CFD Engineer

Athena Racing; Portsmouth; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Company Pension Scheme

Private Medical Insurance

Life Assurance

Cycle to Work Scheme

Job summary

A leading yacht racing team in Portsmouth is seeking fluid dynamicists to enhance yacht performance for the America’s Cup. Responsibilities include CAD surfacing, collaborating with teams on design, and refining CFD modelling. Candidates should have strong CAD and CFD experience, python skills, and the ability to thrive in a competitive environment. The role offers a full-time position with a competitive benefits package.

Qualifications

• Strong CAD Surfacing experience with creative performance solutions.
• Experienced with CFD solvers for marine or aerospace.
• Proficient in Python and Linux.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to design and optimization of sails and hulls.
• Collaborate with designers to interpret trends for design.
• Analyse yacht dynamics to improve CFD modelling.

Skills

CAD Surfacing

CFD solvers

Python coding

Linux competency

Tools

3DX

Fine Marine

Job description

Overview

Athena Racing is expanding our technical team with the goal of winning the America’s Cup, the oldest international competition still contested in any sport. We are building an agile, creative and collaborative team to compete and win at the pinnacle of the sport of sailing. Our team values focus on maximizing performance from our designs, while fostering a collaborative and supportive environment.

We are looking for creative and highly motivated fluid dynamicists whose efforts will drive the performance of our yacht. This role is a key part of our rigorous, methodical, data-driven approach to performance discovery in an agile and dynamic environment where your work will directly influence our on-water performance. We’re hiring at different levels of experience, so whether you’re an early-career engineer with strong fundamentals or an experienced hand with deep subject knowledge, we’d like to hear from you.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the design and optimization of sails, hulls, hydrofoils and appendages using CAD surfacing.
• Collaborate closely with designers, performance analysts, and sailors to interpret correlation trends and inform design decisions.
• Analyse yacht dynamics and real-world flow structures (aero-hydro interaction, free-surface effects) to improve CFD modelling fidelity.
• Implement and maintain CFD best practices, including standards, procedures and documentation.

Required skills/experience

• Strong CAD Surfacing experience alongside a drive to find creative performance solutions.
• Strong experience with commercial or open-source CFD solvers for marine or aerospace applications.
• Python coding proficiency and competency working within Linux operating systems.
• Ability to thrive in a high-performance, fast-paced America’s Cup environment.

Desired skills/experience

• Organized and a team focused mindset.
• Experience in yacht or marine hydrodynamic/aerodynamics.
• Experience with 3DX.
• Experience with Fine Marine.
• Understanding of machine learning applications in CFD and design space exploration.
• Experience with HPC environments and parallelized CFD workflows.
• Be part of a world-class America’s Cup team working at the intersection of sport and technology, with the chance to contribute directly to our sporting success and push the limits of human and technological performance.
• Opportunities for growth — we have openings from junior to senior levels, and will look to develop you to be part of the future of our team.
• Competitive package with:25 days annual leave (plus public holidays) per annum, Company Pension Scheme, Private Medical Insurance, Life Assurance, Cycle to Work Scheme.

Seniority level

• Entry level

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Engineering and Information Technology