Flight Physics Engineer

Keka Technologies Private Limited; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Okulo Aerospace in Bengaluru, a deep-tech startup, pursues solar-electric hybrid UAVs and aerial data platforms. This Aircraft Design role emphasizes sizing and concept generation, not CAD, within a small team that supports growth and individual contribution.

You will conduct conceptual and preliminary design, collaborate with engineering and manufacturing, and apply in-house tools and AI/ML techniques to optimize performance and reliability.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD in aerospace/aeronautical engineering or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Experience in conceptual design and development of unmanned aerial systems.
• Ability to analyse post-flight data for design improvement.
• Ability to collaborate in interdisciplinary teams and meet deadlines.
• Strong technical writing and documentation skills for design reviews.

Responsibilities

• Perform conceptual and/or preliminary design for UAVs based on stakeholder requirements.
• Collaborate to develop certifiable systems for electric aviation.
• Use in-house design tools to generate candidate designs.
• Conduct hand calculations for performance estimates and constraint analysis.
• Work with manufacturing to realize design constraints.
• Devise testing methodologies to validate computations.

Skills

Aerospace engineering

Conceptual design

UAV design

Python/MATLAB

Aircraft sizing

Team collaboration

Technical writing

Tools

XFLR5

AVL

PANUKL

qprop

Xfoil

OpenVSP

Job description

Okulo Aerospace is an early-stage deep-tech startup based out of Bengaluru, Karnataka. Combining renewable energy and precision engineering, we are currently developing solar-electric hybrid aerial platforms that will revolutionise aerial data acquisition. We envision a world where drones can fly continuously without having to land at all and we are currently in the first step towards realising that vision. With a vision to nurture great teams and develop solutions for hard problems, we are looking at joining hands with the next generation of talented individuals looking to embark on this exciting journey. Being part of Okulo Aerospace allows you to become part of a small team that supports individual growth while working together to achieve our mission.

Are you an aspiring aerospace engineer with a background in aircraft design & optimization looking to make a meaningful impact that you just can’t find in legacy aerospace companies? Have you ever dreamed of crafting a clean-sheet aerial vehicle system from scratch? Would you like to deliver and/or contribute a significant percentage in the conceptual & preliminary design for a new product? If so, you might be a good fit for the team in an Aircraft Design role here at Okulo Aerospace!

Responsibilities:

• Performing conceptual design and/or preliminary design for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) based on requirements from different stakeholders.
• Collaborate and co-develop novel, certifiable systems to solve the toughest problems in electric aviation.
• Utilisation of our in-house aircraft design tools to come up with candidate designs.
• Conduct hand calculations in aircraft performance estimates (constraint analysis, power level required etc.).
• Work with the manufacturing team to realise certain design constraints.
• Devise testing methodologies to validate and verify your computations/calculations.
• Utilisation of advanced mathematical AI/ML algorithms to perform aircraft-level, system-level and/or component-level optimization.

Basic Qualifications and Experience Required:

• Bachelors (or) Masters (or) PhD (or) relevant experiences in aerospace/aeronautical engineering or related fields.
• Experience in Conceptual design and development of unmanned aerial systems.
• Ability to analyse post flight data for design improvement
• Ability to work collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams, to ambitious deadlines, and under minimal supervision.
• A highly motivated and focused individual with excellent communication skills.
• Someone who undertakes a structural and analytical approach to a problem.
• Possess excellent technical writing and documentation skills for design reviews and company records.
• Worked with aircraft sizing methods – weight and performance estimates.
• Strong basics in Python, MATLAB or any other widely used coding/scripting language to develop aircraft design and optimization codes.
• Strong base in conceptual design of aircraft with one or more of the following fields: Aerodynamics, aircraft structures, flight mechanics, propulsion.
• Experience in developing high performance fixed wing UAVs built using composites.
• Experience in using design software including but not limited to XFLR5, AVL, PANUKL, qprop, Xoptfoil, OpenVSP etc.
• Understanding of fixed wing and rotary wing design.

Desired Skills:

• Knowledge of optimization algorithms and ability to solve optimization problems in any capacity using gradient and/or non-gradient based optimization methods.
• Proficiency in C/C++ or Python.
• Basic understanding of propeller and motor selection is very much appreciated.
• Demonstrated experience in development of prototype UAVs.
• Hands on experience with usage of aircraft design codes.

Note:

The job role is strictly related to the Sizing of an Aircraft and concept generation; not CAD.