Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the problem of optimizing geometrical and physical parameters of a stepped shell that maximize its rigidity and strength for given overall shell dimensions and fixed weight equal to the weight of a shell of constant thickness. Design/methodology/approach A mathematical model of the construction’s stress-strain state is described by solving a system of differential equations for each of the constituent parts of the shell, conjugation conditions on the division lines and boundary conditions. The stated optimization problem is reduced to a nonlinear programming problem, which is solved by the deformable polyhedron method in combination with the method of direct search and using the parallel computing package in the Wolfram Mathematica software application. Findings As follows from the results of the calculation, optimizing the shell parameters allows for a substantial increase in rigidity (decrease of the greatest deflection) and strength (increase of the load-carrying capacity) of the shell of constant stepwise thickness, as opposed to a shell of constant thickness, with constant weight and dimensions. Originality/value A problem of optimal design of a cylindrical composite panel of piecewise constant thickness is solved in the presented work. Numerical examples demonstrate that a substantial increase in rigidity and strength of a stepped composite shell can be achieved by the optimal choice of its geometrical and physical parameters.