Senior CFD Lead — Defense Aerodynamics & Missiles

Zone 5 Technologies; San Luis Obispo (CA); On-site; USD 161,000 - 238,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401k with company-match

Paid time off

Sick time

Holidays

Job summary

Zone 5 Technologies is seeking an experienced CFD Lead to drive high-fidelity CFD analysis for air-launched effects, interceptors, and munitions. You will set technical direction for CFD, mentor engineers, and collaborate across Propulsion, GNC, Design, and Systems Engineering to ensure robust performance under launch and flight conditions.

You will lead wind tunnel and flight test correlation efforts, develop automated CFD workflows, and help translate aerodynamic data into vehicle-level

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field required; Master’s typical for candidates at this level.
• 8+ years of experience performing and leading CFD in a product-centric, program-driven environment.
• Proficiency with CFD solvers (CFD++, OVERFLOW, FUN3D, STAR-CCM+, ANSYS Fluent) and meshing tools.
• Experience validating CFD against wind tunnel or flight test data.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. DoD Secret security clearance; must qualify as a U.S. Person under ITAR.

Responsibilities

• Lead high-fidelity CFD analysis (RANS, URANS, DES) for missiles, interceptors, and high-speed hardware.
• Establish shared CFD analysis standards and document procedures for aerodynamic database development.
• Collaborate with Design, Propulsion, GNC, Analysis, and Systems Engineering to integrate aerodynamic data into designs.
• Present results at design reviews (PDR, CDR) and internal discussions.
• Develop and lead automated workflows for batch HPC jobs and data reduction.
• Mentor other aerodynamics and CFD engineers and review analysis approaches.
• Participate in program-level resource allocation, timelines, and deliverable estimates.
• Validate CFD models against wind tunnel/flight test data; lead root-cause investigations.

Skills

CFD leadership

Python/ MATLAB scripting

Linux HPC

Git/SVN

High-speed aerodynamics

Mesh generation

Communication skills

DoD clearance readiness

Education

Bachelors in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering

Masters preferred

Tools

CFD solvers

Pointwise

ANSA

Chimera Grid Tools

ParaView

ANSYS Workbench

Job description

Zone 5 Technologies is seeking an experienced CFD Lead to drive high-fidelity CFD analysis for air-launched effects, interceptors, and munitions. You will set technical direction for CFD, mentor engineers, and collaborate across Propulsion, GNC, Design, and Systems Engineering to ensure robust performance under launch and flight conditions.

You will lead wind tunnel and flight test correlation efforts, develop automated CFD workflows, and help translate aerodynamic data into vehicle-level