Aerospace - Cabin Interiors Stress Analysis Engineer

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Stress Analysis & Structural Substantiation

• Perform linear and non-linear FEA using MSC Nastran/Patran, HYPERMESH, ANSYS, or equivalent FEM tools for aircraft interior structural components.
• Conduct static, dynamic (crash/HIC) for seating systems, passenger service units (PSUs), cabin panels, galleys, and monuments.
• Develop and maintain FE models for primary and secondary interior structures including composite and metallic assemblies.
• Execute hand calculations to validate FEA results and provide independent verification of structural margins.
• Perform stress substantiation per applicable FAA/EASA airworthiness regulations (FAR 25, CS-25) and OEM structural design requirements.

Product Scope — Interior Structures

• Seating Systems: Economy, business, and first-class seats including track attachment, lug analysis, seat pan, armrest, and recline mechanisms.
• Cabin Panels: Sidewall, ceiling, floor panels — including attachment interface, pressure, and inertia load analysis.
• Galley Structures: Full-size, quarter, and half-galley stress verification including trolley loads, utility connections, and monument interfaces.
• Monuments: Lavatories, crew rest modules, partition walls, dividers — structural adequacy under static and dynamic load conditions.
• Overhead Storage Bins (OSBs): Latching loads, hinge analysis, filling load cases, and door stop analysis.

Composite Structures

• Conduct composite laminate analysis — ply-by-ply stress, first-ply failure, progressive failure, and delamination assessment.
• Apply classical lamination theory (CLT) and failure criteria (Tsai-Wu, Tsai-Hill, Maximum Strain).
• Perform bonded joint and fastened joint analysis for composite-to-composite and composite-to-metallic interfaces.
• Collaborate with Materials & Process (M&P) team to define lay-up, fiber orientation, and repair schemes.

Certification & Documentation

• Prepare stress reports and substantiation packages in compliance with OEM (Boeing, Airbus, Embraer) and regulatory requirements.
• Support DER/DAR activities for FAA/EASA STC and TC projects.
• Interface with customer engineering, DERs, and certification authorities during design reviews and audits.
• Maintain traceability of load cases, assumptions, and analysis results through structured stress memo system.

Collaboration & Design Support

• Work closely with design engineers and program managers throughout the product development cycle (PDR, CDR, TRR).
• Provide design-to-stress feedback for weight reduction and structural optimization initiatives.
• Support test planning, interpret structural test data, and correlate with analytical predictions.
• Mentor junior stress engineers and review analysis deliverables for technical accuracy.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Qualifications

• B.E. / B.Tech / M.Tech in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Structural Engineering.
• 5–12 years of stress analysis experience in aerospace interiors or aircraft structures.
• Proficiency in MSC Nastran & Patran (pre/post-processing, model building, load application).
• Hands-on experience with ANSYS Mechanical or ANSYS Workbench for FEA.
• Strong knowledge of composite structural analysis and laminate theory.
• Working knowledge of FAR 25 / CS-25 structural airworthiness requirements.
• Experience with interior product types: seats, panels, galleys, or monuments.
• Proficiency in hand-calculation methods: margins, free-body diagrams, joint analysis.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Airbus A320/A330/A350 or Boeing 737/777/787 interior programs.
• Familiarity with HIC (Head Injury Criterion) and 16g crash load analysis per FAR 25.562.
• Knowledge of ABD/DMC systems for composite material databases.
• Experience with Hypermesh or FEMAP as pre/post-processing tools.
• Familiarity with CATIA V5/V6 or SolidWorks for geometry interpretation.
• Exposure to STC / TC certification programs with an FAA/EASA DER.
• Knowledge of metallic and non-metallic fastener analysis (Hi-Lok, NAS, Cherry Max).
• Experience with seating TSO-C127b or TSO-C39 certification requirements.

TOOLS & SOFTWARE

Primary FEA & Analysis Tools

MSC Nastran MSC Patran ANSYS HyperMesh FEMAP

Design & Supporting Tools

CATIA V5/V6 SolidWorks MS Excel / VBA MATLAB Python

CORE COMPETENCIES

Technical

• Structural analysis & margin of safety computation
• FEM model development & validation
• Composite design & failure analysis
• Fatigue & damage tolerance assessment
• Load path interpretation & free-body diagrams

Professional

• Strong written & verbal communication
• Ability to work in multi-disciplinary project teams
• Structured problem-solving & analytical thinking
• Attention to detail in technical documentation
• Self-driven with ability to meet tight deadlines