Company Description:
Stratum Defense Technology LLP is an Indian defence technology company building autonomous systems for the Indian armed forces. We are not a software consultancy, not a drone company pivoting to maritime, and not a proposal exercise. We are building hardware. Complex, safety-critical, sovereign hardware that India does not yet have.
Our flagship programme is Project MAKARA, India's first indigenous Multi-Mission Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (AUV). MAKARA is designed to give the Indian Navy persistent covert underwater surveillance, distributed acoustic sensor network deployment, anti-submarine warfare coordination, and precision undersea strike capability, all from a single autonomous platform that carries no foreign weapon dependency.
We are headquartered in New Delhi with programme operations at Visakhapatnam, co-located with NSTL and the Eastern Naval Command. We are at the founding team stage. The people joining now will be present at every significant milestone: ADITI 4 award, NSTL MoU signing, the first time the hull comes back from MTAR, the NSTL towing tank campaigns, and the Indian Navy sea trials.
Role Description:
You will produce every mechanical design deliverable that Project MAKARA needs to go from CAD model to fabricated hardware. The first critical output is the hull manufacturing package for MTAR Technologies (Ti-6Al-4V pressure hull, five sections), which must release concurrent with CDR in September 2027. Before that, the PJP propulsor model for NSTL towing tank testing needs to be in fabrication by PDR. You will define OML for Project Makara and for our Aditi4.0 Challenge. Design thermal and Heatsink designs.
What you will do:
- Complete detailed mechanical design of all five hull sections (A-E) in Ti-6Al-4V and CFRP for MTAR Technologies fabrication, meeting 200 m depth operational requirement
- Release hull manufacturing package to MTAR concurrent with CDR entry in September 2027
- Design PJP propulsor model at 1:1 scale and deliver to NSTL for HSTT test preparation starting M3
- Design EPSILON fiber optic DAS cable spool housing, cable payout mechanism, and tension control system
- Design EMDock mechanical jaw, variable-force EM pad mounting brackets, and hydrogenator turbine integration
- Perform structural FEA on hull, launch tube, and all pressure-bearing components; demonstrate structural margins
Qualifications:
Essential:
- BTech or MTech in Mechanical Engineering
- Solid 3D CAD proficiency: CATIA, SolidWorks, or Siemens NX at production drawing standard
- Structural FEA: ANSYS Structural or equivalent
- Experience designing in Ti-6Al-4V, marine-grade aluminium, or equivalent aerospace-grade metals
- GD&T and manufacturing drawing practice to ISO or ASME Y14.5
Beneficial:
- Marine structures, pressure vessel, or torpedo or AUV mechanical design experience
- MTAR Technologies, DRDO DRDL, or HAL mechanical design background (titanium precision structures)
- CFRP composite structure design and fabrication coordination
- MIL-STD-810H environmental design practice
- MIL-DTL-38999 connector and electrical interface design
What we offer:
- Work on a programme that does not exist anywhere else in India
- Direct access to NSTL Visakhapatnam test facilities and DRDO research community
- Founding team equity consideration for senior hires
- Competitive salary benchmarked to Chennai and Visakhapatnam defence-adjacent market
- Hybrid working: in-person at Chennai or Visakhapatnam for critical milestones, flexible otherwise
- Full involvement in iDEX ADITI 4 from award through prototype and Indian Navy acceptance
To apply: send your CV and a short note on your relevant experience to Send your CV/Resume and a short note on your CFD solver experience and any towing tank or cavitation tunnel work to [email protected]. Subject line: JD04 – Mechanical Design Engineer
Pay: ₹193,719.78 - ₹1,026,369.93 per year
Work Location: In person
