Aerospace Fluid Dynamics Research Engineer

Make Rain; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Rainmaker is seeking a highly hands-on Mechanical/Aerospace Research Engineer with deep expertise in aerosol science, multiphase flow, and compressible fluid dynamics. You will bridge cloud physics and high-performance fluid systems, designing hardware that uses high-velocity gas dynamics to atomize precursors into submicron aerosols.

The role involves building dry-powder feeders, liquid delivery architectures, and aerosol generators, integrating them with lightweight UAS payloads, and iterating

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
• Approximately 5 years of hands-on experience in mechanical engineering, focused on fluid dynamics, multiphase flow (gas-liquid/gas-solid), or atomization.
• Proven experience in Mach number optimization, internal nozzle flow, and the physics of choked flow conditions.
• Proven experience building and troubleshooting fluidic or pneumatic hardware (high-velocity gas jets, Laval nozzles, precision sprayers, or powder dispersers).
• Understanding of droplet dynamics and breakup regimes (Weber number effects) and nanoparticle deagglomeration.
• Strong CAD proficiency (SolidWorks, Fusion 360), and hands-on prototyping including CNC machining.

Responsibilities

• High-Velocity Nozzle Design: Design, machine, and test custom Laval nozzles for liquid filament breakup and high-shear deagglomeration.
• Multiphase Dispersion: Develop systems for dispersion of liquid aerosols and dry-powder seeds using high-velocity gas streams.
• Hardware Prototyping: Build mechanical dry-powder micro-feeders, liquid delivery architectures, and aerosol generators from scratch.
• Fluid/Mechanical Architecture: Develop pneumatic and fluidic routing systems for pressure ratios enabling choked flow and stable supersonic jets.
• UAS Integration: Adapt bench concepts into lightweight payloads able to survive flight vibrations and aerodynamic shear.
• Rapid Iteration: Evaluate hardware performance and iteratively optimize nozzle geometries based on data.

Skills

Fluid dynamics

Multiphase flow

High-velocity gas jets

CAD proficiency

Education

BS/MS/PhD in Mechanical or Chemical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

Fusion 360

CNC machining

Job description

Rainmaker is seeking a highly hands-on Mechanical/Aerospace Research Engineer with deep expertise in aerosol science, multiphase flow, and compressible fluid dynamics. You will bridge cloud physics and high-performance fluid systems, designing hardware that uses high-velocity gas dynamics to atomize precursors into submicron aerosols.

The role involves building dry-powder feeders, liquid delivery architectures, and aerosol generators, integrating them with lightweight UAS payloads, and iterating