Senior Aerothermal Engineer

Responsibilities

• Own the development of aerodynamic models across all flight regimes, from free-molecular through hypersonic, supersonic, and subsonic flow.
• Prepare, mesh, run, and post process CFD models to characterize vehicle flow fields, aerodynamic coefficients, and stability behavior.
• Develop aerodynamic databases for trajectory simulation and Monte Carlo analysis.
• Develop trajectory-coupled aerothermal environments, including stagnation, distributed, and shock-interaction heating.
• Actively shape vehicle geometry and aerodynamic stability through analysis and design iteration to improve and optimize vehicle performance and reliability.
• Predict heating rates and heat loads across the vehicle throughout atmospheric entry.
• Own TPS sizing, material specification, and margin development for both ablative and reusable TPS solutions.
• Perform thermal material response modeling, including ablation and recession behavior.
• Develop full-vehicle thermal models capturing external heating, conduction through structure, and internal temperature response.
• Compare pre-flight aerodynamic and aerothermal predictions to flight data and refine models predictive accuracy accordingly.
• Develop and maintain analysis tools, scripts, and workflows for aerodynamic and aerothermal modeling by writing code and scripts in a variety of languages, making sure they share common interfaces.
• Interface with responsible engineers, providing them inputs to their designs and ensuring they have a clear understanding of the physical phenomena they are dealing with.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related engineering discipline
• 1+ years of experience with structural or fluid dynamics via full-time employment, outside the classroom projects, or lab work

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Master’s degree or PhD in aerospace or mechanical engineering
• Experience with Ansys Fluent or equivalent
• Experience with solvers and tools for reentry vehicles, e.g. FUN3D, CBAero, DPLR, HEAT
• Experience with industry level CAD tools, e.g. SolidWorks, NX, OnShape, CATIA
• Experience with thermal protection systems
• Strong background in external, compressible fluid dynamics

Additional Requirements

• Must be willing to work extended hours and/or weekends as needed
• Ability to obtain a security clearance if necessary