Lead Structures & Analysis Engineer

Job description

ABOUT BRELLE “Energy for what moves us” defines our mission at Brelle. Based in California, Brelle engineers next-generation platforms for supercars and superbikes, working alongside high-performance brands in the US and Europe. Our innovations are built on a novel battery pack architecture, a full-stack software platform, and automated manufacturing. Joining the team means working on making electric vehicles—on the road and on the racetrack—lighter, more engaging, safer, and capable of charging in minutes. Our engineering teams are structured like small Skunkworks teams – nimble, cross-functional, and technical. Engineers are encouraged to explore new concepts and materials and expected to rapidly go from idea to prototype. We move fast, obsess over the details, and believe the hardest problems are the ones worth solving. Nothing is impossible. If it sounds impossible, it's probably worth working on. ABOUT THE ROLE As a Lead Structures & Analysis Engineer, you will own the structural integrity of our products — from material selection and first-order sizing through detailed FEA, physical test, and correlation back to the model. You’ll work at the intersection of structures, materials, and the wider system. Our hardware lives in a demanding multi-physics environment (i.e. mechanical loads interacting with thermal, electrical, and safety requirements), so we’re especially interested in engineers who have worked on battery packs, energy storage, EV structures, spacecraft, aircraft, or motorsport, and who understand how structural decisions ripple through the rest of the system. You’ll have direct influence over architecture and a mandate to build the analysis capability you think the team needs. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Guide design from day one: Embed with design, manufacturing, and systems engineers to influence architecture early — load paths, joints, materials, and mass. Support mass-optimization, manufacturing and cost/weight/performance trades. - Build and develop the team: Set the technical standard, grow engineers at all levels, and create an environment where the team does rigorous, independent work. - Own structural analysis end-to-end: Define load cases and environments, develop load paths, and perform sizing of primary and secondary structures using both classical hand calculations and finite element methods (linear and non-linear static, buckling, modal, random vibration, shock, fatigue, and fracture/damage tolerance). - Drive material selection: Lead research, trade studies across metallics, composites, polymers, and adhesives; account for environmental effects, manufacturing variability, and joint behavior. - Lead structural test campaigns: Define test plans, instrumentation (strain gauges, accelerometers, thermocouples, DIC), and pass/fail criteria for coupon, component, and assembly-level tests — static, dynamic, drop, crush, and abuse. - Close the loop on failures: Lead root-cause investigations of structural failures in test, production, or the field, and drive corrective actions back into design rules. - Communicate effectively across domains: Serve as the structural SME for your domain — present margins, risks, and recommendations clearly at design reviews and to leadership, and translate complex analysis into language the broader team can act on. QUALIFICATIONS - B.S. in Mechanical, Aerospace, Materials, or related engineering field (M.S. preferred). - 8+ years of structural analysis experience on safety- or performance-critical hardware (automotive/EV, aerospace, launch, defense, motorsport, or similar), including time as a technical lead or responsible engineer. - Deep grounding in statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials, fatigue, and fracture. - Expert proficiency with at least one commercial FEA suite (HyperMesh, Abaqus, Ansys, Nastran, etc.) including pre/post tools (SimLab, HyperView, Femap, etc.) — and a track record of validating models against physical test. - Strong materials background: selection, properties, allowables development, and testing of metallic and/or composite structures; familiarity with non-linear material behavior (plasticity, elastomers, adhesives). - Scripting ability in Python or MATLAB for analysis automation, data processing, and tool development; comfort leveraging AI tools to accelerate and enhance engineering workflows. - Clear, concise technical communication — written reports and live design-review defense of your margins. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Experience with battery packs, modules, or enclosures — structural integration of cells, crush/intrusion protection, drop and abuse testing, sealing, thermal-structural interaction, or vibration durability of energy storage systems. - Multi-physics fluency: coupled thermal-structural analysis, or working knowledge of how electrical, thermal, and safety requirements constrain structural design. - DFM awareness across casting, stamping, extrusion, machining, additive, and composite layup — and experience taking hardware from prototype to rate production. - Experience building analysis tools or methods adopted team or company-wide. YOU ARE... - Fundamentally Curious – You break complex problems down to first principles and are energized by hard problems worth solving at scale. - Obsessed with Excellence – You constantly push yourself and your team to raise the bar, always looking for ways to improve the work, the process, and the outcome. You challenge the status quo, never settle for good enough, and aren't satisfied until the answer is the best it can be. - Autonomous and Decisive – You make informed calls, drive execution with conviction, and don't wait to be told what to do. You empower your team to do the same, creating a culture of accountability and bias for action. - Resilient Under Pressure – You stay sharp and decisive when timelines compress and stakes are high. Ambiguity and fast-moving environments energize rather than paralyze you. - Humble and Honest – You communicate honestly and give candid feedback — and receive it the same way. You know what you don't know, hold yourself accountable, and are constantly seeking ways to improve yourself, your team, and the product. COMPENSATION & BENEFITS COMPENSATION - Base Salary: $125,000 – $160,000. Compensation may vary based on experience, training, education, and scope of the role. - Early employee equity participation through our Employee Incentive Plan BENEFITS - Medical (HMO, PPO), Dental, and Vision - 401(k) - Flexible PTO - Team meals 2x per week - Monthly team events