Job Description

Lead Mechanical Engineer - Defence Aerospace

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Are you a hands-on mechanical engineer who's tired of being one more small cog in a slow, giant machine? Tired of your best work disappearing into a review cycle that takes a quarter to move an inch?

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We're recruiting for a fast-moving Adelaide defence-aerospace manufacturer scaling rapidly from prototype into full-rate production. They need a practical, Senior Mechanical Engineer ready to step into a technical leadership role and own the day-to-day.

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This is not a pure desk-and-FEA job. You'll be the bridge between the drawing board and the factory floor - setting technical direction, running quick first-principles hand calculations to get to a reliable answer in minutes, and walking straight onto the shop floor to solve real fabrication problems on the spot.

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The Role

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You'll provide technical leadership for the mechanical engineering effort - reporting to the Design Lead. This is a lead-through-influence role: you won't have direct reports, but you'll be the engineer others turn to for the answer, mentoring junior engineers, steering design reviews, and representing mechanical across a multidisciplinary team.

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Your core mission: make sure every design is sound, manufacturable, and verified fast - using a smart blend of classical analysis, targeted FEA, and real shop-floor feedback.

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What you'll actually do

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- Lead the design, development and testing of mechanical systems, and set the technical standard for how it's done.
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- Run rapid hand-calc verification to reach a reliable 80-90% answer in minutes rather than waiting days for a full FEA run.
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- Own structural analysis focused on failure-point minimisation and weight reduction, and drive the direction for improvement.
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- Conduct design reviews, risk assessments, and failure investigations.
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- Work shoulder-to-shoulder with machinists, fabricators and the wing-assembly and composites teams to resolve fit-up, tolerance,



material and process issues directly.
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- Drive design-for-manufacturability improvements so parts are easier, faster and cheaper to build without compromising safety or performance.
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- Mentor and develop junior engineers, and help build a high-performing team culture.
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- Ensure designs meet Defence, AS9100, ISO and ITAR requirements, and own the documentation and technical approvals that go with them.
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- Move fast: this is a weekly-cadence environment where decisions are made daily, not quarterly.
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Who We're Looking For

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A senior mechanical engineer ready for a genuine technical-leadership step - the kind of engineer others naturally turn to, whether or not you've held a formal management title.

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- Proven mechanical design and development experience in Defence, aerospace, space, or another high-reliability / high-consequence industry - real hardware that gets built, tested and deployed under demanding conditions.
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- The hand-calc mindset - you instinctively reach for classical methods (pencil, Excel, MATLAB) to get to a fast, defensible answer before firing up the big FEA model. You value speed and engineering judgement.
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- Strong grounding in mechanical design, materials, and systems integration, including structural analysis for strength and weight.
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- Working knowledge of at least one major FEA package (ANSYS, NASTRAN, HyperMesh/OptiStruct or equivalent).
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- Genuinely hands-on and shop-floor comfortable - happy to put on safety boots and solve problems directly with technicians and machinists.
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- A track record of delivering under tight deadlines in a fast-moving environment.
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- Australian citizenship, and the ability to obtain and maintain an NV1 (or above) security clearance.
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Highly regarded

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- Experience in a certification, compliance or production ramp-up environment (AS9100, ISO, ITAR).
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- Solid CAD capability - SolidWorks preferred.
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- Composites, additive manufacturing, or lightweight-structures experience.
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- Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) or equivalent.
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- Experience mentoring engineers and running design reviews.
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The Environment

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- 100% in office in Adelaide. Part office, part workshop and factory floor - expect regular hands-on work and PPE in designated areas.
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- 9-day working fortnight - every second Friday off, for a regular 3-day weekend.
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- Fast, ambitious, and genuinely exciting. Minimal bureaucracy, immediate impact.
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- A team that runs on urgency with purpose, humility over ego, and mission success over personal recognition - you'll need to be confident enough to lead and low-friction enough to build trust quickly.
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- Occasional extended hours and domestic (sometimes international) travel around test campaigns and critical deadlines.
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Why Apply

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Your work will be built, tested and flown, not filed away on a server. You'll step into technical leadership now, while the company is scaling hard, with the freedom to own the day-to-day and the mentorship of senior experts when the problems get tough. Adelaide living, a 3-day weekend every fortnight, and relocation support if you're moving to join.

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If you want to combine deep hands-on engineering, real leadership, and seeing hardware fly, we want to hear from you.

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Australian Citizenship is mandatory. This role requires the ability to obtain and hold an NV1 security clearance and to work with ITAR-controlled technology.

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📌 Lead Mechanical Engineer (South Australia)
🏢 ProFound People
📍 South Australia