NIAR CONSULTANT - Thermal Analysis Engineer

About the role

National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University is seeking a talented Thermal Analysis Engineer to support various diverse customer program efforts.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to a variety of challenging applications of Thermal Analysis to assist the NIAR team in creating real world aircraft design efforts.
• Define thermal system architectures and material selection strategies for vehicles operating in demanding flight environments.
• Perform thermal design and analysis of manned/unmanned air vehicles at conceptual, preliminary, and detailed design maturities.
• Thermal analysis of flight vehicles using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and engineering methods.
• Material response modeling under combined thermal and mechanical loads.
• Transient thermal analysis for time-varying mission profiles.
• Ground test planning, execution, and analysis in specialized thermal test facilities.
• Flight test planning, execution, and post-flight thermal data analysis.
• Use first principles and MATLAB/Python models to inform design decisions.
• Collaborate with aerodynamics, structures, electrical, and systems engineers on integrated solutions.
• Validate simulation results against other computational approaches, experimental data, and flight test measurements.
• Document analysis methodologies, simulation parameters, and results in technical reports and presentations.
• Support the development and implementation of best practices for simulation workflows.
• Contribute to code verification and validation activities to ensure simulation accuracy and reliability.

Qualifications/Minimum Requirements

• Masters degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, or closely related field; or 5+ years of relevant experience with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, or closely related field.
• In-depth understanding of heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and high-temperature environments.
• 5+ years of experience in aerospace thermal engineering on aircraft, engine, or missile programs.
• Experience with thermal-structural coupling.
• Ground testing experience with thermal instrumentation and data acquisition.
• Strong programming skills in MATLAB, Python, or similar for tool development.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical capabilities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a collaborative team.
• Proven track record of technical documentation and reporting.