workshop to build it yourself.

You will help take our first in-house aircraft from concept through prototype fabrication, testing, and preparation for repeatable manufacturing, working alongside embedded software, electronics, and manufacturing colleagues.

We want to build real things, not just talk about ideas.

What you will do

• Develop the airframe: create aircraft layouts, detailed CAD assemblies, production drawings, bills of materials, and tooling designs.
• Analyse aerodynamics and flight performance: use CFD tools such as SimScale or Ansys, alongside appropriate calculations and modelling, to evaluate design choices and expected aircraft behaviour. Explain your assumptions, limitations, and how results will be checked against testing.
• Design practical structures: assess structural components such as spars, mounting structures, and landing gear, considering loads, materials, weight, and manufacturability.
• Build what you design: fabricate and assemble prototypes using suitable combinations of composites, foam, 3D-printed parts, and machined components. Develop moulds, fixtures, and assembly tooling where needed.
• Manage weight and integration: maintain weight and centre-of-gravity records, coordinate component placement with the electronics team, and ensure access for assembly, maintenance, and repair.
• Test, improve, and prepare for production: conduct mechanical and ground checks, support flight testing, investigate problems, and update the design and documentation so the next aircraft can be built consistently.

You will take ownership of your mechanical and aerodynamic work, with technical review and support appropriate to your experience.

What you bring

Required skills and experience

• Hands-on fixed-wing aircraft experience. You have personally designed and fabricated aircraft or substantial airframe assemblies. RC aircraft, UAV projects, student design teams, and independent builds are relevant - show us what you built and what flew.
• Strong mechanical CAD skills. You can create usable assemblies, drawings, and manufacturing documentation in SolidWorks, Fusion, or an equivalent platform.
• Good to have practical CFD capability using SimScale or Ansys. You can set up and assess an analysis, explain your assumptions, recognise limitations, and use the results to inform a design - not simply produce visualisations.
• An understanding of flight performance and aircraft behaviour. You can assess lift and drag, expected speed range, stall behaviour, stability, and handling, and explain how geometry, weight, and centre of gravity affect the aircraft.
• Workshop and fabrication skills. You are comfortable making parts, assembling prototypes, using measurement tools, and working safely with materials and equipment.
• Sound mechanical fundamentals and working knowledge of RC/UAV systems. You understand materials, tolerances, structural behaviour, and the mechanical integration of propulsion, servos, batteries, and onboard equipment.

A degree or diploma in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a relevant technology discipline is welcome. Equivalent demonstrated experience will also be considered.

We care about your ability to explain what you personally did, why you made those decisions, what failed, and how you improved it.

Experience that would be a strong advantage

Experience designing, building, integrating, or testing turbine-powered aircraft is a major advantage. This may include turbine-powered RC models, UAVs, or other fixed-wing aircraft.

Additional valuable experience includes composite layup and vacuum bagging, mould-making, foam fabrication, CNC machining, structural FEA, and aircraft modelling with XFLR5 or OpenVSP. Experience preparing prototypes for repeatable manufacturing is also welcome.

You do not need to know every tool on day one. You do need the curiosity to investigate problems, the discipline to document your work, and the judgement to ask for review when needed.

How we work

This is a hands-on role combining computer-based design and analysis with substantial time in the workshop.

We will provide the agreed software, workshop resources, materials, and manufacturing support needed for your work. You will collaborate closely with the people building the electronics and software, and see the results of your decisions in physical hardware.

The position is on-site in Edmonton. Start date, relocation needs, and the final employment package will be discussed individually. The scope of responsibility, professional title, and technical supervision will reflect your qualifications and demonstrated capabilities.

Our work includes defence-related programs. Specific project responsibilities and any applicable access requirements will be discussed during recruitment.