When it comes to aerospace engineering, there is no margin for error. Minor design, coding, and documentation flaws can significantly impact safety, certification, cost, and deadlines. Yet, finding engineers with the appropriate combination of expertise and industry experience is challenging.
Today, aerospace engineering staffing requires candidates who can solve difficult challenges, work across diverse disciplines, and maintain quality of work within the constraints of regulatory policies.
Why Skilled Aerospace Engineering Talent Is in High Demand
The aerospace and defense sectors in the U.S. are growing in commercial aviation, defense, space systems, uncrewed aircraft, and advanced air mobility. The Aerospace Industries Association estimates that the industry supported 2.1 million jobs in the U.S. in 2025.
Wages for aerospace engineering jobs are also on the rise. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates a 6% growth in aerospace engineering jobs from 2024 to 2034 compared to 3% growth for all other jobs. The average annual openings are 4,500.
However, employers are not just after more aerospace engineers. Employers are after aerospace engineers with capabilities in emerging specializations. Engineering modern aircraft requires an understanding of a variety of fields, as they rely heavily on advanced materials, embedded software, sensors, electrical systems, automated controls, and other interconnected systems.
Retention is an added complication. An AIA and McKinsey workforce survey showed that aerospace and defense attrition was predicted to be around 15% in 2024, compared with twice the rate reported in other U.S. industries. Businesses must hire appropriately and create a work environment that incentivizes employees to remain, especially those with specialized skills.
Core Technical Skills Aerospace Employers Need
- Aerodynamics and Fluid Dynamics
Aerodynamics is the study of the movement of air around various components of an aircraft, such as its wings and fuselage, engine, and control surfaces. Air and its properties as they move, along with lift, drag, and turbulence, are concepts the fluid dynamics engineer must master.
Though employers may look for candidates with simulation tools and wind tunnel test experience, potential employees must also derive the simulations, challenge the validity of notions, and reconcile the differences between test data and the models.
- Structural Analysis and Materials Engineering
Aircraft structures must remain strong and support the loads, while avoiding excessive weight. This involves knowledge of load paths, fatigue, fracture mechanics, stress analysis, and vibrations as well as thermal and dynamic behaviors.
Engineers may design structures using aluminum alloys, titanium, composites, ceramics, or other materials and layer technologies. These materials and structures may behave poorly under extreme conditions, such as high velocities and temperatures, as well as due to corrosion and manufacturing changes.
Finite Element Analysis is a vital tool for engineers, and they should be able to create models with appropriate boundary conditions and calibrate them against experimental results.
- Propulsion and Thermodynamics
Propulsion engineers develop engines and systems that create thrust for vehicles ranging from aircraft and spacecraft to missiles and drones. Areas of interest for propulsion engineers may include gas turbines, combustion, thermal and electric propulsion, and fuel and hybrid systems.
The best engineers balance thrust-to-weight ratios and trade-offs among performance, efficiency, emissions, temperature, reliability, and maintainability. It is also important to evaluate the engineer’s working environments. Experience with commercial gas turbine engines will not be directly applicable to rocket propulsion without additional training.
- Avionics, Embedded Systems, and Software
Aircraft are highly complex integrated systems. Control of flight, communication, navigation, and engine and systems monitoring rely on the integration of both hardware and software.
Relevant experience includes embedded programming in C or C++, real-time operating systems, signal processing, control algorithms, hardware and software integration and testing, and experience with MATLAB, Simulink, Python, and hardware-in-the-loop testing.
The FAA certifies and regulates software and airborne electronic hardware in systems such as flight control, autopilot, and engine control. For this reason, employers require engineers who can generate requirements, write disciplined code, provide evidence of testing, and prepare certification-supportive documentation.
- Guidance, Navigation, and Control
The skills to design and engineer guidance, navigation, and control systems are required to determine and maintain stability and position and to follow a defined path while accommodating and adjusting for new and unexpected situations.
Engineers require a strong command of mathematical modeling and control. Familiarity with inertial measurement units, GPS, and other position-determining systems, flight dynamics, and autopilot control systems is essential.
