Vehicle Architect - eVTOL Sizing & Optimization

Archer; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 173,000 - 238,000; Full time

Job summary

Archer, based in San Jose, is advancing all-electric VTOL aircraft for sustainable air mobility. The Vehicle Architect will own the conceptual sizing, drive MDO optimization, and coordinate inputs from structures, powertrain, and aerodynamics to enable mission-driven designs.

Required are strong Python and MDO framework skills, proven aircraft sizing experience, and ability to work with customers and partners to shape missions and design drivers. Base pay ranges from $172,800 to $237,600.

Qualifications

• Strong proficiency in Python for production-quality analytics.
• Experience sizing actual aircraft and driving vehicle-level sizing.
• Experience integrating multidisciplinary inputs into a single sizing model.
• Familiarity with surrogate modeling techniques and HPC workflows.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain vehicle-level conceptual sizing and optimization models.
• Lead configuration trade studies across missions and use cases.
• Integrate inputs from structures, powertrain, aerodynamics into an optimization framework.
• Present trade studies and sizing rationale to customers/partners.
• Own mass properties rollup, sizing convergence, and margins across the concept.
• Support proposals, technical volumes, and program reviews.

Skills

Python

OpenMDAO

Aircraft sizing

MDO integration

Surrogate modeling

HPC analysis

Geometry param

Communication

MIL/FAR knowledge

Tools

OpenMDAO

AeroSandbox

SUAVE

GPkit

Dymos

Job description

Archer, based in San Jose, is advancing all-electric VTOL aircraft for sustainable air mobility. The Vehicle Architect will own the conceptual sizing, drive MDO optimization, and coordinate inputs from structures, powertrain, and aerodynamics to enable mission-driven designs.

Required are strong Python and MDO framework skills, proven aircraft sizing experience, and ability to work with customers and partners to shape missions and design drivers. Base pay ranges from $172,800 to $237,600.