Aerospace engineer Jobs in Springfield, MO

• Role Overview

Mercor is partnering with leading AI labs on Project Atlas — an initiative to build realistic enterprise environments that frontier AI agents are trained and evaluated in. We're seeking experienced aerospace and defense professionals from Fortune 500 primes and major Tier-1 suppliers (e.g., Lockheed Martin, Boeing, RTX, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, L3Harris) to recreate the digital workspaces they run every day and design the tasks that genuinely challenge state-of-the-art AI. You'll bring your expertise in A&D program management, design, manufacturing, supply-chain, or quality / mission-assurance to build a high-fidelity environment that mirrors the tools, files, and workflows of a regulated defense or aerospace enterprise — and then author tasks grounded in the programs you actually run today. Key Responsibilities - Build a realistic digital workspace centered on the Drive folders you use day-to-day — the program review decks, CDRLs / SOWs, engineering change proposals, V&V plans, supplier qualification packages, risk registers, and email threads that reflect how you actually organize your work — with some representation of the platforms that support it (e.g., ANSYS Fluent simulations, Siemens Opcenter MES, Jira / Confluence) - Design multi-step tasks grounded in your real workflows that require navigating multiple apps, files, and stakeholders in a way that meaningfully challenges frontier AI agents - Collaborate with other aerospace and defense experts in your field to design the environment, shape task scope, and review each other's scenarios for realism and rigor - Work asynchronously with research teams to refine task designs and evaluation criteria for A&D agent benchmarks - Contribute to frontier AI research and benchmarking — the work you produce directly informs how leading labs train and evaluate the next generation of AI systems Ideal Qualifications - 3+ years of full-time experience at a Fortune 500 A&D prime, major Tier-1 supplier, or federally-funded R&D center - Background in one or more areas such as : - Program / project management on DoD or NASA contracts (EVM, IMS, CDRLs) - Aerospace design or manufacturing engineering (structures, avionics, propulsion) - Supply-chain management under DFARS / ITAR / CMMC - Quality and mission assurance (AS9100, NADCAP) - Systems engineering, V&V, or integrated test - US Person status required for most A&D work; active / prior clearance not required for this project but familiarity with classified-program workflows is a plus - Day-to-day use of ANSYS Fluent / STAR-CCM+, Siemens Opcenter or Rockwell FactoryTalk, and Jira / Confluence - Strong analytical thinking and writing — able to translate A&D workflows into structured task specs Compensation Note This project is expected to begin on an effective hourly rate, but will transition to a model where experts are compensated based on throughput of quality work rather than a flat accruing hourly rate. About Mercor Mercor is a talent marketplace that connects top experts with leading AI labs and research organizations. Backed by investors including Benchmark, General Catalyst, Adam D'Angelo, and Jack Dorsey. Thousands of professionals across domains contribute to projects shaping the next generation of AI systems.