Autonomous and unmanned systems also require expertise in areas such as computer vision, path planning, fault-tolerant controls, and decision-making algorithms.
Systems Engineering Is Now a Critical Capability
Complex aviation programs rarely fail because one isolated component is poorly designed. Issues arise at the interfaces between various systems: hardware and software, propulsion and structures, or engineering and manufacturing.
This is the domain of the systems engineer. Their responsibilities include defining requirements, managing interfaces, and assessing trade-offs while ensuring design integrity throughout the process.
Particularly in the aerospace domain, the use of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) is on the rise. In contrast to an iterative document-based approach, teams use structured models to define and communicate requirements, functions, and interfaces. NASA’s long-term MBSE vision includes using digital tools to develop digital twins that continue across the system lifecycle.
When evaluating systems engineering talent, employers should look for:
- Requirements development and management
- Interface control and configuration management
- SysML and MBSE tool experience
- Verification and validation planning
- Trade studies and risk analysis
- Understanding of the full product lifecycle
Certification, Quality, and Safety Knowledge
Technical innovation within the field must work in partnership with established safety protocols. Systems engineers must be willing to defend every critical design choice with supporting rationale.
Experience with any of the following will be considered an asset depending on the specific job: FAA regulations, airworthiness certifications, DO-178C, DO-254, ARP 4754A, and AS9100.
Candidates should be familiar with configuration control, requirements traceability, design reviews, failure analysis, and corrective actions. Additionally, knowledge of Failure Modes and Effects Analysis and Fault Tree Analysis, as well as conducting hazard assessments, is beneficial.
The FAA defines a Safety Management System as a formal organization-wide method for managing safety risk and verifying the effectiveness of risk controls. Engineers should therefore be comfortable raising concerns, documenting uncertainty, and making decisions based on evidence rather than schedule pressure.
Digital Engineering, Data, and Cybersecurity Skills
Digital tools shape most phases of the aerospace development process. As a result, digital engineering, automation, product lifecycle management, and big data in engineering are fast becoming the desired skill sets for many employers.
Furthermore, knowing the basics of coding and data analysis can help engineers automate time-consuming tasks, identify anomalous results, and/or optimize competing design alternatives.
AI is becoming helpful as well, but only if coupled with validation and safety thinking. According to the FAA, when designing AI-enabled systems, safety, human factors, and systems design and standards should be applied to the greatest extent possible.
Cybersecurity is as important as ever as aircraft become more connected. Engineers do not all need to be security specialists, but they should understand secure design, access controls, network separation, vulnerability management, and software supply chain risks.
Essential Human Skills for Complex Projects
- Clear Technical Communication: Engineers must convey complex information to their peers as well as program managers, suppliers, regulators, and customers. This requires the ability to document and present results and decisions, and to articulate risks.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Designs require insights from the manufacturing, quality, software, procurement, maintenance, and certification teams. Engineers must listen to those perspectives and resolve conflicts without losing sight of project requirements.
- Critical Thinking: Employers need people who question incomplete data and recognize when a model does not reflect real-world conditions. Strong engineers do not accept a result simply because software produced it.
- Versatility: Engineers must adapt in response to changing project requirements, regulations, technology, and materials. This requires engineers to undertake design, testing, research, and other project documentation.
- Attention to Detail: A misplaced unit, outdated drawing, or incorrect configuration can have serious consequences. Careful review habits are essential, especially in safety-critical work.
Conclusion
A highly effective aerospace team relies on a combination of systems thinking, safety, digital, and technical communication.
Employers should prioritize immediate project needs, while keeping in mind the candidate’s potential to assist with testing, certification, production, and future engineering modifications.
A specialized workforce partner can strengthen aerospace engineer hiring by identifying candidates with relevant tools, platforms, regulatory knowledge, and project experience. SPECTRAFORCE fills critical gaps in complex aviation and aerospace programs in less than 27 days, enabling teams to fill capability gaps and keep programs moving forward.
