Senior Advanced Design Engineer

Senior Advanced Design Engineer

Location: [Ottawa Office / Montreal or Toronto considered], On-Site

Reports to: Director of Structures

Type: Full-Time

The Role

You carry structural and systems architecture from concept through defence-program certification — layouts, trade studies, interfaces, and using your experience to quickly call the right material and architecture ahead of formal stress sizing — on a platform where the design freeze hasn't happened yet and your calls now determine what's expensive to fix later.

At an established OEM, this role plugs into existing design standards and a large structures organization; at Dominion Dynamics, you're helping set those standards while doing the design work itself, across metallic and composite construction, with certification as a constraint from day one rather than a phase-gate someone else worries about.

You work daily with Aerodynamics, Propulsion, Avionics, and Systems Engineering to keep structure and interfaces converging with the rest of the vehicle, and you're close enough to the build to see a design decision go from CAD to hardware fast — not wait two review cycles to find out it didn't fit.

What You'll Do

• Lead conceptual and preliminary design for structural architectures, interfaces, surfacing, and systems integration.

• Perform design layouts and sizing across configurations and trade studies for primary and secondary structures.

• Run and contribute to design reviews, and improve the design processes and methodologies as the team builds them.

• Work with multidisciplinary teams to keep designs feasible, manufacturable, and compliant with regulatory requirements.

• Set modelling standards and workflows for the structures and systems teams as the function scales.

• Represent structures and systems engineering in program reviews, customer interactions, and supplier engagements.

What You Bring

• 10+ years in aerospace structural design at an OEM or equivalent, spanning aerodynamics, propulsion, materials, and Part 23/25 certification.

• Proficiency in CAD (CATIA V5, 3DEXPERIENCE, or NX) and familiarity with simulation tools (ex.: ANSYS, NASTRAN, Altair).

• Strong background in metallic and composite materials and design-for-manufacturing trade-offs.

• Advanced surface modeling for conceptual layouts.

• Comfortable building process and standards, not just working inside them — this isn't a mature design organization yet.

Nice to Have

• Experience in an aerospace startup or advanced air mobility program.

• Published technical work or patents in structural or aerospace design.

• Knowledge of FAA/TCCA/EASA regulations beyond your home certification basis.

• Direct flight test or hardware integration experience alongside design work.

• Manufacturing Support, In service or flight support experience.

No defence background required.

We've hired people who didn't tick every box. If this is the work you want to do, please apply anyway.

Why Join Us

Building something meaningful starts with the right people.

At Dominion Dynamics, you’ll:

• Shape Canada’s future by building real defence capability for the CAF and our allies.

• Make decisions that ship in a high-trust environment with short feedback loops and rapid iteration.

• Move fast, field faster, and work directly with the operator — our systems are in the field with the CAF now.

• Have an impact from day one with equity, responsibility, and direct access to leadership.

If you’re curious, hands-on, and driven by the opportunity to make a difference, this is where you belong!

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive base salary and company equity

• Comprehensive health benefits

• Additional equity granted based on impact

We use AI tools to support parts of the hiring process, including screening and reviewing responses. Final hiring decisions are always made by people and follow all applicable privacy and employment laws in Canada.

*Equity awarded to full time employees only.