Senior Propulsion Engineer – Bearing Mechanical Design

Build the Systems Driving Supersonic Speed

At Boom, you’ll integrate rigorous engineering with innovative design to accelerate the development of Symphony—the first jet engine purpose-built for sustainable supersonic flight. Your work will focus on reducing cycle times and ensuring system reliability, critical metrics for the fastest development of a large-scale propulsion system in aviation history. Join us now to redefine how power meets speed.

Role Overview

• Lead the design, sizing, and development of mainshaft and gearbox bearings for aero gas turbine engines, with a focus on life, load capacity, thermal behavior, and robustness under supersonic mission profiles.
• Define bearing architecture within the engine (sump layout, support arrangements, preload concepts, fits/clearances, and housings), ensuring compatibility with rotordynamic, structural, and thermal requirements across the operating envelope.
• Analyze bearing loads and environments using whole-engine rotordynamic and secondary air/oil models, ensuring appropriate margins against fatigue, skidding, smearing, cage distress, and lubrication breakdown.
• Collaborate closely with aerodynamics, structures, secondary air/oil, and test engineers to integrate bearing and sump module designs seamlessly into the Symphony propulsion system and overall aircraft installation.
• Develop and refine bearing lubrication and cooling strategies (oil supply, scavenging, jets, nozzles, heat rejection) to meet durability, efficiency, and certification-driven reliability goals.
• Define and execute bearing-focused test programs (rig, module, and engine-level), including test matrices, instrumentation needs, and acceptance criteria, to validate analytical predictions and accelerate design maturation.
• Lead failure investigations involving bearings and associated hardware (seals, sump structures, gears), driving data-based corrective actions that improve durability, reduce unplanned downtime, and protect fleet reliability.

The Ideal Candidate

• Deep expertise in aero gas turbine bearing technologies (ball, roller, angular contact, and damped bearing systems) with a track record of detailed design and successful deployment on flight or engine test hardware.
• Strong background in bearing analysis methods, including life/vibration/thermal assessment, internal load distribution, contact stress evaluation, and lubrication regime characterization for aviation gas turbines.
• Proficiency with bearing and rotordynamic simulation tools (e.g., Romax, SKF/Timken tools, XLTRC2/MADYN or similar), used to derive bearing loads, stiffness/damping characteristics, and stability margins.
• Proven ability to lead cross-disciplinary propulsion teams around bearing-centric work scopes, from concept and trade studies through detailed design, supplier engagement, rig/engine test, and certification support.
• Adept at troubleshooting bearing-related issues in test or service (e.g., elevated temperatures, vibration signatures, debris indications, cage/liner wear, spalling), and implementing robust design or operational mitigations.
• Experience with whole-engine structural, thermal, and secondary air/oil modeling in an aviation gas turbine context, with a clear understanding of how these models define the bearing operating environment and margins.

What Will Set You Apart

• Primary engineering ownership of mainshaft or gearbox bearing systems on a turbofan, turbojet, turboshaft, or APU program, including responsibility for requirements, design, analysis, and qualification.
• Demonstrated experience developing or qualifying advanced bearing technologies for aerospace (e.g., hybrid ceramic bearings, specialized coatings, squeeze-film dampers, or integrated damped supports).
• History of introducing new bearing analysis methods, design standards, or test approaches that materially reduced development time or improved durability for gas turbine rotating hardware.
• Strong first-principles analytical skills applied specifically to bearing and sump module challenges, coupled with a passion for solving complex durability and reliability problems in aviation propulsion.
• Direct involvement in FAR Part 33 (and/or CS-E) engine certification activities where bearing performance, life, or rotordynamics were key aspects of the compliance narrative.
• Experience with bearing supply chain and procurement for flight hardware, including writing technical specifications, evalua