Chief Stress Engineer

Technical authority. Structural integrity. Trust it with lives.

Are you a highly experienced Stress Engineer ready to take technical ownership of structural integrity within a safety-critical aerospace environment?

Join Martin-Baker as Chief Stress Engineer and take a leading technical role in ensuring our life-saving aerospace equipment meets the highest standards of structural integrity, safety and performance.

Working within our Mechanical Engineering group at Denham, you'll combine hands-on stress analysis with technical governance, providing specialist expertise across FEA, fatigue, damage tolerance and structural mechanics while acting as a key technical authority for engineering decisions and approvals.

Direct Impact. Global Scale. Life-Saving Mission.

At Martin-Baker, the work we do matters. We design, manufacture and support life-saving equipment used by aircrew around the world. Our products operate in demanding environments where quality, reliability and attention to detail are critical.

We're proud of our long history in aerospace and defence while remaining focused on the future. Joining Martin-Baker means becoming part of a business with a clear purpose, strong engineering capability and a long-term commitment to its people, products and customers.

With over 7,800 lives saved, your expertise as Chief Stress Engineer will help ensure the structural integrity of equipment designed to protect aircrew when they need it most.

The Opportunity as Chief Stress Engineer:

As Chief Stress Engineer, you'll hold a senior position within our Mechanical Engineering group, providing technical leadership and authority across structural stress analysis for safety-critical aerospace systems.

You'll take ownership of complex analysis strategies from initial assessment through to final technical approval, covering static stress, fatigue, damage tolerance, vibration and Finite Element Analysis (FEA).

Crucially, this isn't a leadership position that moves you away from engineering. You'll remain hands-on technically, contributing directly to challenging stress activities while reviewing and approving analysis produced across projects.

You'll also provide specialist structural input into engineering changes, material reviews and failure investigations, giving you significant influence across the product lifecycle.

It's an opportunity for an established aerospace stress specialist to combine deep technical expertise, engineering judgement and signatory responsibility within a business where the quality of those decisions has a genuine life-saving purpose.

What You'll Do as Chief Stress Engineer:

•Technical Leadership: Provide specialist technical leadership and governance across structural stress, fatigue and damage tolerance analysis.

•Stress Analysis: Remain hands-on with complex analysis, supporting and delivering critical project stressing activities.

•Finite Element Analysis: Apply advanced FEA and mathematical modelling techniques to assess structural behaviour, loads and performance.

•Technical Approval: Review and formally approve engineering analysis, technical documentation and supporting data within your delegated authority.

•Fatigue & Damage Tolerance: Lead the assessment of fatigue life, structural durability and damage tolerance within safety-critical applications.

•Engineering Change: Provide authoritative stress input into design changes, modifications and engineering change reviews.

•Failure Investigation: Lead structural and concessional investigations, applying robust engineering judgement and root cause analysis.

•Material Review: Provide stress expertise to complex material review and concession activity.

•Technical Problem Solving: Respond to emerging structural issues across the product lifecycle, providing clear and timely engineering decisions.

•Engineering Standards: Help maintain consistently high technical standards across stress analysis methodologies, documentation and approval processes.

About You:

We're looking for an established aerospace Stress Engineer or Structural Analysis specialist with significant hands-on experience and the technical judgement to operate as an authority within a safety-critical engineering environment.

•Extensive experience in structural stress analysis, ideally involving aircraft structures or equipment integrated with aircraft.

•Advanced understanding of Finite Element Analysis (FEA), structural mechanics, fatigue and damage tolerance.

•Strong capability in classical hand calculations and analytical methods, alongside numerical analysis.

•Experience of vibration analysis and mathematical modelling.

•Expertise with relevant analysis software, ideally including ANSYS Mechanical, NASTRAN and/or LS-DYNA.

•Strong understanding of structural failure modes and experience supporting failure investigations and root cause analysis.

•Proven experience reviewing and approving complex engineering analysis and technical documentation.

•Significant experience within aerospace, defence or another closely related high-integrity engineering environment.

•A Master's degree or BEng 2:1 or above in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.

•Chartered Engineer (CEng) status through a recognised professional institution such as the RAeS, IMechE or IET is preferred, particularly to support signatory responsibilities.

•Able to balance deep technical analysis with the need to make clear, timely engineering decisions.

•Comfortable moving between different technical challenges and priorities across the product lifecycle.

•Share and demonstrate the Martin-Baker values.

Whether you're currently working as a Chief Stress Engineer, Principal Stress Engineer, Lead Stress Engineer, Stress Technical Authority or Principal Structural Analysis Engineer, this could be an opportunity to take your expertise into a role with genuine technical influence and life-saving purpose.

Our Values:

At Martin-Baker, we value professionalism, understanding, teamwork, humility, accountability and integrity. We look for people who take pride in their work, collaborate openly and act with care because the work we do matters.

What We Offer Our Chief Stress Engineer

•Excellent pension package, with Martin-Baker contributing 9% of salary on a non-contributory basis, plus further employer contributions as you increase your own.

•Life Assurance.

•Lunchtime finish on a Friday.

•Personalised training and development plan.

•Healthcare plan.

•25 days' annual leave plus bank holidays.

•Opportunity to purchase additional annual leave.

•Martin-Baker+ retail discounts platform.

•Occupational Health team.

•Workplace Nursery Benefit scheme.

•Cycle to Work scheme.

How to Apply / Your Interview Journey:

Submit your CV and, if you wish, a brief covering letter outlining your relevant structural analysis, stress engineering and aerospace experience.

The interview journey includes:

•Stage 1 – Telephone Interview: A conversation with your Recruitment Business Partner to explore your background, stress engineering experience and motivation for joining Martin-Baker.

•Stage 2 – Video Interview: A technical conversation with the Head of Mechanical Engineering to explore your stress analysis expertise, engineering background and suitability for the role.

•Stage 3 – Final Face-to-Face Interview & Presentation: A final interview at our Denham facility with the Head of Mechanical Engineering and members of the engineering team, including a presentation designed to explore your technical expertise and approach.

We believe in equal opportunity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone is respected and can do their best work.

Martin-Baker is a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant, demonstrating our support and commitment to the Armed Forces and their families.

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government's Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS).

The role also involves access to information governed by U.S. Export Control Laws, including ITAR, so applicants must satisfy the applicable ITAR eligibility requirements.