Maritime Hydrodynamics CFD Engineer

UniversalAGI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity upside

Health benefits

401(k) plan

Flexible vacation

Commuter stipend

Wellness stipend

Office meals

Job summary

UniversalAGI, based in San Francisco, is building open AI models for physics to automate industrial processes. As a Maritime Hydrodynamics CFD Engineer, you will tackle hull-form optimization, free surface modeling, seakeeping analyses, and propulsion studies with direct impact on AI-driven physics simulations.

You will collaborate closely with the CEO and founding team to translate marine CFD challenges into scalable AI-ready solutions, driving data generation, model training, and benchmark

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master’s in mechanical/marine engineering or related field.
• 3+ years hands-on CFD in marine sectors with preprocessing, simulation and post-processing.
• Strong communication bridging customers, engineering and research.
• Experience with hull-form design and free-surface flows.

Responsibilities

• Design, preprocess, mesh, simulate, and post-process hydrodynamics for hull designs at scale.
• Develop data pipelines and automate CFD workflows for AI-model training.
• Collaborate with AI team to bridge CFD with ML models.
• Engage with clients to define benchmarks and validation workflows.
• Generate high-quality simulation data to improve foundation models.
• Advise AI research on free-surface modeling, wave dynamics, and propulsion effects.
• Lead technical conversations translating marine CFD to AI discussions.

Skills

CFD Hydrodynamics

Ship Hull Design

Data Pipeline Design

Client Communication

Problem Solving

Education

Bachelor/Master in Mechanical or Marine Engineering

Tools

STAR-CCM+

OpenFOAM

FINE/Marine

ORCA

Job description

UniversalAGI is building OpenAI for Physics. AI startup based in San Francisco and backed by Elad Gil (#1 Solo VC), Eric Schmidt (former Google CEO), Prith Banerjee (ANSYS CTO), Ion Stoica (Databricks Founder), Jared Kushner (former Senior Advisor to the President), David Patterson (Turing Award Winner), and Luis Videgaray (former Foreign and Finance Minister of Mexico). We're building foundation AI models for physics that enable end-to-end industrial automation from initial design through optimization, validation, and production.

We're building a high-velocity team of relentless researchers and engineers that will define the next generation of AI for industrial engineering. If you're passionate about AI, physics, or the future of industrial innovation, we want to hear from you.

About the Role

As a Maritime Hydrodynamics CFD Engineer, you'll be in the arena from day one, building the future of AI for physics simulation with your own hands. This is your chance to take everything you've learned in ship hydrodynamics and marine engineering and use it to build foundation AI models that will transform how the entire industry works.

You'll work directly with the CEO and founding team to shape our product around the real pain points you've faced in your career: the complex hull form optimization, the challenging free surface modeling, the tedious seakeeping analyses, the endless resistance and propulsion studies.

What You'll Do

• Design, preprocess, mesh, simulate, and post-process hydrodynamics for maritime hull designs at unprecedented scale and speed
• Come up with creative ways to design, mesh, and simulate hundreds or thousands of hull geometries systematically, building the data pipelines that will train our foundation models
• Guide the development of our product and our revolutionary new AI models for physics by working directly on research problems with our AI team, bridging the gap between traditional CFD and cutting-edge ML
• Work directly with clients to solve their problems and define benchmark datasets, validation criteria, and workflows that prove our models can match or exceed traditional simulation accuracy
• Generate high-quality simulation data at scale, every simulation you run directly improves our foundation models
• Advise the AI research team on the nuances that matter: free surface modeling (VOF, level-set), wave dynamics, resistance components (viscous, wave-making, form), appendage effects, propeller-hull interaction, seakeeping, maneuvering, multiphase flow considerations
• Lead technical customer conversations with customers and internal teams, translating between the world of marine CFD and the world of AI

This is a role for someone who's ready to solve some of humanity's hardest problems, push past the limitations of traditional CFD, and build something that will define the next generation of industrial engineering.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of industry hands-on experience in hydrodynamics CFD simulation in maritime industries. Including preprocessing, simulation, post-processing, and design.
• Expert in solver frameworks (STAR-CCM+, FINE/Marine, OpenFOAM, ORCA, or similar).
• Deep understanding of ship hydrodynamics, hull form design, free surface flows, meshing strategies, boundary conditions, and numerical methods.
• Solid understanding on parameterizing CAD to generate different variants of geometry
• Strong communicator capable of bridging customers, engineering and research teams.
• Outstanding execution velocity and delivery
• Exceptional creativity, problem-solving ability, ambition, and attention to detail.
• Comfortable working in high-intensity, fast-paced startup environments with evolving priorities and tight deadlines.

Bonus Qualifications

• Prior experience integrating AI/ML models into simulation pipelines.
• Industry experience in CFD simulation in aerospace or domains outside maritime.
• Industry experience in maritime for related disciplines: seakeeping, maneuvering simulations, propeller design, cavitation analysis, structural hydrodynamics, offshore structures, autonomous surface vessels.
• Familiarity with naval architecture workflows and tools used by companies like Saronic and other maritime defense/autonomy companies.
• Experience at high-growth AI startups (Seed to Series C).

Cultural Fit

• Technical Respect: Ability to earn respect through hands-on technical contribution
• Intensity: Thrives in our unusually intense culture - willing to grind when needed
• Customer Obsession: Passionate about solving real customer problems, not just cool tech
• Deep Work: Values long, uninterrupted periods of focused work over meetings
• High Availability: Ready to be deeply involved whenever critical issues arise
• Communication: Can translate complex technical concepts to customers and team
• Growth Mindset: Embraces the compounding returns of intelligence and continuous learning
• Startup Mindset: Comfortable with ambiguity, rapid change, and wearing multiple hats
• Work Ethic: Willing to put in the extra hours when needed to hit critical milestones
• Team Player: Collaborative approach with low ego and high accountability

What We Offer

• Opportunity to shape the technical foundation of a rapidly growing foundational AI company.
• Work on cutting-edge industrial AI problems with immediate real-world impact.
• Direct collaboration with the founder & CEO and ability to influence company strategy
• Competitive compensation with significant equity upside.
• Access to world-class investors and advisors in the AI space.
• Competitive compensation and equity.
• Competitive health, dental, vision benefits paid by the company.
• 401(k) plan offering.
• Flexible vacation.
• Great scope, ownership and impact.
• AI tools stipend.
• Monthly commute stipend.
• Monthly wellness/fitness stipend.
• Daily office lunch & dinner covered by the company.
• Immigration support.

How We're Different

"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again... who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly."

- Teddy Roosevelt

At our core, we believe in being "in the arena." We are builders, problem solvers, and risk-takers who show up every day ready to put in the work: to sweat, to struggle, and to push past our limits. We know that real progress comes with missteps, iteration, and resilience. We embrace that journey fully knowing that daring greatly is the only way to create something truly meaningful.

If you're ready to join the future of physics simulation, push creative boundaries, and deliver impact, UniversalAGI is the place for you.