EXPERIENCE LEVEL: Mid (3-5 years)
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ABOUT STRATUM DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY
Stratum Defense Technology LLP is an Indian defence technology company building autonomous systems for the Indian armed forces. We are at the founding stage, developing indigenous autonomous platforms under the Government of India's Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) framework, built to Made in Bharat content goals. Our flagship naval programme is already underway, and we are now standing up our air vertical.
We are headquartered in New Delhi. The people joining now will be present at every significant programme milestone.
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ABOUT THE ROLE
You will own the air vehicle. This is the anchor design role for a new hybrid Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) programme, from first configuration sketch to a flight-tested article. This is a hands-on engineering role, not a review or coordination role. You will set the airframe configuration, design the aerodynamics, solve the hover-to-cruise transition, and carry the vehicle through ground and flight test yourself.
A hybrid VTOL platform lifts on dedicated rotors and cruises on a fixed wing, so the transition between the two is the heart of the design problem and the heart of this role. You define the vehicle the autonomy, power, and payload teams build against. This is a rare chance to own a whole air vehicle end to end rather than a single subsystem, with senior technical mentorship on hand to back you.
Full technical scope shared under NDA at first interview stage.
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RESPONSIBILITIES
- Own airframe configuration and aerodynamic design across conceptual and detailed phases
- Solve the VTOL-to-cruise transition: aerodynamics, control, and propulsion arrangement across the full flight envelope
- Drive flight performance sizing across hover, transition, and cruise regimes, with weight and balance ownership
- Establish the stability, control, and flight dynamics characteristics of the vehicle
- Integrate hybrid-electric propulsion, avionics, and payload into the airframe as a coherent system
- Run aerodynamic analysis using both Computational Fluid Dynamics and low-order methods, and validate against test data
- Define and maintain the design and test plan for the air vehicle across programme milestones (Preliminary Design Review, Critical Design Review, flight test)
- Carry the design into ground and flight test, and close the loop from test results back into the design---
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS
- BTech or MTech in Aerospace or Aeronautical Engineering
- 3 to 5+ years in fixed-wing or VTOL UAV design, with hands-on ownership of, or major contribution to, an airframe configuration
- VTOL or hybrid VTOL fixed-wing experience, or strong fixed-wing plus multirotor experience with a clear grasp of the transition regime
- Aerodynamic analysis in Computational Fluid Dynamics (ANSYS Fluent or OpenFOAM) and low-order tools (XFLR5, Athena Vortex Lattice, or equivalent)
- Airfoil and wing design, and aircraft performance and sizingStability and control fundamentals, and flight dynamics modelling
- Computer Aided Design proficiency in CATIA or SolidWorksHands-on experience taking a design into ground or flight test
BENEFICIAL EXPERIENCE
- Defence or aerospace UAV development
- Aeronautical Development Establishment, National Aerospace Laboratories, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, or a tactical UAV developer (NewSpace Research, ideaForge, Asteria) background
- Quad-plane, tilt-rotor, or tilt-wing configuration experienceHybrid-electric or distributed-propulsion integration
- Composite airframe and primary structures familiarity
- Airworthiness familiarity: Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or military airworthiness through the Centre for Military Airworthiness and CertificationEnvironmental qualification to MIL-STD profiles
- Coordination with Guidance, Navigation and Control and avionics teams
WHAT WE OFFER
Own a whole air vehicle end to end, rare at this career stage
Define the founding platform of an established defence company's new air vertical
Salary Rs 9–15 LPA benchmarked to the Delhi aerospace market
A clear path from concept to flight test, with senior technical mentorship behind you
HOW TO APPLY
[email protected]
Subject: JD09 UAV Aircraft Design
CV and a short note on an air vehicle or airframe you have designed: what it was, which tools you used, whether it was fixed-wing, multirotor, or VTOL, and whether you took it through to flight test yourself. No cover letter.
Pay: ₹700,000.00 - ₹1,500,000.00 per year
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Delhi, Delhi (Delhi): Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Preferred)
Application Question(s):
- Do you hold a BTech or MTech in Aerospace or Aeronautical Engineering?
Yes / No.
- How many years of hands-on fixed-wing or VTOL UAV design experience do you have?
Number:
- Have you designed or contributed to a hybrid VTOL fixed-wing aircraft, or worked the hover-to-cruise transition regime?
Yes / No (If Yes, please explain)
- Have you owned, or been a primary contributor to, an airframe configuration taken into ground or flight test?
Yes / No
- Which Computational Fluid Dynamics tools have you used in design work?
Provide SW information such as ANSYS, openFOAM etc.
- Have you built flight dynamics or stability and control models for an air vehicle?
Yes / No
Location:
- Delhi, Delhi (Delhi) (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
