Senior Propulsion Analyst (Fluids)

Responsibilities

• Perform and document fluids and thermal analyses of liquid propellant rocket engine, tanks and feed systems.
• Size propellant management devices (PMDs), baffles and/or screens with industry standard equations and techniques
• Perform CFD analysis of internal flow geometries
• Perform analysis of propellant tank phenomenon including: zero- and micro-gravity fluid management, propellant slosh and propellant mass gauging
• Assist with validation testing of internal tank propellant management devices (baffles, AVDs, bubble point screens, etc)
• Ensure model predictions are grounded through a practical hands-on approach
• Contribute to developing analysis processes and tools to be used company wide.  Achieve buy-in with key stakeholders and provide training for general use
• Provide professional development, mentorship, and technical guidance to peers

Minimum Qualifications

• B.S. degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, or a comparable field
• 4+ years of demonstrated experience with fluid/thermal analysis on liquid propellant rocket engines, rocket stages, spacecraft or similar high-performance systems
• 4+ years of professional experience in fluid analysis with commercial software (e.g. Fluent, CFX, SINDA/FLUINT,) and hand-calc methods
• Basic experience with 3D CAD software (NX preferred)

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Advanced degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, or a comparable field
• Experience working in fast-paced, startup environment
• Strong fundamentals in compressible & incompressible fluid mechanics and heat-transfer, including hand calculation methods
• Advanced proficiency with a commercial CFD tool through all stages of the workflow (geometry prep, mesh generation, setup, convergence, post-processing)
• Familiarity with ANSYS CFX, ANSYS Fluent, and/or Star-CCM+
• Familiarity with multi-phase fluid modeling and acceleration dominated fluid dynamics
• Experience with anchoring CFD analysis to test or flight data
• Experience with waterhammer and fluid network modeling (SINDA/FLUINT or other similar tools)
• Programing experience for creating analysis tools or performing hand-calcs.   Python preferred.  Matlab or other high-level languages acceptable
• Experience in root-cause analysis
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Flexible schedule and willing to travel as needed