Aerospace Solutions Advisor, SME

Job description

WHAT WE DO Gecko Robotics is helping the world’s most important organizations ensure the availability, reliability, and sustainability of critical infrastructure. Gecko's complete and connected solutions combine wall-climbing robots, industry-leading sensors, and an AI-powered data platform to provide customers with a unique window into the current and future health of their physical assets. This enables real-time decision making to increase the efficiency and safety of operations, promote mission readiness, and protect the environment and civilization from the effects of infrastructure failure. ROLE AT A GLANCE We’re hiring a senior, highly-credible aerospace domain expert to close gaps in practical aerospace inspection and maintenance experience and aircraft structural/NDT knowledge in Gecko’s aerospace business. This individual will be the team’s principal subject matter expert on how aircraft are inspected, maintained, and sustained over decades — particularly from the operator/owner (e.g., squadron-level) and depot-maintenance perspective — and will translate that domain expertise into product requirements, customer engagements, and field execution. This is a rare opportunity to leverage aerospace maintenance subject matter expertise in a cutting edge, vertically integrated hardware and software product environment. This role is posted as remote; however, we strongly prefer candidates located near current or anticipated customer sites to support in-person engagement. Additionally, for team members based in cities where Gecko maintains an office, regular in-office presence is expected as part of our in-person operating culture. WHAT YOU WILL DO Technical leadership & product input - Serve as the lead technical voice on aircraft structural integrity, maintenance and inspection workflows, and NDT methods for all aerospace product development and POVs. - Translate depot/operator/maintenance practices and constraints into concrete product requirements, acceptance criteria, and validation plans. - Define inspection/NDT scope, success criteria, and data-quality thresholds for pilot opportunities and production deployments (e.g., understand what “great” looks like, where the pain points are with current processes). Commercial & GTM support - Provide credible representation of Gecko to senior customer stakeholders — maintenance chiefs, sustainment leaders, program offices, primes, and airline/airframe technical operations leads. - Support capture efforts by writing technical sections of proposals, mapping requirements to engineering solutions, and participating in customer technical discussions that require deep domain credibility. Coaching & cross-functional enablement - Mentor engineers (mechanical, software, NDT/level II/III staff) to raise domain fluency in aerospace sustainment, NDE interpretation, and operator language. - Contribute to internal training materials, playbooks, and deliverables to ensure the broader team can speak confidently with customers. Execution & customer engagement - Advise on technical execution for pilot programs and deployments. Own the high-level inspection plan and success criteria, ensuring product claims and scopes reflect operator, depot, and regulatory expectations. - Be Gecko’s senior technical face to customers. Serve as the credible contact for senior maintainers, program offices, primes, and sustainment leadership — run briefings, answer technical questions, and resolve escalations. - Coordinate cross-functional delivery. Translate customer objectives into realistic execution plans and align Operations, Engineering, and Product on feasibility, resources, and risks. - Turn results into decisions. Synthesize post-job findings into clear recommendations for customers and product teams, highlighting confidence, risk, and required follow-ups. - Provide high-level technical guidance. Recommend appropriate inspection approaches and data expectations, and identify when issues require escalation to working-level NDT or engineering specialists — without owning procedure-level implementation. ABOUT YOU Required Skills - 10+ years of hands-on experience in aircraft maintenance, depot sustainment, aerospace engineering, or related NDT/structural roles (civilian prime/airline or military aviation career). Candidates with career USAF / USN aviation backgrounds are strongly preferred. - Deep, demonstrable experience with aircraft structural inspection, corrosion management, and lifecycle sustainment practices (ASIP or equivalent). - Track record of interfacing with senior maintainers and program offices — able to speak credibly with senior engineers, maintenance chiefs, and sustainment leaders. - Excellent written and verbal communication; able to convert technical insight into customer-ready messages, proposal language, and product requirements. Preferred Skills - Military aviation maintenance career (airframe/flightline/depot), or multi-year experience at a major aerospace prime, MRO, or airline maintenance organization. - Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) Certification (or military equivalent). - Familiarity with acquisition/program office workflows (e.g., WR-ALC, PMS/PEO interfaces) and experience engaging with government sustainment stakeholders. - Prior experience shaping product deliveries (proof of concepts/pilots) and supporting commercial capture efforts with technical credibility. - Graduate of USAF / USN test pilot school. - Engineer qualified to sign off on aircraft. - Formal education: B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering, Materials Science, or equivalent practical experience. Advanced degree a plus. - Practical NDT experience (Level II technical competency in some modalities or equivalent accumulation preferred) — demonstrated ability to design and interpret UT/PAUT, eddy current, and visual inspection approaches for structural assessments. - Strong mechanical/metallurgy literacy: fatigue, fracture-mechanics considerations, repair practices, and metal joining/fastener behavior as applied to airframes. WHO WE ARE At Gecko, our people are our greatest investment. In addition to competitive compensation packages, we offer company equity, 401(k) matching, gender-neutral parental leave, full medical, dental, and vision insurance, mental health, ongoing professional development, family planning assistance, and flexible paid time off. Gecko values collaboration, innovation, and partnership, and we believe we do our best work when we're together in person. We’re an office-first culture but understand that sometimes you may need to work from home. Many people are in the office five days a week, others need a bit more flexibility. Ultimately, we care about the outcomes we achieve - and creating a culture of autonomy and trust that enables that impact. Gecko is committed to creating a culture of inclusion and belonging, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We believe it is our collective responsibility to uphold these values and encourage candidates from all backgrounds to join us in our mission to protect today’s infrastructure and give form to tomorrow’s. All qualified applicants will be treated with respect and receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, uniform service, veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic per federal, state, or local law. If you are passionate about what you do and want to use your talents to support our critical mission, we’d love to hear from you.