Principal Simulation Engineer

Freeform; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 225,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% employer-paid Medical, Dental, Vision insurance

Paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays

Free daily catered lunch and dinner

Generous Paid Parental Leave

Job summary

Freeform is looking for a Simulation Engineer in Los Angeles to develop simulations for automated metal 3D printing. This role requires a strong foundation in physics and programming (C, C++, or CUDA). You will collaborate with engineers to create models for cutting-edge manufacturing processes. The position emphasizes innovation and problem-solving in a team-oriented environment. Freeform offers comprehensive benefits, including full medical coverage and a salary range of $225,000-$300,000, reflecting your experience and skills.

Qualifications

• PhD in applied mathematics, physics, computer science, or mechanical engineering.
• Demonstrated experience writing low-level numerical solvers.
• Familiarity with solid mechanics and continuum mechanics.

Responsibilities

• Develop high-performance numerical solvers for metal 3D printing.
• Implement numerical models for real-time performance.
• Work with engineers to deploy physics-based models.

Skills

Expertise in physical simulations

Strong programming skills in C, C++, or CUDA

Experience developing simulations in high-performance compute environments

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field

10+ years of experience with a PhD

Tools

GPU computing

Numerical solvers

Job description

Freeform builds AI-native manufacturing systems that unify software, hardware, and physics to produce industrial-scale parts at the speed of human ideation. By treating manufacturing as a single integrated system, we unlock a new era of innovation where complex hardware is designed, built, and scaled without limits.

As a Simulation Engineer at Freeform, you will be responsible for developing physics-based, data-driven models that enable the first production scale, high quality, and fully automated metal 3D printing factory capability. We are looking for someone with deep knowledge in physical simulations and multi-physics phenomena who can develop sophisticated models from scratch for undefined or previously unsolved problem statements. This person needs to be comfortable working in an interdisciplinary environment that iterates quickly and decisively.

3D printing experience is not required to be successful here - rather we look for smart, motivated, collaborative engineers who love solving hard problems and creating amazing technology!

Responsibilities

• Develop high-performance numerical solvers for simulating the physics of advanced metal 3D printing systems.
• Implement numerical simulation models for real-time or near-real-time performance on HPC or GPU platforms.
• Work with software engineers to build and deploy physics-based and data-driven models of the laser powder bed fusion process.
• Work with software engineers to integrate low-level solvers into simulation pipelines and interface with hardware systems.
• Guide the integration of computational geometry and meshing techniques to support large-scale, physics-driven simulations.
• Architect simulation modules for execution on specialized compute hardware including FPGAs and GPUs.
• Contribute to the development of model-predictive control strategies alongside control engineers.
• Generate and maintain documentation for all algorithms, solvers, and integrated system.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics, physics, computer science, mechanical engineering, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of professional experience developing custom simulation solvers with a PhD in one of the above fields.
• Demonstrated experience writing low-level numerical solvers for physical simulations.
• Strong programming skills in C, C++, or CUDA.
• Experience developing simulations in a high-performance compute environment (i.e. running on GPUs).
• Academic or professional familiarity with solid mechanics, continuum mechanics, or other physical modeling domains.

Nice to Have

• Experience with real-time or near-real-time simulations on GPU or parallel computing platforms.
• Experience with direct numerical simulation (DNS) models
• Familiarity with solid mechanics, continuum mechanics, or other physical modeling domains.
• Experience with thermo-elastic or thermo-elastoplastic modeling.
• Familiarity with computational geometry and meshing techniques.
• Experience with data-driven modeling techniques and hybrid physics/data simulation methods.
• Familiarity with optimization techniques and control theory.
• Experience with 2D and 3D meshing libraries and tools.
• Creative problem solver with a strong foundation in first-principles thinking and numerical analysis.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Location

Based in Hawthorne, our vertically integrated facility brings technology development, R&D, and production together under one roof. We operate at the center of LA’s deep tech ecosystem, surrounded by some of the most ambitious hardware innovation happening anywhere in the country. Our fast-paced, cross-functional environment is built on close collaboration, and as such, this role requires full-time onsite presence (five days a week), with very limited exceptions.

What We Offer

• We have an inclusive and diverse culture that values collaboration, learning, and making deliberate data-driven decisions.
• We offer a unique opportunity to be an early and integral member of a rapidly growing company that is scaling a world-changing technology.
• 100% employer-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance (premium PPO and HMO options)
• Life insurance
• Traditional and Roth 401(k)
• Relocation assistance provided
• Paid vacation, sick leave, and company holidays
• Generous Paid Parental Leave and extended transition back to work for the birthing parent
• Free daily catered lunch and dinner, and fully stocked kitchenette
• Casual dress, flexible work hours, and regular catered team building events
• Compensation
• Asa growing company, the salary rangeis intentionally wide as wedeterminethe mostappropriate packageforeach individualtaking into consideration years of experience, educational background, and unique skills and abilities asdemonstratedthroughout the interview process. Our intent is to offer a salary that iscommensurateforthe company’s current stage of development and allows the employee to grow and develop within a role.
• In addition to the significant stock option package, the estimated salary range for this role is $225,000-$300,000 . However is this a unique position with outsized impact for the right game-changing hire, so we will consider compensation outside of this range on a case-by-case basis.
• Freeform is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values diversity; employment with Freeform is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.