Staff Aerothermal Engineer (Aerospace)

TL;DR

Staff Aerothermal Engineer (Aerospace): Developing and implementing thermal management strategies for hybrid propulsion systems with an accent on inlet and outlet duct optimization for air breathing engines and heat exchangers. Focus on utilizing advanced CFD and FEA tools to predict mass flows and pressure drops while ensuring system reliability across the aircraft operating envelope.

Location: San Jose, California, United States. hirify.global is unable to provide work visa sponsorship for this position.

Company

hirify.global is an aerospace company building all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to advance sustainable air mobility.

What you will do

• Design, analyze, and optimize thermal management systems for air breathing and electric engines and their integration into the aircraft platform.
• Drive the OML definition of inlet and outlet ducts for air breathing engines to minimize installation effects.
• Analyze internal flows through convective heat exchange units for electric engine and battery cooling.
• Define, validate, and verify massflow and pressure drop requirements for thermal management systems.
• Perform detailed thermal analysis and predict system performance using advanced CFD and FEA tools.
• Support and execute test campaigns at component and aircraft levels to correlate and validate thermal models.

Requirements

• BS, MS, or PhD in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
• 6+ years of experience in thermal analysis and design of air breathing engines within the aerospace industry.
• Deep understanding of heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation), fluid dynamics, and aerodynamics.
• Proven experience with CFD and FEA software (e.g., StarCCM+, Ansys Fluent, Abacus, Nastran).
• Proficiency in Python or Matlab/Simulink programming.
• Must be authorized to work in the US without sponsorship.

Nice to have

• Experience with eVTOLs or other electric aircraft programs.
• Familiarity with CAD modeling systems such as NX, CATIA, or Solidworks.
• Experience with system-level lab, wind tunnel, or flight test campaign planning and execution.
• Knowledge of HPC for parallelizing workflows and software development best practices (Git, CI/CD).
• Experience in simulation model verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification.

Culture & Benefits

• Pay-for-performance culture that rewards contributions to the company's business strategy.
• Dedicated commitment to cultivating an equitable, inclusive, and diverse work environment.
• Opportunity to solve complex engineering challenges in a fast-paced aerospace design environment.