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Aerodynamics CFD Engineer III/IV at Zone 5 Technologies
San Luis Obispo, CaliforniaFull-timeEngineeringPosted 23 days ago
Apply with PipelineAbout the Role
<div class="content-intro"><p>At Zone 5 Technologies, we're redefining what's possible in unmanned aircraft systems. Our team of engineers and innovators is developing cutting-edge autonomous solutions that push the boundaries of UAS technology - solving complex challenges that matter.</p>
<p>We're building the future of UAS capabilities, and we're looking for exceptional talent to join us. If you're driven by hard problems, energized by rapid innovation, and ready to make an impact on next-generation flight systems, you belong here.</p></div><p><span data-contrast="auto">We are seeking an </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Aerodynamics CFD Engineer</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> with experience in applied computational fluid dynamics to join our Aerodynamics team. Our ideal candidate will have demonstrable experience in a productionized environment within the field of applied CFD in advanced </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">We are looking for candidates that embody a solid understanding of fluid dynamics, aerodynamic design, </span><span data-contrast="none">mechanical integration</span><span data-contrast="auto">, and aircraft performance. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated use of tools </span><span data-contrast="none">in their tool belt </span><span data-contrast="auto">ranging from hand, </span><span data-contrast="none">1-D/2-D</span><span data-contrast="none"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">calculations, computational methods, wind tunnels, and flight testing of physical hardware in validating their designs and meeting their objectives. This individual avoids siloing and consciously balances priority and speed with scaling products, and they have a mission focused on supporting our customers.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Key Responsibilities:</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Conduct high fidelity CFD simulations to assess aerodynamic, </span><span data-contrast="none">mechanical, thermal</span><span data-contrast="auto">, and aircraft performance impact of designs.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams (structures, propulsion, controls, systems engineering) to integrate aerodynamic insights into the overall design.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Aerodynamic database generation involving high performance UAS systems.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Validate CFD models using combinations of wind tunnel testing and flight test data.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="5" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Develop, extend, and mature automated productionized CFD environments.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="4" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Assist in the development of bench test, wind tunnel test, and flight test method, data reduction, and analysis.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="6" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Preparing technical reports</span><span data-contrast="none">, presentations, </span><span data-contrast="auto">and design documentation.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="7" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Present findings to key stakeholders and</span><span data-contrast="none"> internal/external </span><span data-contrast="auto">customers.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Required Qualifications:</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335551500":0,"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">U.S. Citizenship or equivalent status required for defense-related work.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":360}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335551500":0,"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">A Masters's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field with experience is preferred. </span><span data-contrast="none">Bachelor’s degree with substantial relevant experience is required.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":360}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">3+ (5+ years w/ BS) years of applied industrial CFD with a focus on aerodynamics, particularly around high-performance aircraft and / or UAVs. Experience in high performance based automotive external and internal aerodynamics may be considered with sufficient theoretical background and interest in flight dynamics.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":360}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Demonstrable experience building and maintaining high fidelity aerodynamic </span><span data-contrast="none">modeling tools for performance, loads, and database generation.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":360}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="none">Experience with detailed geometry handling and simulation setup for coupled OML/IML simulations involving heat transfer and vehicle aerodynamics.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":360}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="none">Experience in a productionized environment using commercial Navier-Stokes based CFD tools (e.g., ANSYS Fluent / CFX, STAR-CCM+, etc.) including geometry preparation, mesh generation, and simulation debugging.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":360}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="5" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="none">Experience programming and developing packages in Python and Java.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":360}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="6" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="none">Experience with </span><span data-contrast="auto">data visualization tools, e.g. MATLAB & Python, Tecplot, ParaView and working in a version control environment, e.g. git.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":360}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="6" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Industrial wind tunnel testing: test matrix design, model design, techniques, instrumentation, and data reduction.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":360}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="6" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Experience working with real hardware flying in subsonic, transonic, and high-speed aerodynamics.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":360}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Preferred Qualifications: </span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="7" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Demonstrated aerodynamic surfacing capability in NX, Rhino, or equivalent.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="7" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Optimization of aerodynamic surfaces in automated CFD simulation environment.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="7" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Bookkeeping and design of aerodynamic heat transfer systems.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="7" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Control and design of simulation datasets for intra-team access.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="none">Working knowledge of applicable MIL-STDs.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"multilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Security clearance (or eligibility) is a plus.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":360}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="none">Pay Range by Level:</span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="none">Level III - $122,000 - $154,000</span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="none">Level IV - $154,000 - $190,000</span></p>
<p><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}">#LI-AW1</span></p>
<p> </p><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">Pay range for this role</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$122,000</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$190,000 USD</span></div></div></div><div class="content-conclusion"><p><strong>What's in it for you:</strong></p>
<p>Benefits: </p>
<ul>
<li>Competitive total compensation package </li>
<li>Comprehensive benefit package options include medical, dental, vision, life, and more.</li>
<li>401k with company-match </li>
<li>4 weeks of paid time off each year</li>
<li>12 annual company holidays</li>
</ul>
<p>Why Join Zone 5 Technologies?</p>
<ul>
<li>Innovative Environment: Work on cutting-edge technology that is shaping the future of defense and aerospace.</li>
<li>Collaborative Culture: Join a team of passionate professionals dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.</li>
<li>Career Growth: Opportunities for professional development and career advancement.</li>
</ul>
<p>If you are passionate about unmanned aircraft technology and want to be a part of a dynamic and growing company, we would love to hear from you. Apply today and join the Zone 5 Technologies team! </p>
<p><em>In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. </em></p>
<p><em><span data-teams="true">Zone 5 Technologies is a federal contractor and participates in E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. As required by law, we will verify the identity and employment authorization of all new employees using the E-Verify system. Learn more about your rights and responsibilities under E-Verify: <a id="menur1c92" class="fui-Link ___1q1shib f2hkw1w f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1s184ao f1mk8lai fnbmjn9 f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1nev41a f1h8hb77 f1lqvz6u f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn" href="https://www.e-verify.gov" target="_blank">https://www.e-verify.gov</a>.</span></em></p></div>
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