CONTACT US

• Working on technically nontrivial problems with clear real world impact.
• Seeing a straight line from their work to the airplane and to the operator.
• Building alongside strong peers and technically engaged leadership.

• Own one or more aircraft subsystems (e.g., structures, hydrodynamics, mechanisms, systems integration) from concept through test and flight.
• Translate high-level mission and performance goals into clear engineering requirements and a small set of critical metrics.
• Develop and iterate designs using analysis, simulation, and test—then simplify ruthlessly, removing complexity before optimizing what remains.
• Work directly with manufacturing, test, and flight ops to close the loop between design and reality, rapidly incorporating feedback.
• Participate in intensive design and failure reviews where ideas are challenged, data wins, and good arguments can change the plan.
• Write clear documentation only where it changes decisions or unlocks execution (test plans, interface definitions, design decisions).

• Mission-driven: Every project ties back to a small set of aircraft-level metrics (payload, range, dispatch reliability, water performance, operating cost).
• Engineers lead: Technical leaders are practicing engineers who can review your calculations, CAD, and test data—and expect the same scrutiny in return.
• Ownership: Each engineer is the “chief engineer” for something meaningful; you are responsible for its performance, integration, and ongoing improvement.
• Small, high-talent teams: We bias toward fewer, stronger people with large scope rather than many people doing narrow glue work.
• Hard problems, real constraints: You will work on real trade-offs (weight vs strength, performance vs cost, hydrodynamics vs aerodynamics) with tangible consequences.
• Minimal bureaucracy: Short approval chains, direct communication with decision-makers, and a focus on building, testing, and shipping.

Catalina Aircraft Company is a fit if you are the kind of engineer who:

• Is energized by ambitious, technically difficult goals more than by titles or perks.
• Wants your manager and company leadership to be able to engage your work at a deep technical level.
• Prefers clear, sometimes demanding expectations over vague comfort; you like to see what “hardcore but justified” actually means.
• Takes pride in being useful: you measure yourself by the quality, reliability, and impact of what you build.

• Degree in aerospace, mechanical, naval architecture, or a closely related engineering field (or equivalentdemonstrable experience).
• 5+ years of hands-on engineering experience in aircraft, spacecraft, marine, or similarly complex mechanical systems.
• Strong fundamentals in at least one relevant domain: structures, fluid dynamics, hydrodynamics, controls, mechanisms, systems integration, or certification engineering.
• Demonstrated history of owning and delivering challenging projects end-to-end (e.g., major design, new test program, significant redesign under constraints).
• Proficiency with modern CAD and analysis tools appropriate to your discipline.

• Experience with seaplanes, amphibious operations, or marine structures.
• Experience taking hardware from concept to production or from prototype to certified configuration.
• Comfort in fast-moving environments where designs are iterated aggressively based on test and operator feedback.
• Clear, concise communication: you can explain complex trade-offs to both specialists and non-specialists.

• You are recognized as the go-to “engineer” for a significant subsystem and can explain its design, trades, and limitations from first principles.
• Your work has measurably improved at least one aircraft-level metric (e.g., reduced weight, improved water handling, easier maintenance, lower build cost).
• You’ve led at least one major design or test effort from definition through execution and documented the key decisions that will guide future work.

We look forward to hearing about you.

Benjamin Folger

CEO