Senior Hypersonics CFD & Aerothermal Engineer

Castelion Corporation; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Castelion seeks a Senior Aerothermal & CFD Engineer to develop CFD and aerothermal solutions for long-range hypersonic strike vehicles. You will predict aerodynamic loads, surface heating, and thermal environments that drive vehicle design, working hands-on with multidisciplinary teams in a fast-paced, hardware-driven setting.

You will model from concept through flight test, leveraging tools like STAR-CCM+, Fluent, FUN3D, CFD++, and US3D, and you will mentor junior engineers while advancing

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience performing CFD and aerothermal analysis for aerospace or defense applications.
• Strong background in compressible fluid dynamics, hypersonic aerodynamics, and heat transfer.
• Experience using CFD tools such as STAR-CCM+, Fluent, FUN3D, CFD++, US3D, or equivalent.
• Experience with turbulence modeling, shock-boundary layer interactions, and high-temperature flow physics.
• Familiarity with aerothermal heating prediction and thermal protection system design support.
• Experience generating aerodynamic load and heating environments for structural and thermal analyses.
• Experience with scripting and automation using Python, MATLAB, or equivalent.
• Familiarity with wind tunnel testing, arc-jet testing, or flight test correlation.
• Strong problem-solving mindset, thriving in a fast-paced, hardware-rich, high flight cadence environment.

Responsibilities

• Perform CFD analyses of hypersonic flight vehicles across Mach numbers and flight conditions.
• Predict aerodynamic loads, surface heating, and pressure distributions for structures and TPS.
• Analyze shock interactions, boundary layer behavior, and high-temperature flow phenomena.
• Develop high-fidelity CFD models to support propulsion integration and vehicle configuration trades.
• Collaborate with flight sciences, structures, propulsion, GNC, and manufacturing teams for integration.
• Correlate CFD predictions with wind tunnel, arc-jet, ground/test data to improve fidelity.
• Develop meshing strategies, solver methodologies, and automated CFD workflows.
• Support design reviews with aerodynamic and aerothermal analyses for key decisions.
• Mentor junior engineers and share best practices in CFD and aerothermal analysis.
• Partner with program leadership on technical trades aligned with mission success.

Skills

CFD analysis

Aerothermal analysis

Python

MATLAB

STAR-CCM+

Fluent

FUN3D

CFD++

US3D

Education

Bachelor's/Master's/PhD in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering

Tools

STAR-CCM+

Fluent

FUN3D

CFD++

US3D

Job description

Castelion seeks a Senior Aerothermal & CFD Engineer to develop CFD and aerothermal solutions for long-range hypersonic strike vehicles. You will predict aerodynamic loads, surface heating, and thermal environments that drive vehicle design, working hands-on with multidisciplinary teams in a fast-paced, hardware-driven setting.

You will model from concept through flight test, leveraging tools like STAR-CCM+, Fluent, FUN3D, CFD++, and US3D, and you will mentor junior engineers while advancing