Aerothermal Engineer

Arbeitnow; Vaud; Vor Ort; CHF 120.000 - 180.000; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

Harmattan AI seeks an experienced Aerothermal Engineer to own heat transfer, thermal management, and aerothermal interactions across UAV programs. You will lead design decisions, simulations, wind tunnel tests, and flight data analysis to ensure safe operation under contested conditions.

You will collaborate with aerodynamics, propulsion, mechanical, and GNC teams, translating complex results into actionable design guidance for multi-disciplinary programs.

Qualifikationen

• Education in aerospace or mechanical engineering with focus on fluid mechanics and heat transfer.
• Strong theoretical grounding in convective, conductive, and radiative heat transfer.
• Hands-on CFD experience with major solvers and appropriate boundary conditions.
• Experience planning and executing thermal measurement campaigns and data analysis.
• Ability to script data processing pipelines and interact with DAQ systems.
• Ability to translate aerothermal findings into clear design recommendations.

Aufgaben

• Aerothermal design and recommendations for thermal management architectures.
• Thermal and aerothermal simulation using CFD tools and validation against experiments.
• Design optimization to minimize thermal drag and maximize cooling efficiency.
• Plan and execute wind tunnel campaigns with instrumentation and data correlation.
• Contribute to flight test campaigns and analyze thermal data against CFD.
• Serve as thermal interface between aerodynamics, propulsion, mechanical, and GNC teams.

Kenntnisse

Aerospace Engineering

Heat Transfer

Fluid Mechanics

Thermal Management

Python

Technical Communication

Ausbildung

Bachelor's / Master's / PhD in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering

Tools

OpenFOAM

Star-CCM+

ANSYS Fluent/CFX

DAQ systems

Jobbeschreibung

About Us

Harmattan AI is a next-generation defense prime building autonomous and scalable defense systems. Following the close of a $200M Series B, valuing the company at $1.4 billion, we are expanding our teams and capabilities to deliver mission-critical systems to allied forces.

Our work is guided by clear values: building technologies with real-world impact, pursuing excellence in everything we do, setting ambitious goals, and taking on the hardest technical challenges. We operate in a demanding environment where rigor, ownership, and execution are expected.

You will own the full thermal and aerothermal engineering cycle for our UAV platforms: from early design recommendations and simulation to wind tunnel experiments and flight test campaigns. Your work directly impacts the survivability, reliability, and performance of our systems in contested environments. You will be the technical authority on heat transfer, thermal management, and aerothermal interactions across all vehicle programs — working closely with aerodynamics, propulsion, mechanical, and GNC teams to ensure our platforms perform within thermal limits under real operational conditions.

Responsibilities

• Aerothermal Design & Recommendations: Provide early-stage design guidance on thermal management architecture — including cooling inlet design, heat shield placement, exhaust routing, and surface coatings — to ensure airframes remain within thermal limits across the full flight envelope.

• Thermal & Aerothermal Simulation: Set up, run, and validate lower fidelity thermal models, simulations and coupled thermal-fluid CFD tools (e.g., OpenFOAM). Model convective, conductive, and radiative heat transfer on internal components (batteries, motors, avionics) and external aerodynamic surfaces.

• Design Optimization: Drive iterative aerothermal optimization cycles to minimize thermal drag penalty, reduce hotspot intensity, and maximize cooling efficiency. Leverage scripting and automated workflows to sweep design parameters and converge on optimal configurations.

• Wind Tunnel Test Campaigns: Design, plan, and execute aerothermal wind tunnel experiments. Define instrumentation strategy (thermocouples, heat flux sensors, pressure taps), write test plans, operate test rigs, and lead post-test data analysis and correlation with simulation.

• Flight Test Campaigns: Contribute to and lead in-flight thermal measurement campaigns. Define DAQ architecture for thermal sensors, develop test matrices, analyze flight data, and correlate with CFD predictions to validate models and sign off thermal margins.

• Cross-functional Integration: Act as the thermal interface between the aerodynamics, propulsion, mechanical, and GNC teams — ensuring that thermal constraints are reflected in system-level trade-offs and that heat rejection requirements are accounted for in the airframe design.

Requirements

• Education: B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field with a strong focus on fluid mechanics and heat transfer.

• AeroThermal Fundamentals: Solid theoretical grounding in convective, conductive, and radiative heat transfer; boundary layer theory; and viscous flow physics as applied to aircraft surfaces and internal cooling passages.

• Thermal Simulation Proficiency: Hands-on experience with CFD simulations in at least one major solver (OpenFOAM, Star-CCM+, ANSYS Fluent/CFX, or equivalent). Ability to select appropriate thermal boundary conditions, turbulence models, and mesh strategies for accuracy.

• Experimental Testing: Demonstrated experience planning and executing thermal measurement campaigns — either in wind tunnel or in-flight — including instrumentation selection, DAQ setup, data reduction, and uncertainty analysis.

• Python Proficiency: Ability to script data processing pipelines, automate post-processing of thermal simulation outputs, and interface with experimental DAQ systems.

• Technical Communication: Ability to translate complex aerothermal findings into clear design recommendations for multidisciplinary teams.

Nice to have

• General Aerodynamic Knowledge: Familiarity with the fundamentals of external aerodynamics — lift and drag generation, pressure distributions, boundary layer behaviour, and flow separation — as applied to fixed-wing or multirotor UAV platforms.

• RC Knowledge: Hands-on experience building, flying, or tuning RC aircraft or drones — whether fixed-wing, quadcopter, or hybrid configurations.

We look forward to hearing how you can help shape the future of autonomous defense systems at Harmattan AI.