Sr. Simulation Engineer

Responsibilities

• Lead CFD simulation strategy across Hayward’s product portfolio, including residential and commercial pumps, filters, gas heaters, robotic cleaners, salt chlorinators, and electronic control systems.
• Drive simulation-led design from concept through validation, ensuring predictive analysis is embedded early in the product development process to reduce prototype cycles and accelerate time-to-market.
• Mentor and develop simulation and design engineers in CFD methodologies, meshing best practices, turbulence modeling, and test correlation.
• Act as a technical advisor and subject matter expert to engineering leadership, identifying simulation opportunities, influencing product design decisions, and advising on tradeoffs between hydraulic performance, thermal management, manufacturability, and cost.
• Promote consistent, continuous improvement of simulation practices, tools, scripting/automation libraries, and documentation across Hayward’s global engineering sites.
• Evaluate and recommend new simulation software and computing infrastructure investments aligned with Hayward’s broad product portfolio rather than narrow specialty needs.

Technical and Operational Responsibilities

• Develop and execute CFD models for centrifugal pumps and hydraulic components, including impeller and volute/diffuser analysis, multiphase and cavitation prediction, and efficiency optimization.
• Perform conjugate heat transfer (CHT) and reacting-flow simulations for gas heaters, and electronics-cooling analyses for variable-speed drives and control electronics.
• Establish and maintain meshing, turbulence-model, and convergence best practices, including y+ judgment, MRF/sliding mesh setup for rotating machinery, and appropriate use of RANS and (where justified) LES/DES approaches.
• Own the CFD-to-test correlation loop in partnership with the lab team, including identifying root causes of simulation–test discrepancies and refining models accordingly.
• Develop scripting and automation workflows (Python, Java macros) to standardize simulation pipelines, run DOEs and design-optimization studies, and improve team productivity.
• Make effective use of high-performance simulation workstations for transient and large-scale cases.
• Engage in technical design reviews to identify simulation needs, advise project teams on analysis strategies, and contribute to product design decisions, including a working sense of manufacturability and assembly so that simulation-driven design proposals are practical to implement.
• Author and maintain simulation process documentation, procedures, and training materials.
• Collaborate with the FEA, MBD, and 1D system-modeling activities as needed, supporting structural, thermal, NVH, and system-level analyses across the simulation team.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering. Master’s degree preferred.
• 5+ years of industrial CFD experience, ideally with rotating-equipment exposure.
• Proficiency with a commercial CFD solver (Star-CCM+, Ansys Fluent, or CFX).
• Demonstrated expertise in turbulence modeling (RANS, k-ω SST), meshing (structured and unstructured), MRF and sliding-mesh approaches for rotating machinery, conjugate heat transfer, and multiphase / cavitation modeling.
• Experience running CFD on high-performance simulation workstations for transient and large-scale cases.
• Scripting and automation experience (Python preferred; Java macros and MATLAB acceptable).
• Working knowledge of 3D CAD; SolidWorks preferred (NX or Creo acceptable).
• Demonstrated ownership of CFD-to-test correlation, including lab and experimental validation.
• Experience leading or mentoring engineers.