CFD & Aerodynamics Optimization Research Associate

Diversity Dashboard; Manchester; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Manchester seeks a research associate to develop a CFD workflow for an industrial collaboration with the Great Britain Cycling Team, focusing on automated simulation pipelines, mesh generation and post-processing for aerodynamic analysis.

You will validate CFD predictions against wind-tunnel data, supervise research students, and contribute to best-practice turbulence modelling guidelines, with a strong emphasis on robustness and reproducibility.

Qualifications

• PhD (or near completion) in engineering, maths or physics related to CFD/aerodynamics.
• Experience with CFD software such as OpenFOAM, Code_Saturne and Star CCM+.
• Experience with Python and/or C++ for scientific software development.
• Experience with external aerodynamic simulations and mesh generation.

Responsibilities

• Develop, validate and optimise a high-fidelity CFD workflows for aerodynamic analysis of cycling equipment and rider configurations.
• Design automated simulation pipelines including geometry preparation, mesh generation, solver execution, and post-processing.
• Validate CFD predictions against wind-tunnel measurements and establish best-practice guidelines for turbulence modelling and simulations.
• Support supervision of postgraduate and undergraduate research students contributing to the same project.

Skills

CFD domain knowledge

Python programming

C++ programming

Research collaboration

Education

PhD in engineering, maths or physics

Tools

OpenFOAM

Code_Saturne

Star CCM+

Job description

The University of Manchester seeks a research associate to develop a CFD workflow for an industrial collaboration with the Great Britain Cycling Team, focusing on automated simulation pipelines, mesh generation and post-processing for aerodynamic analysis.

You will validate CFD predictions against wind-tunnel data, supervise research students, and contribute to best-practice turbulence modelling guidelines, with a strong emphasis on robustness and reproducibility.